Life cycle assessment comparison of point-of-use water treatment technologies: solar water disinfection (SODIS), boiling water, and chlorination

Abstract

Numerous different point-of-use (POU) water treatment technologies exist that can remove, reduce or inactivate microbial pathogens present in untreated drinking water. However, there have been uncertainties as to which technology is best suited to rural populations. Environmental impacts of these technologies can bring further threats to rural communities, so the life cycle assessment (LCA) approach is frequently used to compare different POU water treatment technologies. The present study uses LCA to compare three treatment options: solar water disinfection (SODIS) using a Transparent Jerrycan (TJC), boiling, and chlorination. A life cycle inventory database is created for each stage, calculating the embodied energy and transportation energy considering daily reliance for all the technologies. Direct carbon dioxide emission at the point of use of energy/fuel, particulate matter formation and smog formation analysis can help to implement the most appropriate technology. The life-cycle assessment in this study indicates that when considering the environmental impact associated with providing sufficient safe drinking water for a family of six over a period of 6 months, SODIS has been found to have better sustainability credentials as a water treatment technology (6.0 kg CO2e per functional unit) with low contribution in all the three impact categories, followed by chlorination (9.8 kg CO2 e per functional unit) and boiling water (6808 kg CO2e per functional unit).