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Estimation of greenhouse gas emissions from sewer pipeline system

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to estimate the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated from whole life cycle stages of a sewer pipeline system and suggest the strategies to mitigate GHG emissions from the system.

Methods

The process-based life cycle assessment (LCA) with a city-scale inventory database of a sewer pipeline system was conducted. The GHG emissions (direct, indirect, and embodied) generated from a sewer pipeline system in Daejeon Metropolitan City (DMC), South Korea, were estimated for a case study. The potential improvement actions which can mitigate GHG emissions were evaluated through a scenario analysis based on a sensitivity analysis.

Results and discussion

The amount of GHG emissions varied with the size (150, 300, 450, 700, and 900 mm) and materials (polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), concrete, and cast iron) of the pipeline. Pipes with smaller diameter emitted less GHG, and the concrete pipe generated lower amount of GHG than pipes made from other materials. The case study demonstrated that the operation (OP) stage (3.67 × 104 t CO2eq year−1, 64.9%) is the most significant for total GHG emissions (5.65 × 104 t CO2eq year−1) because a huge amount of CH4 (3.51 × 104 t CO2eq year−1) can be generated at the stage due to biofilm reaction in the inner surface of pipeline. Mitigation of CH4 emissions by reducing hydraulic retention time (HRT), optimizing surface area-to-volume (A/V) ratio of pipes, and lowering biofilm reaction during the OP stage could be effective ways to reduce total GHG emissions from the sewer pipeline system. For the rehabilitation of sewer pipeline system in DMC, the use of small diameter pipe, combination of pipe materials, and periodic maintenance activities are suggested as suitable strategies that could mitigate GHG emissions.

Conclusions

This study demonstrated the usability and appropriateness of the process-based LCA providing effective GHG mitigation strategies at a city-scale sewer pipeline system. The results obtained from this study could be applied to the development of comprehensive models which can precisely estimate all GHG emissions generated from sewer pipeline and other urban environmental systems.

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Abbreviations

DMC:

Daejeon Metropolitan City

MP:

Material production

MT:

Material transportation

CO:

Construction

OP:

Operation

MI:

Maintenance

EL:

End of life

PE:

Polyethylene

PVC:

Polyvinyl chloride

D150:

Pipeline with 150 mm of diameter

D300:

Pipeline with 300 mm of diameter

D450:

Pipeline with 450 mm of diameter

D700:

Pipeline with 700 mm of diameter

D900:

Pipeline with 900 mm of diameter

C:

Current construction plan (construction with 100% PVC pipe)

P1:

plan 1 (construction with 100% PE pipe)

P2:

Plan 2 (construction with 100% concrete pipe)

P3:

Plan 3 (construction with 50% PVC and 50% PE pipe)

P4:

Plan 4 (construction with 50% PVC and 50% concrete pipe)

P5:

Plan 5 (construction with 50% PE and 50% concrete pipe)

EMP :

GHG emissions from material production stage (kg CO2eq)

EMT :

GHG emissions from material transportation stage (kg CO2eq)

ECO :

GHG emissions from construction stage (kg CO2eq)

EOP :

GHG emissions from operation stage (kg CO2eq)

EMI :

GHG emissions from maintenance stage (kg CO2eq)

EEL :

GHG emissions from end of life stage (kg CO2eq)

EFm(i) :

GHG emission factor of raw materials (i: PVC, PE, concrete, cast iron, and other raw materials) (kg CO2eq kg−1)

Mm(i) :

Mass of pipe material (kg)

EFt(j) :

GHG emission factor for transportation (j: road, ship, and railway) (kg CO2eq (kg-km)−1)

Dm(i) :

Transportation distance of pipe material (km)

Dex,m(i) :

External diameter of pipeline (mm)

Din,m(i) :

Internal diameter of pipeline (mm)

Lm(i) :

Length of pipeline (km)

ρm(i) :

Density of pipe material (kg m−3)

EFe(k) :

GHG emission factor for construction equipment (k: excavator and dump truck) (kg CO2eq t−1) or (kg CO2eq m−3)

EffCO,e(k) :

Efficiency of construction equipment k (t h−1) or (m3 h−1)

tCO,e(k) :

Construction hour of equipment for installing 1-m pipeline (h km−1)

EFtc(l) :

GHG emission factor of trench construction materials (l: sand and gravel) (kg CO2eq kg−1)

Mtc(l) :

Mass of trench construction material per kilometer of pipes (kg km−1)

ECH4,t :

Direct CH4 emissions during conveyance of sewage (kg CO2eq)

Q:

Flow rate of sewage (m3 year−1)

Rateb :

Microbial reaction rate by methanogenic biofilm (kg m−2 h−1)

A/Vm(i) :

Surface area to volume ratio of pipe (m−1)

HRT:

Hydraulic retention time of the sewage (h)

Epump :

GHG emissions from pump stations (kg CO2eq)

EFelectricity :

GHG emission factor for electric energy generation (kg CO2eq kWh−1)

Celectricity :

Annual electricity consumption (kWh year−1)

ratiom(i) :

Replacement ratio of pipeline

EFd(m) :

GHG emission factor for disposal treatment (m: incineration, landfill, or recycle) (kg CO2eq kg−1)

%d(m) :

Proportion of disposal treatment (%)

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Acknowledgements

The authors are sincerely thankful to all Environmental Geobiochemical Research Laboratory (EGRL) heroes who have made its marvelous scientific journey possible at KAIST since 2005. One evil mind never destroys and stops the EGRLians’ spirit and it will continue. Special thanks should be given to Prof. Wonyong Choi and Prof. Yoonseok Chang of POSTECH for their lavish support. This research work was also supported by the Korean Ministry of Environment (Project No. RE201402059).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Advanced Technology, Land & Housing Institute, Korea Land & Housing Corporation, 539-99 Expo-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34047, South Korea

    Daeseung Kyung

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, South Korea

    Dongwook Kim

  3. Korea Environment Institute, 370 Sicheong-daero, Sejong, 30147, South Korea

    Sora Yi

  4. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), 77 Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang, 37673, South Korea

    Wonyong Choi & Woojin Lee

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  1. Daeseung Kyung
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  4. Wonyong Choi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Woojin Lee.

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Responsible editor: Almudena Hospido

Daeseung Kyung and Dongwook Kim contributed equally to this manuscript.

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Kyung, D., Kim, D., Yi, S. et al. Estimation of greenhouse gas emissions from sewer pipeline system. Int J Life Cycle Assess 22, 1901–1911 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-017-1288-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-017-1288-9

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