Influence of Water Quality on the Embodied Energy of Drinking Water Treatment

Urban water treatment plants rely on energy intensive processes to provide safe, reliable water to users. Changes in influent water quality may alter the operation of a water treatment plant and its associated energy use or embodied energy. Therefore the objective of this study is to estimate the ef...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2014-03, Vol.48 (5), p.3084-3091
Main Authors: Santana, Mark V. E, Zhang, Qiong, Mihelcic, James R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Carbon - analysis
Drinking water
Drinking Water - analysis
Drinking water and swimming-pool water. Desalination
Electric Conductivity
Energy
Exact sciences and technology
Filtration
Florida
Linear Models
Pollution
Quality control
Salvage
Seasons
Statistical methods
Thermodynamics
Water Purification - methods
Water Quality
Water treatment
Water treatment and pollution
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Summary:Urban water treatment plants rely on energy intensive processes to provide safe, reliable water to users. Changes in influent water quality may alter the operation of a water treatment plant and its associated energy use or embodied energy. Therefore the objective of this study is to estimate the effect of influent water quality on the operational embodied energy of drinking water, using the city of Tampa, Florida as a case study. Water quality and water treatment data were obtained from the David L Tippin Water Treatment Facility (Tippin WTF). Life cycle energy analysis (LCEA) was conducted to calculate treatment chemical embodied energy values. Statistical methods including Pearson’s correlation, linear regression, and relative importance were used to determine the influence of water quality on treatment plant operation and subsequently, embodied energy. Results showed that influent water quality was responsible for about 14.5% of the total operational embodied energy, mainly due to changes in treatment chemical dosages. The method used in this study can be applied to other urban drinking water contexts to determine if drinking water source quality control or modification of treatment processes will significantly minimize drinking water treatment embodied energy.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/es404300y