Stringent Discharge Standards Research Articles

Benchmarking leachate co-treatment strategies in municipal wastewater treatment plants under dynamic conditions and energy prices

Combined leachate treatment at municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is applicable to a certain extent depending on the leachate composition, treatment plant configuration and its capacity. Co-treatment of leachate at WWTPs has several advantages, but due to increasingly stringent discharge standards applied in WWTPs, it has become more problematic. This study was undertaken to investigate the impact of leachate feeding strategies on effluent quality and the aeration energy costs of WWTPs. A modified version of Benchmark Simulation Model No.1 was used to develop, test and compare several leachate feeding and WWTP control strategies in the context of dynamic pollutant loads and energy prices. The results highlighted that combined leachate treatment led to a deterioration in the quality of discharged wastewater, as indicated by a 12–20% increase in effluent quality index. Additionally, it adversely affected aeration energy demand and cost of the plant by increasing them 1.7–2.3% and 0.8–2.5%, respectively. The impacts could be mitigated by adjusting leachate flow based on effluent ammonium concentrations and by using advanced process control, i.e. feedback ammonium control for dissolved oxygen regulation in aerobic reactors. The study demonstrates that modeling can be used as a valuable tool to assess the potential impacts of leachate co-treatment and develop better management strategies.

Removal of organic and nitrogen in a novel anoxic fixed-bed / aerobic fluidized-moving bed integrated with a constructed wetland bio-reactor (A/O-FMCW)

An innovative hybrid process was designed using an integrated bio-reactor based on an anoxic / aerobic process that combined a fixed bed and a fluidized-moving bed with a constructed wetland (A/OFMCW) to enhance the removal of organic material and nitrogen. The goal was to achieve stringent discharge standards for rural domestic wastewater treatment. A preliminary lab-scale investigation of about 130 days obtained an average COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) removal rate as high as 92.2% at an average influent concentration of 319.5 mg/L. The average TN (Total Nitrogen) removal efficiency positively correlated with the attached-growth biofilm as observed by SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), and declined from 79.1% to 53.2%. The was accompanied by a gradual increase in the average influent concentration from 16.73 to 52.01 mg/L despite the relative nitrification rate fluctuating between 92.5% and 97.9%. The entire integrated system improved the COD removal efficiency by nearly 36% and the TN by 14–28%. Classical autotrophic nitrification and heterotrophic denitrification were the main mechanisms responsible for the elimination of pollutants, and the latter was determined to be the limiting step. Overall, this study provides an effective and less expensive alternative method to apply or upgrade DWWT (Decentralized Wastewater Treatment).

Resource recovery assessment at a pulp mill wastewater treatment plant in Uruguay

Using a mathematical model, a resource recovery assessment was carried out at a pulp mill activated sludge wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) located in Uruguay. Through the evaluation of different scenarios, the potential production of methane from secondary sludge, with its inherent energy savings, and the recovery of phosphorus (P) as struvite were estimated. Considering the current WWTP configuration with a sludge retention time (SRT) of 32 days, and according to the model, which is a simplification of reality, the assessment indicates that the implementation of an anaerobic digester (AD) to treat the excess sludge can lead to a methane production of approximately 1736 m3 CH4 d−1, being a promising alternative to increase the WWTP treatment performance. Furthermore, the model predictions suggest that by shortening the SRT from 32 to 5 days, the methane production could increase by up to 5568 m3 CH4 d−1. If the methane produced is used to generate electrical energy to operate the WWTP, energy savings of about 88% can be achieved. Regarding the potential recovery of P as struvite, the addition of a struvite reactor could be an efficient option to recover approximately 1611 mg L−1 of struvite (corresponding to a load of about 433 kg d−1). By optimizing the process performance, these findings highlight the potential recovery of resources in pulp mill WWTP, while complying with stringent effluent discharge standards. In addition, further research activities such as pilot-test or detailed laboratory studies may be needed to validate the previous recommendations for industrial scale application.

