Assessment of the Environmental Impacts of Wastewater Treatment in Tunisia

Abstract

Tunisia achieved a relatively satisfactory wastewater collection and treatment rate of 86% in 2019 compared to its fellow countries, remarkably more threatened by water scarcity and waste management problems. However, the environmental effect of wastewater treatment in Tunisia still needs to be clarified. In this study, a life cycle assessment of WWTPs in Tunisia was performed to analyze the impact of a WWTP under current conditions. Then different scenarios with biogas production were compared to the baseline scenario to conclude the least damaging to the environment. Results showed that wastewater treatment and sludge landfilling were the processes with the highest impact on all the damage categories, especially on human health (41.8% and 41.9%). Comparing the baseline scenario to alternative scenarios with biogas production showed that sludge drying, and biogas production reduced the WWTP’s impact, especially when sludge was mixed with municipal solid waste by ∁E0.41%. Such results provide insight for decision-making on the improvement options for the wastewater treatment sector by considering emissions through policy revision and strategy design, which will contribute to sustainable biogas production.

Keywords

• life cycle assessment
• biogas
• wastewater treatment
• sustainability
• mena region