Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile; School of Engineering Science, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT University), Lappeenranta, Finland.
Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile; School of Engineering Science, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT University), Lappeenranta, Finland.
Sci Total Environ. 2022 Apr 20;818:151853. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151853. Epub 2021 Nov 22.
Many regions around the world are suffering from water stress, and desalinated water and recycled water are seen as alternatives for meeting the water demand. However, high energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions are some of the main environmental impacts. This is notable for many arid and semi-arid countries where desalination and water recycling are considered options for ensuring water resources availability. This research presents the incorporation of the quantification of greenhouse gas emissions generated during the operation of desalination and wastewater treatment plants in the assessment of water stress levels using the water stress indicator adopted by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Chile was chosen as a case study, as it is a country where there is a considerable difference between the availability of conventional water sources and the water demand, and the electrical grid is fed mainly by fossil fuels. The methodology proposed allows calculating the indirect greenhouse gas emissions due to electrical consumption for the operation of desalination and wastewater treatment plants, and the direct greenhouse gas emissions coming from biological processes used in wastewater treatment plants. The results showed that Chilean arid climate zones will not experience water stress in the future at the regional level, mainly because of the installation of several desalination plants by 2030. Meanwhile, recycled water from the urban sector will slightly contribute to the reduction in the level of water stress in almost all Chilean regions by 2030. Moreover, desalination and wastewater treatment plant will contribute only between 0.34% and 0.75% of total greenhouse gas emitted in Chile by 2030. Therefore, the operation of these industrial systems for facing water scarcity problems in northern and central zones of Chile is a suitable alternative because it does not generate large environmental problems.
世界上许多地区都面临着水资源短缺的问题，因此人们认为淡化水和再生水是满足用水需求的替代选择。然而，高能耗和相关的温室气体排放是主要的环境影响之一。对于许多干旱和半干旱国家来说，海水淡化和水的再利用被认为是确保水资源供应的选择，这些国家尤其需要考虑这个问题。本研究提出了在使用 2030 年可持续发展议程所采用的水资源压力指标评估水资源压力水平时，将海水淡化厂和污水处理厂运行过程中产生的温室气体排放量的量化纳入其中。智利被选为案例研究对象，因为智利的常规水源供应和水需求之间存在很大差异，而且电网主要由化石燃料供电。所提出的方法允许计算由于海水淡化厂和污水处理厂运营而导致的电力消耗所产生的间接温室气体排放，以及污水处理厂中生物过程所产生的直接温室气体排放。结果表明，智利干旱气候区在未来的区域水平上不会经历水资源短缺，这主要是因为到 2030 年将安装几个海水淡化厂。与此同时，到 2030 年，城市部门的再生水将略微有助于降低智利几乎所有地区的水资源压力水平。此外，到 2030 年，海水淡化厂和污水处理厂的总排放量仅占智利温室气体排放量的 0.34%至 0.75%。因此，在智利北部和中部地区运营这些工业系统来解决水资源短缺问题是一种合适的选择，因为它不会产生严重的环境问题。
