www.wetwine.eu

Life cycle assessment of constructed wetland systems for winery

wastewater treatment

Marianna Garfí, Laura Flores, Joan García

GEMMA Research Group (gemma.upc.edu)

Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña – UPC

GEMMA Research Group

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� Natural wastewater treatment systems

� Constructed wetlands

� Microalgae systems

Microalgae

raceway ponds and photobioreacorsConstructed wetlands

GEMMA Research Group

3

� Sludge (and other biomass) treatment systems

� Constructed wetlands

� Anaerobic digestion

Biogas production

Sludge treatment wetlands

GEMMA Research Group

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� Mathematical Modelling of biotechnologies

(constructed wetlands, microalgae photobioreactors)

� Carbon footprint and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)

Introduction

Constructed wetlands

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Constructed wetlands (CWs) are natural treatment technologies for

household and/or municipal or industrial wastewater.

A CW is a shallow basin filled with some sort of filter material (substrate),

usually sand or gravel, and planted with vegetation.Inlet

OutletGravel

Vegetation

Introduction

Constructed wetlands

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Wastewater is introduced into the basin and flows over the surface

or through the substrate.

The mechanisms that occur in CW systems for wastewater treatment

are complex and include chemical, physical and biological processes

(sedimentation, filtration, oxidation, reduction, adsorption,

precipitation, pathogen removal)

Introduction

Conventional technologies

7

Conventional wastewater treatment plant (e.g. activated sludge

system) are characterized by high energy and chemicals

consumption.

Introduction

Constructed wetlands

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Advantages Limitations

Effective wastewater treatment by removing

broad spectrum of contaminants

Temperature sensitive; cold temperatures

reduce contaminant removal efficiency

Low costs of investment, operation and

maintenanceClogging

Water reusePretreatment required at least to remove

excess suspended solids

Integration into the landscape; restored habitat

for native and migratory wildlifeLarge land requirement

Low environmental impacts; low energy

requirementLow phosphorous removal

• Land Requirement

2-5 m2 p.e.-1 CW systems vs. < 1 m2 p.e.-1 Conventional WWTP

Introduction

Constructed wetlands

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Three types of wetlands to emphasize specific characteristics of wetland

ecosystems for improved treatment capacity.

• Free water surface (FWS) CWs

• Horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF) CWs

• Vertical flow (VF) CWs

Introduction

Constructed wetlands

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• Hybrid systems

Various constructed wetland configurations may be combined so as to

increase their treatment efficiency.

These hybrid systems are normally comprised of vertical flow (VF) and

horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF) CW

Introduction

Constructed wetlands

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• Pre-treatment and primary treatment

Primary treatment

(Imhoff tank, UASB)

Secondary treatment

(CWs)Pre-treatment

Influent water

Primary sludge

Effluent water

Introduction

Constructed wetlands

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• Sludge treatment wetlands

They are low cost technologies for primary and secondary sludge

treatment. They are made up of shallow ponds, beds or trenches

filled with a gravel layer and planted with emergent rooted

wetland vegetation such as Phragmites australis (common reed).

Introduction

Constructed wetlands

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Draining and

aeration pipes

Reeds

Feeding

system

Granular media

Tank

Introduction

Constructed wetlands

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Feeding period

5-10 yearsFinal resting

period

3-24 months

Biosolids

removal

Composting plant Reuse in agriculture

Introduction

Constructed wetlands

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Advantages of sludge treatment wetlands

• This is more than a “drying technology”. Aerobic mineralization and

hygienisation are intrinsic processes of this technology.

• Allows storage of sludge for more than 5 years (usually around 10 years).

• No odours because is aerobic.

• Final product can be reused as fertilizer.

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WETWINE

Constructed Wetlands are a suitable solution for winery wastewater and sludge

treatment.

Winery wastewater treatment

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WETWINE

Current technologies/strategies for winery wastewater treatment

vs.

