Water is a precious and increasingly scarce resource especially in regions like Apulia in Italy, characterized by water shortage for agriculture and, in some cases, even for drinking purposes. Farmers partly resolve this shortage problem by drilling water wells with subsequent groundwater overexploitation and seawater intrusion. Since the Ministerial Decree n. 185/2003 has been adopted, it is allowed to reuse urban wastewaters subjected to an advanced tertiary treatment for agricultural, civil and industrial use. However, the existing regional grid of urban wastewater treatment plants lacks such an advanced tertiary treatment step; particularly suitable disinfection units are lacking, in order to reach the quality parameters of reused water. Regional authorities are now planning to adapt the disinfection units in the existing tertiary treatment plants of urban wastewater and to finance research projects supporting the selection of the best environmental friendly technology among various possibilities. This paper aims at describing the LCA of an advanced tertiary treatment plant for wastewater reclamation in Apulia mapping the impacts of urban wastewater reuse compared to groundwater use.
Life Cycle Assessment of an Urban Wastewater Tertiary Treatment Plant
GIUNGATO, Pasquale;
2010-01-01
Abstract
Water is a precious and increasingly scarce resource especially in regions like Apulia in Italy, characterized by water shortage for agriculture and, in some cases, even for drinking purposes. Farmers partly resolve this shortage problem by drilling water wells with subsequent groundwater overexploitation and seawater intrusion. Since the Ministerial Decree n. 185/2003 has been adopted, it is allowed to reuse urban wastewaters subjected to an advanced tertiary treatment for agricultural, civil and industrial use. However, the existing regional grid of urban wastewater treatment plants lacks such an advanced tertiary treatment step; particularly suitable disinfection units are lacking, in order to reach the quality parameters of reused water. Regional authorities are now planning to adapt the disinfection units in the existing tertiary treatment plants of urban wastewater and to finance research projects supporting the selection of the best environmental friendly technology among various possibilities. This paper aims at describing the LCA of an advanced tertiary treatment plant for wastewater reclamation in Apulia mapping the impacts of urban wastewater reuse compared to groundwater use.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