Correlations of nitrogen removal and core functional genera in full-scale wastewater treatment plants: Influences of different treatment processes and influent characteristics

The denitrification process is crucial for biological nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In this study, the nitrogen removal efficiency in full-scale WWTPs with different treatment processes and influent characteristics was investigated. The results indicated that the average total nitrogen removal rate (NRR) and denitrification rate in the A/O or A2/O systems were 67.5% and 2.08 mg N h−1 gMLVSS−1, respectively. However, cyclic activated sludge systems (CASSs) showed more efficient nitrogen removal with an average NRR and denitrification rate of 79.6% and 9.89 mg N h−1 gMLVSS−1, respectively. The microbial communities in WWTPs with similar influent compositions were similar and mainly shaped by BOD5. Candidatus Competibacter, Caldilineaceae and Anaerolineaceae were the functional genera closely associated with nitrogen removal based on high-throughput sequencing and correlation analysis. This study provides new insights into the regulation and amelioration of full-scale WWTPs to meet the increasingly stringent nitrogen discharge standard.

Comparison of Soil Chemical Properties Prior to and Five to Eleven Years after Recycled Water Irrigation

Increasing demand on freshwater supplies in the arid and semiarid western United States and more stringent wastewater discharge standards have made recycled water a common water source for irrigating urban green spaces. This has created the need to study the effects of recycled water irrigation on soil chemical properties. We collected and analyzed soil samples at the commencement (in 2004) and 5 and 11 yr after recycled water irrigation on two golf courses, five metropolitan parks, and one school ground. Samples were taken at depths of 0 to 20, 20 to 40, 40 to 60, 60 to 80, and 80 to 100 cm on golf courses and at depths of 0 to 20 and 20 to 40 cm at other locations. Soil samples were tested for soil pH, soil organic matter, soil salinity (soil electrical conductivity [EC]), and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP). Average soil EC was 0.82, 0.90, and 1.04 dS m−1 in 2004, 2009, and 2015, respectively. Soil pH was 0.25 to 0.3 units higher in 2009 and 2015 than in 2004. The degree of soil pH increase was greater at deeper than at shallower soil depths. Compared with 2004, samples collected in 2009 and 2015 had 137 and 100% increases in ESP, respectively, suggesting that sodicity was of greater concern than salinity when recycled water was used for irrigation. On Golf Course I, gypsum application after aerification displaced sodium (Na) and reduced ESP at the surface depth (0–20 cm), but soil ESP increased significantly at deeper soil depths. More research is needed to develop techniques to address the risks of soil pH and ESP increases, especially in deep rootzones.Core Ideas Recycled water has become a common water source for irrigating urban green spaces. Eleven years of recycled water irrigation increased soil salinity by 27% and pH by 0.32 units. Eleven years of recycled water irrigation increased soil sodium exchangeable percentage (ESP) by 101%. The degree of soil pH increase was greater at deeper than at shallower soil depths. Gypsum application after aerification reduced ESP at the surface depth (0–20 cm) only.

Characteristic and correlation analysis of influent and energy consumption of wastewater treatment plants in Taihu Basin

The water quality and energy consumption of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Taihu Basin were evaluated on the basis of the operation data from 204 municipal WWTPs in the basin by using various statistical methods. The influent ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and total nitrogen (TN) of WWTPs in Taihu Basin showed normal distribution, whereas chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), suspended solid (SS), and total phosphorus (TP) showed positively skewed distribution. The influent BOD5/COD was 0.4%–0.6%, only 39.2% SS/BOD5 exceeded the standard by 36.3%, the average BOD5/TN was 3.82, and the probability of influent BOD5/TP>20 was 82.8%. The average energy consumption of WWTPs in Taihu Basin in 2017 was 0.458 kWh/m3. The specific energy consumption of WWTPs with a daily treatment capacity of more than 5 × 104 m3 in Taihu Basin was stable at 0.33 kWh/m3. A power function relationship was observed between the reduction in COD and NH3-N and the specific energy consumption of pollutant reduction, and the higher the pollutant reduction is, the lower the specific energy consumption of pollutant reduction presents. In addition, a linear relationship existed between the energy consumption of WWTPs and the specific energy consumption of influent volume and pollutant reduction. Therefore, upgrading and operation with less energy consumption of WWTPs is imperative and the suggestions for Taihu WWTPs based on stringent discharge standard are proposed in detail.

