Academic Journal

Life cycle environmental and economic impacts of nutrient management in small community lagoon wastewater systems.

Λεπτομέρειες βιβλιογραφικής εγγραφής
Τίτλος: Life cycle environmental and economic impacts of nutrient management in small community lagoon wastewater systems.
Συγγραφείς: Ruto D; Wadsworth Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, West Virginia University, 1306 Evansdale Drive, PO Box 6103, Morgantown, WV, 26506-6103, USA., Vincent C; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, California State University, Chico, 400 West First Street, Chico, CA, 95929, USA., Jang Z; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616-5270, USA., Cornejo P; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, California State University, Chico, 400 West First Street, Chico, CA, 95929, USA., Leverenz H; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616-5270, USA., Mehl S; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, California State University, Chico, 400 West First Street, Chico, CA, 95929, USA., Orner K; Wadsworth Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, West Virginia University, 1306 Evansdale Drive, PO Box 6103, Morgantown, WV, 26506-6103, USA. Electronic address: kevin.orner@mail.wvu.edu.
Πηγή: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2026 Sep 01; Vol. 1046, pp. 181978. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jun 27.
Τύπος έκδοσης: Journal Article
Γλώσσα: English
Στοιχεία περιοδικού: Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 0330500 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1879-1026 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00489697 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Sci Total Environ Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Original Publication: Amsterdam, Elsevier.
Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): Waste Disposal, Fluid*/methods , Waste Disposal, Fluid*/economics , Wastewater*/chemistry , Water Pollutants, Chemical*/analysis, Phosphorus/analysis ; Nitrogen/analysis ; Eutrophication ; Environment
Περίληψη: Excess nitrogen and phosphorus discharges from wastewater lagoons pose persistent challenges for small communities, potentially contributing to eutrophication, and regulatory non-compliance. While lagoons remain popular due to operational simplicity and cost effectiveness, they often achieve limited nutrient removal relative to some alternative technologies. This study evaluated nine nutrient management scenarios for small community lagoons in the U.S. using life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis. Scenarios included a baseline clay-lined facultative lagoon, a membrane-lined facultative lagoon, an aerated lagoon with maturation pond, and six aerated lagoon-maturation pond configurations with either biodomes, iron-dosed upflow reactor, packed-bed biofilm reactor, moving bed biofilm reactor, constructed wetland, or an algal pond. Environmental impacts were assessed as global warming potential (GWP) and freshwater and marine eutrophication potential (FEP and MEP, respectively), while economic performance was measured as present worth of costs (PWC) over a 20-year system lifetime. Baseline lagoons were cost effective ($0.20-$0.30/m3) but exhibited the highest GWP (~3 kg CO2 eq/m3), FEP (~0.015 kg P/m3), and MEP (~0.009 kg N/m3). Packed-bed reactor and iron-dosed upflow reactor scenarios achieved 70% reductions in both FEP and MEP, with moderate GWP (0.8-1.0 kg CO2 eq/m3), though at high costs ($0.86-$1.19/m3). Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses identified effluent nutrient concentrations, design flow, and capital costs as dominant factors influencing outcomes. Overall, this study offers a robust framework for comparing treatment alternatives beyond upfront costs alone, guiding the selection of environmentally responsible, economically viable, and locally appropriate nutrient management solutions for small communities.
(Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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Grant Information: R840468 United States EPA EPA
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: Carbon footprint; Eutrophication; Nutrient removal; Stabilization ponds; Sustainability assessment
Substance Nomenclature: 0 (Wastewater)
27YLU75U4W (Phosphorus)
N762921K75 (Nitrogen)
0 (Water Pollutants, Chemical)
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20260627 Date Completed: 20260902 Latest Revision: 20260923
Update Code: 20260923
PubMed Central ID: PMC13418470
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2026.181978
PMID: 42364364
Βάση Δεδομένων: MEDLINE