Life cycle assessment of the manufacturing and operation of distillation column for eliminating volatile and organic halogen compounds from process wastewater

Abstract Distillation serves as the foremost method for commercial-scale separation of fluid mixtures. Widely applied in wastewater treatment, it is the preferred choice for isolating volatile multi-component mixtures into pure substances. Distillation technology offers notable economic benefits due to its easy implementation, high efficiency, productivity, and robust safety features. This study examines the environmental impacts associated with the production and usage of a distillation, specifically in treating pharmaceutical process wastewater containing organic halogen compounds (AOX). The analysis adopts a 'gate-to-gate' approach, with the specified functional unit (FU) set at 1 kg of treated effluent containing no more than 8 ppm of AOX and less than 1000 mg O2/L of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). In this work, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is conducted using Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and Recipe 2016 Endpoint (H) V1.06 methodologies, utilizing the SimaPro V9.3.0.3 software in conjunction with the Ecoinvent V3.8 database. Analysis results have shown the emission of 1.11 × 10 –2 kg CO 2 -eq, in which operational and production processes contribute 91.9% and 8.1%, respectively. To mitigate adverse effects, alternative energy sources, i.e., solar, offshore wind, and onshore wind are integrated into the distillation procedure. The substitution of hard coal with solar, offshore wind, and onshore wind energy displays the potential to significantly reduce climate change impact by 64.3%, 62.9%, and 62.8%, respectively. Article Highlights Distillation process undergoes a thorough life cycle assessment from production to application. Distillation process requires high energy and emits 1.11 × 10 –2 kg CO 2 -eq per functional unit. The operational phase dominates over 90% in three damage categories: human health, ecosystems, and resources.