Academic Journal
Multi-scale UAV, flux-chamber, and point-source measurement framework for facility-wide greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions assessment from wastewater treatment operations.
| Τίτλος: | Multi-scale UAV, flux-chamber, and point-source measurement framework for facility-wide greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions assessment from wastewater treatment operations. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Manheim DC; Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA, 93407, USA. Electronic address: dmanheim@calpoly.edu., Karimi S; Air Quality Research Center, University of California at Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA; Present address: School of Civil Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Narmak, Tehran 16846-13114, Iran., Delkash M; College of Art & Sciences, Department of Natural Sciences, Texas A&M University, San Antonio, TX 78224 USA., Imhoff P; Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware, 344A DuPont Hall Newark, DE 19716 USA., Yazdani R; Air Quality Research Center, University of California at Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616 USA. |
| Πηγή: | Water research [Water Res] 2026 Aug 01; Vol. 300, pp. 125950. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Apr 15. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Pergamon Press Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 0105072 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1879-2448 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00431354 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Water Res Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Oxford, Pergamon Press. |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Greenhouse Gases*/analysis , Environmental Monitoring*/instrumentation , Environmental Monitoring*/methods , Unmanned Aerial Devices* , Waste Disposal Facilities* , Waste Disposal, Fluid*, Carbon Dioxide/analysis ; Methane/analysis ; Nitrogen Dioxide/analysis ; Ammonia/analysis ; Hydrogen Sulfide/analysis ; Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis ; Water Purification |
| Περίληψη: | This study presents a facility-wide assessment of greenhouse gas (CH₄, N₂O, CO₂) and air-pollutant (NH₃, H₂S, NMVOC) emissions from a tertiary municipal wastewater treatment plant in northern California. Emissions were quantified using complementary unmanned-aerial-vehicle (UAV) flux-curtain, dynamic flux-chamber, and source-testing approaches across four campaigns. The UAV method provided spatially integrated, top-down CH₄ fluxes, while chambers and source tests captured spatiotemporal variability of multiple gases from individual processes. The highest UAV flux (26.4 ± 6.3 kg CH₄ h⁻¹) in the first campaign coincided with a fugitive digester leak detected and later repaired, demonstrating UAV sensitivity to large, transient CH₄ releases. Across the remaining campaigns, mean UAV-derived facility-wide emissions were 1.44 kg CH₄ h⁻¹, approximately 90 % lower than the ∼13.3 kg CH₄ h⁻¹ mean facility-wide emissions estimated from summed flux chamber and point-source measurements. Total operational-carbon emissions, integrating direct and indirect forcing contributions, were 12,000 ± 500 Mg CO₂-eq yr⁻¹ (1.80 ± 0.07 kg CO₂-eq m⁻³ wastewater). The candlestick flare and biosolids drying operations accounted for 86 % and 14 % of total CH₄ emissions, while secondary treatment dominated CO₂, NH₃, and N₂O generation. Emission variability was governed primarily by unit process, followed by time of year (e.g., wet or dry season) and time of day, with higher fluxes during dry-season daytime conditions. The integrated UAV, chamber, and source testing framework established herein provides a novel, multi-scale approach for quantifying and mitigating facility-wide GHG and air-pollutant emissions. The methodology and mechanistic insights are transferable to wastewater utilities globally, supporting data-driven, low-carbon treatment design and operation. (Copyright © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Ramin Yazdani reports financial support was provided by California Energy Commission. Ramin Yazdani reports financial support was provided by Electric Power Research Institute. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Dynamic flux chambers; Greenhouse gas emissions; Methane; Nitrous oxide; Sustainability; UAV-based flux curtain; Volatile organic compounds; Wastewater treatment plant |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 0 (Greenhouse Gases) 142M471B3J (Carbon Dioxide) OP0UW79H66 (Methane) S7G510RUBH (Nitrogen Dioxide) 7664-41-7 (Ammonia) YY9FVM7NSN (Hydrogen Sulfide) 0 (Volatile Organic Compounds) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260423 Date Completed: 20260515 Latest Revision: 20260515 |
| Update Code: | 20260515 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.watres.2026.125950 |
| PMID: | 42025413 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1879-2448 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.watres.2026.125950 |