Research advances of Tetrasphaera in enhanced biological phosphorus removal: A review

The processes of enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) have been widely applied in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). However, meeting the increasingly stringent effluent discharge standards requires a more stable EBPR performance. Under the circumstances, the identification of genus Tetrasphaera as potential phosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) has aroused much research interests on them. In practice, a large biovolume of genus Tetrasphaera has been reliably observed in a number (up to 80) of WWTPs around the world. Tetrasphaera show a phenotype of aerobic polyphosphate (poly-P) accumulation at the condition of assimilating glucose and/or amino acids anaerobically in advance. Moreover, Tetrasphaera also present versatile physiologies, of which some show no net orthophosphate removal. While there are certainly some contradictory results and gaps in our knowledge concerning Tetrasphaera, this review summarizes the discovery, abundance in WWTPs, functions on EBPR, and biochemistry of the genus Tetrasphaera in the existing literature. It is expected to present the state-of-art progress about the genus Tetrasphaera, and to guide future R & D work.

Plant-wide model-based analysis of iron dosage strategies for chemical phosphorus removal in wastewater treatment systems

Stringent phosphorus discharge standards (i.e. 0.15–0.3 g P.m−3) in the Baltic area will compel wastewater treatment practice to augment enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) with chemical precipitation using metal salts. This study examines control of iron chemical dosing for phosphorus removal under dynamic loading conditions to optimize operational aspects of a membrane biological reactor (MBR) pilot plant. An upgraded version of the Benchmark Simulation Model No. 2 (BSM2) with an improved physico-chemical framework (PCF) is used to develop a plant-wide model for the pilot plant. The PCF consists of an equilibrium approach describing ion speciation and pairing, kinetic minerals precipitation (such as hydrous ferric oxides (HFO) and FePO4) as well as adsorption and co-precipitation. Model performance is assessed against data sets from the pilot plant, evaluating the capability to describe water and sludge lines across the treatment process under steady-state operation. Simulated phosphorus differed as little as 5–10% (relative) from measured phosphorus, indicating that the model was representative of reality. The study also shows that environmental factors such as pH, as well operating conditions such as Fe/P molar ratios (1, 1.5 and 2), influence the concentration of dissolved phosphate in the effluent. The time constant of simultaneous precipitation in the calibrated model, due to a step change decrease/increase in FeSO4 dosage, was found to be roughly 5 days, indicating a slow dynamic response due to a multi-step process involving dissolution, oxidation, precipitation, aging, adsorption and co-precipitation. The persistence effect of accumulated iron-precipitates (HFO particulates) in the activated sludge seemed important for phosphorus removal, and therefore solids retention time plays a crucial role according to the model. The aerobic tank was deemed to be the most suitable dosing location for FeSO4 addition, due to high dissolved oxygen levels and good mixing conditions. Finally, dynamic model-based analyses show the benefits of using automatic control when dosing chemicals.

PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF MEKNES MUNICIPAL LANDFILL LEACHATE AND ASSESSMENT OF THE SEASONAL EFFECTS USING PCA

The increase of population and the bad management of municipal solid waste (MSW) lead to a spectacular increase of the landfill leachates volume. These effluents represent a very harmful threat that can affect the environment and the ecosystems, their control and treatment became the first occupation of the authorities. In this context, this study contributes to characterize the landfill leachate composition and how its changes over different seasons. The results have shown an intermediate leachate with high concentration of organics and minerals components, with an average of 16 455.71 mg O2/L for COD, 6681.86 mg O2/L for BOD5, 2469.57 mg/L for Suspended matter (SM), 2990 mg/L for Ammonium and 31259.71 S/cm for Electrical Conductivity (EC). The leachate parameters seasonal variations were revealed by the principal analysis component (PCA); an explorative tool. Conferring to PCA results, we can define the correlation between the parameters concentrations and the climatic conditions (Temperature and precipitations). The parameters such as electrical conductivity, suspended solids, BOD5, COD, ammonium, correlate positively with temperature values, that means, the warmer is the season, the higher are the values. While for pH, dissolved oxygen and nitrates values, there is a negative correlation, which means that their loads increase during cold and rainy periods. This work helps to understand the composition of landfill leachates, to induce the seasonal effect on it and to guide the treatment chain to attend the most stringent discharge standards.

