LCA application in the assessment of new technologies of industrial effluents treatment

Abstract

A B S T R A C TLife cycle assessment (LCA) is a technique often used to assess the impact of technological processes on the environment and on human health. It can be also used as a tool to assess environmental micropollutants. The possibility to conduct full LCA of particular stages of technology by means of appropriate LCA software can allow for reliable identification of the sources of chemical hazards in the environment, with particular focus on the source and the amount of macro and micropollutants. Full LCA includes obtaining raw materials, production, transport, distribution, the use, maintenance, reusing, recycling and disposal. The possibility to apply LCA technique to assess i.e. chemical hazards in potential wastewater treatment with the use of new flocculants and therefore to shape the environment is presented in the study. An example of applying LCA to identify the sources and environmental impact assessment of the stage of potential production of new generation flocculants synthesised from post production polystyrene waste as well as of the stage of wastewater treatment using synthesised products is described in the study. The analysis of the impact of metallurgical waste and wastewater treatment technologies on the environment from the hard coal mine (HCM2) using sulphone derivative of polystere by different methods: Ecoindicator 99. ReCiPe and Impact 2002+ including the process of flocculent production indicated that the applied methods do not allow for comprehensive evaluation. In spite of this, it can be concluded that the factor negatively influencing the quality of the environment is mainly sulphuric acid used to obtain the flocculant. This impact is caused by the use of sulphur for its production, as well as electricity and sulphur oxides emitted into the air.

Application of Lca Environmental Management Technique in Design of Technological Innovations

“…Environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) in the evaluation of the impact of potential products on the environment is a technique that primarily allows the possibility of conducting a full life-cycle analysis, and thus the production processes, as well as credible and reliable identification of the environmental risks and environmental impact of new products. The new generation of waste-based polymers are water-soluble and have the properties of flocculants reducing the pollution parameters in mine waters (Bajdur et al 2016(Bajdur et al , p. 1058. The results of the analysis of research carried out using the LCA technique to assess the impact of modified polymeric waste (polystyren and novolaks) on the environment confirmed that LCA is an appropriate method to assess the environmental impact of new products (flocculants) used in the process of industrial wastewater treatment.…”

Ecological and Economic Benefits of the “Medium” Level of the Building Thermo-Modernization: A Case Study in Poland

“…The analysis was performed in the SimaPro version 8.2 computer program, which enables the analysis using 68 evaluation methods. Many authors, including the authors of this publication, used the Ecoindicator 99 method to assess environmental impact [23][24][25][26]. However, due to the fact that it has been replaced by the ReCiPe method, the use of this method is proposed.…”

Review of Methods for Assessing the Impact of WWTPs on the Natural Environment

“…In Poland, the LCA technique is used to assess the production of alternative flocculants and the treatment of industrial wastewater with their use. The paper [89] describes the use of the LCA technique to identify the sources and assess the impact on the environment of the stage of the potential production of new-generation flocculants synthesized from post-production polystyrene waste and the stage of wastewater treatment with the use of synthesized products. In turn, in [90], the LCA technique was used to evaluate the impact of a new flocculant used in the treatment of wastewater from the metallurgical industry, taking into account the impact of the flocculant production process on the environment.…”