Abstract
The wastewater treatment industry could alleviate water pollution but consume a large amount of energy and resources. China has over 5000 centralized domestic wastewater treatment plants and produces an unignorable amount of greenhouse gases (GHG). By considering the wastewater treatment, wastewater discharge, and sludge disposal processes, and employing the modified process-based quantification method, this study quantifies wastewater treatment's on-site and off-site GHG emissions across China. Results showed that the total GHG emission was 67.07 Mt CO2-eq in 2017, with approximately 57% of on-site emissions. The top seven cosmopolis and metropolis (top 1%) emitted nearly 20% of the total GHG emission, while their emission intensity was relatively low due to the huge population. This means that a high urbanization rate may be a feasible way to mitigate GHG emissions in the wastewater treatment industry in the future. Furthermore, GHG reduction strategies can also focus on process optimization and improvement at WWTPs as well as the nationwide promotion of onsite thermal conversion technologies for sludge management.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
