Advances in technological control of greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater in the context of circular economy

Rekich R Pahunang; Antonio Buonerba; Vincenzo Senatore; Giuseppina Oliva; Mariam Ouda; Tiziano Zarra; Raul Muñoz; Sebastià Puig; Florencio C Ballesteros Jr; Chi-Wang Li; Shadi W Hasan; Vincenzo Belgiorno; Vincenzo Naddeo

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148479

Advances in technological control of greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater in the context of circular economy

Sci Total Environ. 2021 Oct 20:792:148479. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148479. Epub 2021 Jun 16.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Environmental Engineering Program, National Graduate School of Engineering, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.
² Sanitary Environmental Engineering Division (SEED), Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, Fisciano, SA, Italy; Inter-University Centre for Prediction and Prevention of Relevant Hazards (Centro Universitario per la Previsione e Prevenzione Grandi Rischi, C.U.G.RI.), Via Giovanni Paolo II, Fisciano, SA, Italy.
³ Sanitary Environmental Engineering Division (SEED), Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, Fisciano, SA, Italy.
⁴ Center for Membranes and Advanced Water Technology (CMAT), Department of Chemical Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
⁵ Institute of Sustainable Processes, University of Valladolid, Dr. Mergelina s/n., Valladolid 47011, Spain.
⁶ LEQUiA, Institute of the Environment, University of Girona, C/Maria Aurèlia Capmany, 69, E-17003 Girona, Spain.
⁷ Environmental Engineering Program, National Graduate School of Engineering, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines; Department of Chemical Engineering, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines.
⁸ Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, Tamkang University, 151 Yingzhuan Road Tamsui District, New Taipei City 25137, Taiwan.
⁹ Sanitary Environmental Engineering Division (SEED), Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, Fisciano, SA, Italy. Electronic address: vnaddeo@unisa.it.

PMID: 34465066
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148479

Abstract

This review paper aims to identify the main sources of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and highlights the technologies developed for CO₂ capture in this milieu. CO₂ is emitted in all the operational units of conventional WWTPs and even after the disposal of treated effluents and sludges. CO₂ emissions from wastewater can be captured or mitigated by several technologies such as the production of biochar from sludge, the application of constructed wetlands (CWs), the treatment of wastewater in microbial electrochemical processes (microbial electrosynthesis, MES; microbial electrolytic carbon capture, MECC; in microbial carbon capture, MCC), and via microalgal cultivation. Sludge-to-biochar and CW systems showed a high cost-effectiveness in the capture of CO₂, while MES, MECC, MCC technologies, and microalgal cultivation offered efficient capture of CO₂ with associate production of value-added by-products. At the state-of-the-art, these technologies, utilized for carbon capture and utilization from wastewater, require more research for further configuration, development and cost-effectiveness. Moreover, the integration of these technologies has a potential internal rate of return (IRR) that could equate the operation or provide additional revenue to wastewater management. In the context of circular economy, these carbon capture technologies will pave the way for new sustainable concepts of WWTPs, as an essential element for the mitigation of climate change fostering the transition to a decarbonised economy.

Keywords: Carbon capture; Carbon storage; Greenhouse gas; Wastewater.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Carbon Dioxide / analysis
Electrolysis
Greenhouse Gases* / analysis
Wastewater
Wetlands

Substances

Greenhouse Gases
Waste Water
Carbon Dioxide