The efficiency and mechanism in a novel electro-Fenton process assisted by anodic photocatalysis on advanced treatment of coal gasification wastewater

A novel dual-chamber photo-electrochemical oxidation system with Fe@Fe2O3/CF cathode was constructed bycombining cathodic electro-Fenton and anodic photocatalysis for advanced treatment of biologically pretreated coal gasification wastewater (CGW). In the electro-Fenton cathode chamber, maximal chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency of 84.2% was arrived within 120 min at current density 10 mA/cm2, initial pH 3 and air flow rate 0.4 L/min for its initial concentration of 200 mg/L. Correspondingly, the effluent concentration of COD, BOD5, TOC and total phenols were 31.5, 3.9, 8.4 and 13.8 mg/L respectively, satisfying the stringent wastewater discharge standard. Moreover, the H2O2 concentration change and wastewater acute toxicity were analyzed. Furthermore, a reasonable degradation mechanism was proposed based on the contribution of hydroxyl radicals (OH), and thus degradation pathway of phenol as typical pollutant was also speculated. The integrated system is confirmed to be high-effective and stable, and thus it is a potentially promising alternative for treatment toxic refractory industrial wastewater.

Achieving completely anaerobic ammonium removal over nitrite (CAARON) in one single UASB reactor: Synchronous and asynchronous feeding regimes of organic carbon make a difference

At least 11% of total nitrogen (TN) remains in the anammox effluent, making it difficult to meet increasingly stringent discharge standards. To overcome this bottleneck, an innovative process to achieve completely anaerobic ammonium removal over nitrite (CAARON) in one single up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor was proposed in this study. The synchronous feeding of acetate at a C/N (nitrite) ratio of 0.6 significantly reduced the nitrogen removal capacity of anammox reactor by limiting the abundance and metabolism of anammox bacteria. In contrast, the asynchronous feeding of acetate optimized the partition of the reactor column into two specific compartments: the lower half favoring anammox and the upper half dominated by DEAMOX (DEnitrifying AMmonium Oxidation). A high TN removal efficiency of 96.2±0.4% and a low effluent TN concentration of 9.3±0.9mgL−1 were obtained under a high TN loading rate of 9.0kgNm−3d−1. The dominant functional microbes in the CAARON process were identified as Candidatus Kuenenia and Thauera, which were responsible for the anammox and denitratation reactions, respectively. Overall, the results in this study provide valuable insight into the coupling of anammox with denitratation, which is a cost-efficient approach for treating ammonium-rich wastewaters.

Thin Film Composite Membrane for Oily Waste Water Treatment: Recent Advances and Challenges.

Oily wastewater discharge from various industry processes and activities have caused dramatic impacts on the human and environment. Treatment of oily wastewater using membrane technology has gained worldwide attention due to its efficiency in removing the amount and concentration of oil and grease as well as other specific pollutants in order to be reused or to fulfill stringent discharge standard. The application of thin film composite (TFC) membrane in reverse osmosis (RO) and forward osmosis (FO) for oily wastewater treatment is an emerging and exciting alternative in this field. This review presents the recent and distinctive development of TFC membranes to address the issues related to oily wastewater treatment. The recent advances in terms of TFC membrane design and separation performance evaluation are reviewed. This article aims to provide useful information and strategies, in both scientific knowledge advancement and practical implementation point of view, for the application TFC membrane for oily wastewater treatment.

Research Status of Enhanced Process of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal by Membrane Bioreactor

In view of the increasingly stringent sewage discharge standards, it is necessary to improve the nitrogen and phosphorus removal and the removal of refractory organic compounds in the sewage treatment process. Membrane bioreactor (MBR) as a wastewater treatment technology combined membrane bioreactor and biotechnology has a lower solid suspended solids concentration (SS) in effluent, but it is very difficult to remove nitrogen and phosphorus to meet the national emission standards. Therefore MBR intensified combination technology of nitrogen and phosphorus removal has become the main direction of our study and apply the technology to the actual sewage treatment plant. Based on the analysis of the existing MBR intensified combination technology of the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus, the principles, characteristics and treatment effects of various membrane intensified combinations technologies of the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus were introduced. It is believed that membrane fouling control, energy saving and consumption reduction are still the focus of future research through analysis.