WETWINE system

Winery wastewater treatment

WETWINE

Environmental impact assessment

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• Questionnaires to different wineries of the SUDOE area

WETWINE

Environmental impact assessment

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15 Wineries from Spain, Portugal and France (10,000 – 8,000,000 L of wine/year)

>85% third-party sludge management and disposal

Life Cycle Assessment

Methodology

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ISO 14040:2006

ISO 14044:2006

Results

interpretation

Goal and

scope

definition

Inventory

analysis

Impact

assessment

LCA steps

Life cycle assessment

21

WETWINE system implementation

Scenario 1: WETWINE CW system

Winery located in Galicia, Spain

Vineyard: 33.5 ha

Wine production (white wine): 368,000 L/year

Water consumption for wine production: 3.3 Lwater/Lwine

Vintage season (september – october): 60 days

Flow: 620 m3/vintage season

Rest of the year: 305 days

Flow: 778 m3/rest of the year

Total annual flow: 1,398 m3/year

Current wastewater treatment: Imhoff tank + transport + third-party

wastewater management and disposal

The WETWINE project

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Tank

STWs

HUSB

reactor

2 VFCWs

HFCW

Treated water

Treated sludge

Lixiviate

Fertilizer/Soil

conditioner

Land

irrigation

The pilot WETWINE system consists of an anaerobic hydrolytic upflow blanket reactor (1.25 m3 useful

volume), 2 VFCW (30 m2), 1 HFCW (30 m2), and a one-stage STW (20 m2)

The WETWINE CW system

Life Cycle Assessment

Scenarios

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Scenario 2: Activated sludge system (AS) implemented in a winery located in

Galicia

Wine production: 3,850,000 L/year

Water consumption for wine production: 1.25 Lwater/Lwine

Vintage season:15 days; Flow: 2,416 m3/vintage season

Rest of the year: 350 days; Flow: 2,417 m3/rest of the year

Total annual flow: 4,833 m3/year

Pre-

treatment

unit

Biological

reactor

Secondary

settler

Centrifuge

Sludge

Homogenization

tank

Sludge

disposal

EffluentSewage (to

Municipal

WWTP)

Influent

Life Cycle Assessment

Goal & Scope

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Goal: To compare the environmental impacts of CWs and activated sludge

systems for winery wastewater treatment

Functional Unit: 1 m3 of water

System boundaries:

WETWINE scenario AS scenario

Materials and energy for systems construction and operation

(e.g. construction materials, electricity, chemicals)

Sludge application as soil conditioner

(including emissions to soil and air and

avoided fertilizer)

Sludge management (including transport

and incineration)

Direct GHG emissions Direct GHG emissions

Emissions to water Additional treatment in a municipal WWTP

Emissions to water

Life Cycle Assessment

Life Cycle Impact Assessment

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Software, Database and Method:

SimaPro 8.2.3;

Ecoinvent v3.2 database;

ReCiPe Midpoint (H)

Impact categories:

o Climate change (kg CO2 eq)

o Ozone depletion (kg CFC-11 eq)

o Terrestrial acidification (kg SO2 eq)

o Freshwater eutrophication (kg P eq)

o Marine eutrophication (kg N eq)

o Photochemical oxidant formation (kg NMVOC)

o Particulate matter formation (kg PM10 eq)

o Metal depletion (kg Fe eq)

o Fossil depletion (kg oil eq)

Life Cycle Assessment

Results

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0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Environmental impact assessment results

WETWINE - vintage season WETWINE - rest of the year AS - vintage season AS - rest of the year

Life Cycle Assessment

Results

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0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Environmental impact assessment results

WETWINE - vintage season WETWINE - rest of the year AS - vintage season AS - rest of the year

The environmental impacts associated with AS scenario are between 2 and 9 times higher

than that associated with WETWINE scenario depending on the impact category.

Life Cycle Assessment

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Results

1) Construction materials 3) Direct GHG emissions2) Electricity

WETWINE system

3) Sludge

management

2) Further

Treatment at

municipal WWTP

AS system

1) Chemicals

Contribution analysis

Life Cycle Assessment

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Results

CO2 saving and Global warming potential

WETWINE scenario

vs.

Previous scenario

(transport + third-party wastewater management and disposal)

around 40,000 kg CO2equ are saved per year

Global warming is reduced up

50 times

WETWINE

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Results

• Constructed Wetlands and Sludge Treatment Wetlands are

appropriate technologies for wastewater and sludge treatment in

small communities.

• They help to reduce environmental impacts and costs associated

with wastewater and sludge treatment.

Thank you for your attention

wetwine.eu – marianna.garfi@upc.edu