PPCPs in wastewater – Update and calculation of characterization factors for their inclusion in LCA studies

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide Characterization Factors (CFs) for the toxicity related impact categories in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs). The CFs already available were updated whereas others were implemented for the first time by means of USEtox and USES-LCA 2.0 methodologies. The list of PPCPs includes human toxicity and freshwater ecotoxicity for both models whereas terrestrial and marine ecotoxicity were assessed with USES-LCA 2.0. Moreover, all the available emission compartments were considered for the calculation. The resulting CFs were subjected to a sensitivity analysis and results determined that human toxicological and ecotoxicological effects (ED50 and avlogEC50, respectively) as well as degradation rate in water were the most sensitive parameters. The calculated CFs were used in the environmental assessment of a Completely Autotrophic Nitrogen removal Over Nitrite (CANON) pilot plant. PPCPs were found to have a major impact on freshwater ecotoxicity, accounting for 81% or 97% of the total impact with USES-LCA 2.0 and USEtox, respectively. Moreover, a more precise determination of human toxicity was obtained after updating CFs values calculated with USEtox, with contributions up to 50% of the total impact. Therefore, the provision of new and updated CFs allows a more accurate environmental assessment of processes where PPCPs are present.