2026-10-06T09:24:53Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34041429 2026-10-01T08:07:57Z category_7 category_19 category_21 category_873 category_39 category_106 portal_63 item_type_3 month_year_10_2026

Global Harmonization of Life Cycle Assessments for Small- and Medium-Scale Wastewater Treatment Emilio Solis (25155309) Nils Thonemann (7543160) Ranran Wang (476935) Arnold Tukker (1990783) Valerio Barbarossa (4473196) Medicine Pharmacology Biotechnology Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified Ecology Science Policy protecting human health minimal chemical dosing lowest average phosphorus life cycle assessments growing urban pressure compare environmental impacts 9 treatment technologies harmonization process shows low nitrogen emissions medium wwms offer environmentally sustainable small treatment solutions sustainable alternative global harmonization thereby providing results suggest municipal settings key contributor informed decision ghg emissions findings support eliminate variability direct emissions decarbonization strategies consistent setting climate change Wastewater management (WWM) is vital for protecting human health and the environment, yet conventional centralized systems are resource-intensive and unsuited to growing urban pressure. Small and medium WWMs offer a potentially more sustainable alternative, but the lack of standardized life cycle assessment (LCA) approaches limits robust comparison and informed decision-making. In this study, we conduct a global harmonization of life cycle assessments of small- and medium-scale systems across 96 LCAs and 9 treatment technologies. By harmonizing life cycle inventories, we eliminate variability in methods, assumptions, and biases, thereby providing a consistent setting to compare environmental impacts. The harmonization process shows that GHG emissions have been underrepresented in inventories. The results suggest that direct emissions to air are a key contributor to climate change, and decarbonization strategies should focus on minimizing these emissions. Sequencing batch reactors showed the lowest average phosphorus and low nitrogen emissions to water with minimal chemical dosing and low direct GHG emissions to air. Our findings support the development of environmentally sustainable small- and medium-scale water-treatment solutions for municipal settings. 2026-10-01T00:00:00Z Dataset Dataset 10.1021/acsestwater.6c00580.s002 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Global_Harmonization_of_Life_Cycle_Assessments_for_Small-_and_Medium-Scale_Wastewater_Treatment/34041429 CC BY-NC 4.0