Comparative life cycle assessment of on-site sanitation systems using lagoons or drying beds for fecal sludge treatment in low-income tropical countries
© 2024 The Authors This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY 4.0), which permits copying, adaptation and redistribution, provided the original work is properly cited (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
| Publié dans: | Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research. - 1986. - 90(2024), 10 vom: 01. Nov., Seite 2842-2856 |
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| Format: | Article en ligne |
| Langue: | English |
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2024
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| Accès à la collection: | Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research |
| Sujets: | Journal Article Comparative Study GHG LCA environment human health sanitation sustainable Sewage |
| Résumé: | © 2024 The Authors This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY 4.0), which permits copying, adaptation and redistribution, provided the original work is properly cited (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Environmental challenges in low-income countries, such as Haiti, persist due to inadequate sanitation infrastructure. This study assesses the environmental impacts of nine on-site sanitation systems to identify those with the least environmental impacts and explore improvement options. Nine scenarios were developed, each representing different systems for managing 1 ton of fecal sludge over 1 year. The 'Impact World + ' and 'IPCC 2013 GWP 100a' methods evaluated impacts on ecosystems, human health, and climate change. Data sources included interviews, weighing records, and scientific publications. Results show that Scenario 8 (Flush Toilet - Evacuation - Planted Drying Beds) is most impactful on health (1.17 × 10-2 DALY), while Scenario 1 (Composting Toilet - Evacuation - Unplanted Drying Beds) is least impactful (1.77 × 10-3 DALY). For ecosystem impacts, Scenario 2 (Container-based Toilet - Evacuation - Planted Drying Beds) is most impactful (3.81 × 103 PDF·m2·year), while Scenario 6 (VIP latrine - Evacuation - Lagoons) is least impactful (3.52 × 103 PDF·m2·year). Key hotspots include toilet paper, wood shavings, GHG emissions, and water use. The study recommends an integrated approach combining environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) with life cycle cost assessment and social LCA for sustainable decision-making on sanitation systems in low-income countries |
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| Description: | Date Completed 29.11.2024 Date Revised 29.11.2024 published: Print-Electronic Citation Status MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 0273-1223 |
| DOI: | 10.2166/wst.2024.377 |