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this article presents a model of the environmental assessment of the system of wastewater collection, transport and treatment. the model was developed based on an original environmental assessment method of a system consisting of four elements: septic tanks, household wastewater treatment plants, a sewerage system and a central wastewater treatment plant. to conduct the environmental assessment, the Life cycle Assessment technique was applied. the intergovernmental panel on climate change (ipcc) method was also applied, which enabled the determination of the carbon footprint of the analysed wastewater management system. this article presents the outline of an original method applied to create a model and an inventory of the data necessary for environmental assessment and the application of the model for the environmental assessment of a system of wastewater collection, transport and treatment in a city with over 50.000 inhabitants. Three feasible variants (from a functional, technical, organizational and financial point of view) of the system's development were analysed. the variants were subjected to comparative analysis using the solution. the obtained results, together with the assessment method can be used as a practical tool to assess whether the european Commission's guidelines are met, as well as the challenges facing wastewater management in the circular economy are overcome. Steps taken in the area of environmental protection ought to follow the principle of sustainable development which is understood as "… meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" 1. From the point of view of implementing the rules of sustainable development, it is crucial to create stable systems of wastewater collection and treatment, which are friendly for the society, environment and economy 2,3. Due to increasing requirements concerning soil and water environment protection, the issues of efficient wastewater collection, transport and treatment still remain a challenge. It is particularly important in areas subjected to urbanization and in rural areas where the issue of wastewater treatment requires active steps in order to address it and limit its negative influence on the environment 4. Due to a wide range of available technological solutions, it is necessary to consider different system solutions, both centralised ones and decentralised ones 5 The selection of an optimal solution is challenging and it is usually influenced by certain conditions it has to meet, i.e. minimal cost of construction, minimal sewerage charge, following environmental protection regulations, or improving the standard of living of the users 6. The selection of a wastewater management method in order to minimize the influence on the environment is a rare situation and it is most often caused by specific local conditions, as well as detailed requirements imposed by environmental protection authorities or arrangements made by public consultations 7. The conditions shaping wastewater manag...

Purpose The purpose of the study was to perform a comparative life cycle assessment of current and future electricity generation systems in the Czech Republic and Poland. The paper also outlines the main sources of environmental impact for the different impact categories for the electricity generation technologies analyzed. The analyses covered the years 2000-2050, and were conducted within the framework of the international programme Interreg V-A Czech Republic-Poland, Microprojects Fund 2014-2020 in the Euroregion Silesia. Methods Environmental assessment was done using the life cycle assessment (LCA) and ReCiPe Midpoint and Endpoint methods, which allowed the presentation of different categories of environmental impact and damage. The LCA was based on ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, using SimaPro 8.2.3 software with the Ecoinvent 3.2 database. The analyses cover both the current electricity production structures in the Czech Republic and Poland, and the projected energy production. Results and discussion The LCA analyses performed for the energy systems under consideration in the Czech Republic and Poland enabled a comparative analysis of current and forecast energy systems in these countries, as well as identification of the main sources of environmental impact. Comparative analysis of the LCA results showed that current and future electricity generation systems in Poland caused higher environmental impact there, than in the Czech Republic. Conclusions The assessment of the life cycle of electricity sources showed that the main determinant of the negative impact on the environment of energy systems in both Poland and the Czech Republic was the consumption of solid fuels, and in particular, the consumption of lignite. It is important to highlight that this is the first attempt of a comparative LCA of electricity production in the Czech Republic and Poland. This is also the first approach that contains analyses of the life cycle assessment of both present and future energy systems. The economic assessment and eco-efficiency of current and future electricity generation systems in European Union countries will be addressed in future research.

The paper deals with the computational life cycle assessment (LCA) model of electricity generation in the Czech Republic. The goal of the paper was to determine the environmental assessment of electricity generation. Taking into account the trend of electricity generation from 2000 to 2050, the paper was focused on electricity generation evaluation in this country in view of its current state and future perspectives. The computational LCA model was done using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) method, which allowed the assessment of greenhouse gas emissions. For the assessment, 1 Megawatt hour of the obtained electricity (MWhe) was used as a functional unit. The cradle-to-gate approach was employed. The system boundary covered all the technologies included in the electricity mix of the country. Resulting from the analysis, the solids, lignite in particular, was assessed as an energy source with the most negative impact on the emissions of greenhouse gas. This article results from international cooperation of a Czech-Polish team in the field of computational LCA models. It presents partial results of the team cooperation which serves as a base for following comparison of Czech and Polish systems of electricity generation.