Environmental assessment of biological treatment of washing waters from cheese production
Résumé
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool for evaluating environmental burdens related to a product, process or activity throughout its entire life cycle. In wastewater treatment, LCA can provide, for example, guidance for improving the environmental performance of existing treatment plants. In this study, we applied LCA to assess the environmental impacts of treating washing waters from cheese production by nitrification/denitrification and simultaneous phosphorus precipitation. Wasted sludge was applied as organic fertilizer to farmland to recycle nutrients. LCA results revealed that emissions from biological treatment to air and water, electricity consumption, and consumption of ferric chloride contributed most to the environmental burdens at the level of the treatment plant. Sensitivity analysis of the LCA results regarding the choice of precipitating agent showed that the use of ferrous sulphate instead of ferric chloride reduces the environmental impacts in all impact categories.
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