Understanding the greenhouse gas emissions from China’s wastewater treatment plants: Based on life cycle assessment coupled with statistical data

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are significant contributors to energy consumption and anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. For achieving carbon reduction in the wastewater treatment industry, the direct and indirect GHG emissions generated by WWTPs need to be understood from a holistic perspective. This study estimated GHG emissions from WWTPs at the country scale by integrating process-based life cycle assessment and statistical data. On-site data were collected from 17 WWTPs of various regions in China. Uncertainty analysis based on Monte Carlo was also performed, so as to provide more reliable results. The results show that life cycle GHG emissions generated from the wastewater treatment process vary from 0.29 kg CO2 eq/m3 to 1.18 kg CO2 eq/m3 based on 17 sample WWTPs. The key factors contributing to overall GHG emissions are also identified as carbon dioxide (fossil) and methane (fossil) to air mainly generated from electricity generation, and methane (biogenic) and nitrous oxide (biogenic) to air mainly generated from wastewater treatment. National average GHG emissions was evaluated with the value of 0.88 kg CO2 eq/m3, with on-site GHG emissions and off-site electricity-based GHG emissions accounting for 32% and 34%, respectively. The total GHG emissions generated from wastewater treatment are 56.46 billion kg CO2 eq in 2020, with Guangdong province having the dominant contribution. Policy suggestions (e.g., further adjusting the electricity grid toward a low carbon structure, improving technology to promote treatment efficiency and energy recovery) were highly recommended so that national GHG emissions of WWTPs can be reduced. In order to achieve the synergy of pollutant removal and GHG emission reduction, policy-making on wastewater treatment should be tailored to specific local conditions.