Long-term nitrate removal through methane-dependent denitrification microorganisms in sequencing batch reactors fed with only nitrate and methane

Denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (damo) bioprocesses can remove nitrate using methane as the electron donor, which gains great concern due to the current stringent discharge standard of nitrogen in wastewater treatment plants. To obtain an engineering acceptable nitrogen removal rate (NRR) and demonstrate the long-term stable ability of damo system under conditions of nitrate and methane, two sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) fed with only nitrate and methane were operated for more than 600 days at 30 °C. The NRR of 21.91 ± 0.73 mg NO3−-N L−1 day−1 was obtained which is, to the best of our knowledge, the highest rate observed in the literatures under such conditions. The temperature was found to significantly affect the system performance. Furthermore, the microbial community was analyzed by using real-time PCR technique. The results showed that the microbial consortium contained damo archaea and bacteria. These two microbes cooperated to maintain the long-term stability. And the number of damo archaea was higher than that of damo bacteria with the ratio of 1.77. By using methane as the electron donor, damo archaea reduced nitrate to nitrite coupled to methane oxidation and damo bacteria reduce the generated nitrite to nitrogen gas. The first step of nitrate to nitrite taken by damo archaea might be the limiting step of this cooperation system. SBR could be a suitable reactor configuration to enrich slow-growing microbes like damo culture. These results demonstrated the potential application of damo processes for nitrogen removal of wastewater containing low C/N ratios.

Biological denitrification from mature landfill leachate using a food-waste-derived carbon source

The mature landfill leachate containing high ammonia concentration (>1000 mg/L) is a serious threat to environment; however, the low COD to TN ratio (C/N, <3) strongly inhibits the denitrification process and poses a severe obstacle for efficient treatment. Herein, two kinds of acidogenic liquids, fermented from oil-removed food waste and oil-added food waste, were first applied as external carbon sources for the biological nitrogen removal from mature landfill leachate in an aerobic/anoxic membrane bioreactor. “Acidogenic liquid b” served quite better than commercial sodium acetate, considering the higher denitrification efficiency and the slightly rapider denitrification rate. The effect of C/N and temperature were investigated under hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 7 d, which showed that C/N ≥ 7 (25 °C) was enough to meet the general discharge standards of NH4+-N, TN and COD in China. Even for some special areas of China, the more stringent discharge standards (NH4+-N ≤ 8 mg/L, TN ≤ 20 mg/L) could also be achieved under longer HRT of 14 d and C/N ≥ 6. Notably, the COD concentration in effluent could also be well reduced to 50–55 mg/L, without further physical-chemical treatment. This proposed strategy, involving the high-value utilization of food waste, is thus promising for efficient nitrogen removal from mature landfill leachate.

Cost effectiveness of phosphorus removal processes in municipal wastewater treatment

Meeting stringent phosphorus (P) discharge standards remains one of the major challenges for wastewater utilities due to increased economic burdens associated with advanced (i.e., secondary, tertiary) treatment processes. In a trade-off between higher treatment cost and enhanced P removal, it is critical for the treatment plants to be able to select the most appropriate technology. To this end, established/emerging high performing P removal/recovery technologies (e.g., Modified University of Cape Towne process, Bardenpho process, membrane bioreactors, IFAS-EBPR, struvite recovery, tertiary reactive media filtration) were identified and full-scale treatment plant designs were developed. Using advanced mathematical modeling techniques, six different treatment configurations were evaluated in terms of performance and cost effectiveness ($/lb of P removed). Results show that the unit cost for P removal in different treatment alternatives range from $42.22 to $60.88 per lb of P removed. The MUCT BNR + tertiary reactive media filtration proved to be one of the most cost effective configurations ($44.04/lb P removed) delivering an effluent with total P (TP) concentration of only 0.05 mg/L. Although struvite recovery resulted in significant reduction in biosolids P, the decrease in effluent TP was not sufficient to meet very stringent discharge standards.

