Abstract
The drive to reduce global warming through the mitigation of carbon emissions from fossil fuels is on the rise. Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) contribute to Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) production. In order to achieve low GHGs emissions, this study presents two strategies for STPs. The first strategy involves generating hydrogen gas through Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolysis using treated effluent, while the second strategy is based on the adoption of a solar energy system. The study aims to conduct the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the STPs to determine the effects of the source of energy in hydrogen gas production from wastewater. In addition, a LCA for the STPs was carried out using the OpenLCA software for hydrogen gas production via electrolysis and solar energy integration. The findings reveal that climate change impact, fossil fuel depletion, and human toxicity, would reduce by 14,800 kg CO2-Eq. Hydrogen production with solar energy integration exhibits considerable reduction in environmental consequences with considerable improvements in Human Toxicity (550.11 kg 1,4-DCB-Eq), Climate Change (2711.70 kg CO2-Eq), and Fossil Fuel Depletion (1541.11 kg oil-Eq). The solar-powered hydrogen production strategy demonstrates how STPs can help produce hydrogen in a more sustainable and eco-friendly way by lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing dependency on fossil fuels. Based on the findings of this paper, employing solar energy to produce hydrogen from STPs is a viable and effective approach to less environmental hazards and sustainability of energy for major water treatment industries.
Keywords
Decarbonization; Life Cycle Assessment; Proton exchange membrane; electrolysis OpenLCA; Solar energy.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2025.105559