Recovery Strategies of Contaminated Marine Sediments: A Life Cycle Assessment

Francesco Pasciucco,Isabella Pecorini,Fabiano Pilato,Simona Di Gregorio,Renato Iannelli

doi:10.3390/su13158520

Francesco Pasciucco, Isabella Pecorini + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158520

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Abstract

This study performed a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on recovery strategies of dredged contaminated marine sediments in a large Mediterranean port located in central Italy (Tuscany) in order to find the most environmentally sound solution. The study considered marine sediments polluted by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and/or organic compounds, two different sediment particle sizes and the combined use of three soil remediation technologies: soil washing, electrokinetic treatment and enhanced landfarming. The analyzed scenarios depended on the sediment properties and characteristics of the treatment technologies investigated, and were compared with the corresponding reference scenarios, consisting of the landfilling of dredged contaminated sediments. The LCA results show that scenarios associated with sediment recovery generated potential environmental impacts lower than the corresponding reference scenarios. Almost all the impact categories considered in the CML-IA baseline method showed an environmental convenience in the recovery of contaminated sediments, especially for abiotic depletion and global warming. Future studies should focus on optimizing the combined use of multiple technologies and reducing the resource consumptions related to their implementation in order to achieve both environmental and economic benefits.

Highlights

Nowadays, resource scarcity and climate changes are growing issues all around the world that researchers and practitioners will have to address in the near future [1].Adopting “zero waste” thinking seems to be the right way for sustainable development [2].These matters are part of the objectives of the circular economy, which calls for the resource recovery by considering waste as a product to be reused in order to achieve environmental and economic benefits without compromising the generations [3,4].In view of this, the recovery of dredged contaminated marine sediments represents a viable way to contribute to the ongoing paradigm shift
We considered three treatment technologies, which may be combined among them, to treat sediments polluted by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and organic compounds, namely: soil washing (SW), electrokinetic (EK) treatment and enhanced landfarming (EL)
On-site concentrations evinced that potentially toxic elements (PTEs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and hydrocarbons exceeded regulatory concentration limits by 4, 7, 2 and 14 times, respectively

Summary

Introduction

Adopting “zero waste” thinking seems to be the right way for sustainable development [2]. These matters are part of the objectives of the circular economy, which calls for the resource recovery by considering waste as a product to be reused in order to achieve environmental and economic benefits without compromising the generations [3,4]. The recovery of dredged contaminated marine sediments represents a viable way to contribute to the ongoing paradigm shift. This study compared the potential environmental impacts due to the recovery or landfilling of contaminated marine sediments located in a large port of central Italy (Tuscany) Marine sediments are often affected by pollution due to industrial, civil and port activities, and their removal is strictly necessary, involving very expensive operations in several aspects [5].

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