Greenhouse Gas Emission and Mitigation in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants

Advanced wastewater treatment processes and novel technologies are adopted to improve nutrient removal from wastewater so as to meet stringent discharge standards. Municipal wastewater treatment plants are one of the major contributors to the increase in the global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and therefore it is necessary to carry out intensive studies on quantification, assessment and characterization of GHG emissions in wastewater treatment plants, on the life cycle assessment from GHG emission prospective, and on the GHG mitigation strategies. Greenhouse Gas Emission and Mitigation in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants summarises the recent development in studies of greenhouse gases’ (CH4 and N2O) generation and emission in municipal wastewater treatment plants. It introduces the concepts of direct emission and indirect emission, and the mechanisms of GHG generations in wastewater treatment plants’ processing units. The book explicitly describes the techniques used to quantify direct GHG emissions in wastewater treatment plants and the protocol used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to estimate GHG emission due to wastewater treatment in the national GHG inventory. Finally, the book explains the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology on GHG emissions in consideration of the energy and chemical usage in municipal wastewater treatment plants. In addition, the strategies to mitigate GHG emissions are discussed. The book provides an overview for researchers, students, water professionals and policy makers on GHG emission and mitigation in municipal wastewater treatment plants and industrial wastewater treatment processes. It is a valuable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students in the water, climate, and energy areas; for researchers in the relevant areas; and for professional reference by water professionals, government policy makers, and research institutes. ISBN: 9781780406305 (Print) ISBN: 9781780406312 (eBook) ISBN: 9781780409054 (ePUB)

Can electrocoagulation process be an appropriate technology for phosphorus removal from municipal wastewater?

This paper evaluated a novel pilot scale electrocoagulation (EC) system for improving total phosphorus (TP) removal from municipal wastewater. This EC system was operated in continuous and batch operating mode under differing conditions (e.g. flow rate, initial concentration, electrolysis time, conductivity, voltage) to evaluate correlative phosphorus and electrical energy consumption. The results demonstrated that the EC system could effectively remove phosphorus to meet current stringent discharge standards of less than 0.2mg/L within 2 to 5min. This target was achieved in all ranges of initial TP concentrations studied. It was also found that an increase in conductivity of solution, voltages, or electrolysis time, correlated with improved TP removal efficiency and reduced specific energy consumption. Based on these results, some key economic considerations, such as operating costs, cost-effectiveness, product manufacturing feasibility, facility design and retrofitting, and program implementation are also discussed. This EC process can conclusively be highly efficient in a relatively simple, easily managed, and cost-effective for wastewater treatment system.

Enhancement of biodegradability of real textile and dyeing wastewater by electron beam irradiation

A textile and dyeing wastewater treatment plant is going to be upgraded due to the stringent discharge standards in Jiangsu province, China, and electron beam irradiation is considering to be used. In order to determine the suitable location of the electron accelerator in the process of wastewater treatment plant, the effects of electron beam (EB) irradiation on the biodegradability of various real wastewater samples collecting from the different stages of the wastewater treatment plant, the values of chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), and the ratio of BOD5 and COD (BOD5/COD), were compared before and after EB irradiation. During EB irradiation process, color indices and absorbance at 254nm wavelength (UV254) of wastewater were also determined. The results showed that EB irradiation pre-treatment cannot improve the biodegradability of raw textile and dyeing wastewater, which contains a large amount of biodegradable organic matters. In contrast, as to the final effluent of biological treatment process, EB irradiation can enhance the biodegradability to 224%. Therefore, the promising way is to apply EB irradiation as a post-treatment of the conventional biological process.

Environmental implications of increasingly stringent sewage discharge standards in municipal wastewater treatment plants: case study of a cool area of China

For the protection of the aquatic environment and public health, China has implemented increasingly stringent sewage discharge standards for municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), but faces critical challenges in terms of additional environmental burdens. In this work, a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach was used to determine the adverse environmental consequences of increasingly stringent discharge standards in a domestic WWTP, and to identify the main contributors and propose alternatives that minimize negative environmental impacts. The LCA-derived findings indicate that tightening discharge levels will indeed reduce local eutrophication but without net environmental improvement satisfied. If the treated water is not required for further reuse, it appears more environmentally promising to establish WWTPs in regions that implementing moderate-level treatment than to upgrade existing WWTPs to much higher standards, except in conservation zones, areas of high population density, and in watersheds with less resilience to pollution. Overall, environmental improvement can be satisfied by introducing consistent “cradle-to-cradle/grave” legislation for WWTPs. It was implicated that decision makers should therefore emphasize energy conservation and wastewater-derived resource recovery approaches to the operation of WWTPs.