Department of Project and Construction Engineering (EPC), Group of Construction Research and Innovation (GRIC), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Carrer Colom 11, 08222, Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain.
Engineering Institute, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), 3000 Universidad Av, Coyoacán, Mexico City, Mexico.
Environ Monit Assess. 2021 Apr 25;193(5):301. doi: 10.1007/s10661-021-09063-5.
The eco-efficiency evaluation in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is used to know and improve the environmental and economic efficiency of these processes, systems, products, and services. The eco-efficiency evaluations in WWTP contemplate the inputs to be minimized, the desirable results to be maximized, and the undesired results to be minimized. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a widely used method to evaluate the eco-efficiency of WWTPs; integrating several approaches in a single index, traditional DEA models do not take into account the uncertainty in the data. This study evaluates the eco-efficiency of a sample of Catalan WWTPs, considering the uncertainty of the data (DEA tolerance model), and it is for the first time that together with CO, other greenhouse gas (GHG) such as CH and NO are considered as part of the process outputs. GHG emissions were quantified using methods reported in the literature. Seven hundred twenty-nine eco-efficiency scores were estimated for each WWTP instead of a single score like conventional DEA models, analyzing optimistic and pessimistic scenarios. The WWTPs were classified according to the estimated eco-efficiency scores, accounting for the uncertainty in each of the scenarios, and demonstrating the changes in the performance of the WWTPs in the different scenarios. Only two WWTPs were eco-efficient in all the scenarios evaluated. This approach provides essential information to improve efficiency and innovation in the wastewater sector.
污水处理厂（WWTP）的生态效率评估用于了解和提高这些过程、系统、产品和服务的环境和经济效益。WWTP 的生态效率评估考虑了要最小化的投入、要最大化的理想结果和要最小化的不理想结果。数据包络分析（DEA）是评估 WWTP 生态效率的常用方法；传统的 DEA 模型将几种方法整合到一个单一的指标中，并没有考虑到数据的不确定性。本研究评估了加泰罗尼亚 WWTP 的生态效率，考虑了数据的不确定性（DEA 容差模型），这也是首次将 CO 与其他温室气体（GHG）如 CH 和 NO 一起作为过程输出的一部分进行考虑。GHG 排放量是使用文献中报道的方法进行量化的。与传统的 DEA 模型不同，本研究为每个 WWTP 估计了 729 个生态效率得分，而不是一个单一的得分，分析了乐观和悲观的情景。根据估计的生态效率得分对 WWTP 进行了分类，考虑了每个情景中的不确定性，并展示了 WWTP 在不同情景下的绩效变化。只有两个 WWTP 在所有评估的情景中都是生态有效的。这种方法为提高废水处理部门的效率和创新提供了重要信息。
