Yumeng Zhang , Zongqi Ding , Zewei Lin , Shoubin Chen , Shunjian Cheng , Kaiming Peng , Ru Guo , Xiangfeng Huang , Chen Cai , Jia Liu
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Upgrading drinking water treatment plants (WTPs) plays a critical role in ensuring reliable urban water supply. However, an exclusive focus on water quality improvements may overlook its critical trade-offs in energy consumption and carbon emissions. This study developed a specific Effluent-Energy-Carbon Evaluation Model (EECEM) to assess the lifecycle impact of WTP upgrading and was verified in a full-scale water treatment plant in Fuzhou City, China. The result revealed that ozone-bioactivated carbon retrofitting improved the normalized Effluent Quality Index (EQI’) by 58.9 % but decreased the normalized Energy Index (EI’) and the normalized Carbon emission Index (CI’) by 70.7 % and 55.9 %, respectively. Economic analysis further revealed that upgrading raised construction costs by 18.9 % but reduced operational costs by 15.4 %. Notably, the coupling coordination degree (D) dropped by 17.3 %, indicating a decoupling between water quality gains and energy‑carbon trade-offs. 3D ternary mapping further identified regional divergences. Upgrading with advanced processes achieved 56 % higher D values in water-quality-sensitive zones, while conventional processes attained 104 % superiority in energy‑carbon-constrained areas. These findings highlight the complex trade-offs between treatment effectiveness and system sustainability. The study establishes a decision-support framework for WTP upgrades, emphasizing the necessity of adaptive optimization strategies to reconcile water-energy‑carbon (WEC) nexus conflicts.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Water Process Engineering aims to publish refereed, high-quality research papers with significant novelty and impact in all areas of the engineering of water and wastewater processing . Papers on advanced and novel treatment processes and technologies are particularly welcome. The Journal considers papers in areas such as nanotechnology and biotechnology applications in water, novel oxidation and separation processes, membrane processes (except those for desalination) , catalytic processes for the removal of water contaminants, sustainable processes, water reuse and recycling, water use and wastewater minimization, integrated/hybrid technology, process modeling of water treatment and novel treatment processes. Submissions on the subject of adsorbents, including standard measurements of adsorption kinetics and equilibrium will only be considered if there is a genuine case for novelty and contribution, for example highly novel, sustainable adsorbents and their use: papers on activated carbon-type materials derived from natural matter, or surfactant-modified clays and related minerals, would not fulfil this criterion. The Journal particularly welcomes contributions involving environmentally, economically and socially sustainable technology for water treatment, including those which are energy-efficient, with minimal or no chemical consumption, and capable of water recycling and reuse that minimizes the direct disposal of wastewater to the aquatic environment. Papers that describe novel ideas for solving issues related to water quality and availability are also welcome, as are those that show the transfer of techniques from other disciplines. The Journal will consider papers dealing with processes for various water matrices including drinking water (except desalination), domestic, urban and industrial wastewaters, in addition to their residues. It is expected that the journal will be of particular relevance to chemical and process engineers working in the field. The Journal welcomes Full Text papers, Short Communications, State-of-the-Art Reviews and Letters to Editors and Case Studies