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Socio-economic solutions in local communities for preventing and controlling phosphorus releases from municipal wastewater
Citation:
Martin-Hernandez, E., C. Vaneeckhaute, AND Gerardo J. Ruiz-Mercado. Socio-economic solutions in local communities for preventing and controlling phosphorus releases from municipal wastewater. WCCE11 - 11th WORLD CONGRESS OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, Buenos AiresA, June 04 - 08, 2023.
Impact/Purpose:
Nutrient pollution is an environmental concern impacting ecosystems and human communities worldwide. This presentation describes a techno-economic and social performance assessment tool for preventing and controlling phosphorus releases from municipal wastewater effluents in local communities. Also, the tool assesses the cost of substituting phosphorus removal systems with phosphorus recovery and recycling technologies, aiming to estimate the cost of transitioning from the current phosphorus linear economy model to a more sustainable circular economy scenario. Recovering and recycling this non-renewable element is crucial for ensuring food security. As a result, the described tool provides essential information for designing equitable policies that ensure a fair transition from linear to circular economy paradigms.
Description:
Phosphorus pollution is an environmental concern impacting ecosystems and human communities worldwide. The effects of phosphorus pollution include harmful algal bloom events, hypoxia of waterbodies, and impairment of drinking water sources. Therefore, to prevent these harmful effects, operations for phosphorus removal or recovery must be implemented in point source releases like wastewater treatment plant effluents [1]. In this work we assess the techno-economic and social performance of preventing and controlling phosphorus releases from municipal wastewater effluents in local communities. This multicriteria assessment framework accounts for the effects of the economies of scale and the population economics across the United States by considering geospatial public access information. The economies of scale have a significant impact on the costs of phosphorus removal [2], resulting in considerable increases in phosphorus removal costs in areas where small population centers are predominant due to the lack of economies of scale in their wastewater treatment plants. Additionally, the average per capita income of these areas is generally lower than large cities and their metropolitan areas. Therefore, the economic impact of requiring phosphorus removal systems to meet water quality criteria in local communities is crucial information to be considered in designing adequate incentive policies for supporting such water pollution control and prevention efforts. In the second stage, we assess the cost of substituting phosphorus removal systems with phosphorus recovery and recycling technologies, aiming to estimate the cost of transitioning from the current phosphorus linear economy model to a more sustainable circular economy scenario. Recovering and recycling this non-renewable element is key for ensuring food security. As a result, crucial information is obtained for designing equitable policies that ensure a fair transition from linear to circular economy paradigms. References Ansari, A. (2010). Eutrophication: causes, consequences and control. Springer Science+Business Media, New York. U.S. EPA (2017). A Compilation of Cost Data Associated with the Impacts and Control of Nutrient Pollution. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, EPA 820-F-15-096.