Hou Xiaoshu, Deng Yuchen, Qin Lu, Xie Xin, Sun Yilan, Yan Gang, Li Miao
Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Greenhouse Gases Co-control, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Center of Environmental Pollution and Greenhouse Gases Co-control, Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, Beijing 100041, China.
School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Eco Environ Health. 2025 May 20;4(2):100155. doi: 10.1016/j.eehl.2025.100155. eCollection 2025 Jun.
China's dual-carbon goals challenges wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), requiring integrated pollution control and carbon emission reduction. Critical gaps hinder China's strategies for WWTPs, particularly in identifying upgrade needs, optimizing performance, and assessing the local benchmark plants as references. This study addresses these gaps through greenhouse gas (GHG) emission accounting and impact factor analysis, using monthly data from 2232 WWTPs across China. A tiered assessment methodology was developed to evaluate the synergy between pollution reduction and carbon mitigation, including indicators, methodologies, and assessment criteria. Results indicate that indirect emissions from electricity and chemical consumption accounted for 59.9% of total GHG emissions. Key factors influencing these indirect emissions included plant scale, treatment processes, geographic area, operational load, electricity consumption, and influent quality. Through the tiered assessment, WWTPs were classified into three categories: priority control (861 plants), general control (730 plants), and maintenance (641 plants). Furthermore, 222 benchmark plants were identified as exhibiting optimal synergy between pollution control and carbon reduction. For 80% of the benchmark plants, the ranges for carbon emission intensity, influent COD, influent C/N ratio, electricity consumption intensity, and operating load were 0.258-0.482 kg COe/t, 175-338 mg/L, 6.13-10.9, 0.149-0.260 kWh per tonne of influent, and 88.0%-110%, respectively. Achieving these benchmark standards across all WWTPs could lead to a 30% reduction in total GHG emissions. Finally, the study proposes targeted policies to enhance the synergy between pollution control and carbon reduction strategies in China's urban wastewater treatment systems.
中国的双碳目标给污水处理厂带来了挑战，要求实现综合污染控制和碳排放减少。关键差距阻碍了中国污水处理厂的战略实施，尤其是在确定升级需求、优化性能以及评估作为参考的当地标杆厂方面。本研究通过温室气体（GHG）排放核算和影响因素分析来填补这些差距，使用了来自中国2232个污水处理厂的月度数据。开发了一种分层评估方法来评估污染减排与碳减排之间的协同作用，包括指标、方法和评估标准。结果表明，电力和化学消耗的间接排放占温室气体总排放量的59.9%。影响这些间接排放的关键因素包括工厂规模、处理工艺、地理区域、运行负荷、电力消耗和进水水质。通过分层评估，污水处理厂被分为三类：重点控制（861个厂）、一般控制（730个厂）和维护（641个厂）。此外，确定了222个标杆厂，它们在污染控制和碳减排之间表现出最佳协同作用。对于80%的标杆厂，碳排放强度、进水化学需氧量、进水碳氮比、电力消耗强度和运行负荷的范围分别为0.258 - 0.482千克二氧化碳当量/吨、175 - 338毫克/升、6.13 - 10.9、0.149 - 0.260千瓦时/吨进水和88.0% - 110%。在所有污水处理厂实现这些标杆标准可使温室气体总排放量减少30%。最后，该研究提出了针对性政策，以增强中国城市污水处理系统中污染控制与碳减排战略之间的协同作用。
