Methane correction factors for estimating emissions from aerobic wastewater treatment facilities based on field data in Mexico and on literature review

A. Noyola; M. G. Paredes; L. P. Güereca; L. T. Molina; M. Zavala

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.111

Methane correction factors for estimating emissions from aerobic wastewater treatment facilities based on field data in Mexico and on literature review

A. Noyola^*, M. G. Paredes, L. P. Güereca, L. T. Molina, M. Zavala

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

23 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Wastewater treatment (WWT) may be an important source of methane (CH₄), a greenhouse gas with significant global warming potential. Sources of CH₄ emissions from WWT facilities can be found in the water and in the sludge process lines. Among the methodologies for estimating CH₄ emissions inventories from WWT, the more adopted are the guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which recommends default emission factors (Tier 1) depending on WWT systems. Recent published results show that well managed treatment facilities may emit CH₄, due to dissolved CH₄ in the influent wastewater; in addition, biological nutrient removal also will produce this gas in the anaerobic (or anoxic) steps. However, none of these elements is considered in the current IPCC guidelines. The aim of this work is to propose modified (and new) methane correction factors (MCF) regarding the current Tier 1 IPCC guidelines for CH₄ emissions from aerobic treatment systems, with and without anaerobic sludge digesters, focusing on intertropical countries. The modifications are supported on in situ assessment of fugitive CH₄ emissions in two facilities in Mexico and on relevant literature data. In the case of well-managed centralized aerobic treatment plant, a MCF of 0.06 (instead of the current 0.0) is proposed, considering that the assumption of a CH₄-neutral treatment facility, as established in the IPCC methodology, is not supported. Similarly, a MCF of 0.08 is proposed for biological nutrient removal processes, being a new entry in the guidelines. Finally, a one-step straightforward calculation is proposed for centralized aerobic treatment plants with anaerobic digesters that avoids confusion when selecting the appropriate default MCF based on the Tier 1 IPCC guidelines.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	84-91
Number of pages	8
Journal	Science of the Total Environment
Volume	639
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.111
Publication status	Published - 15 Oct 2018
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the project SLCF-2013 Mexico, which was funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF) and coordinated by the Molina Center for Energy and the Environment, under contract GFL-4C58 of UNEP. The authors would like to acknowledge the Aerodyne Mobile Laboratory team for providing the data used in this study obtained during the SLCF-2013 Mexico Campaign. M.G. Paredes is grateful to the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT) for providing her PhD scholarship.

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the project SLCF-2013 Mexico, which was funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF) and coordinated by the Molina Center for Energy and the Environment, under contract GFL-4C58 of UNEP. The authors would like to acknowledge the Aerodyne Mobile Laboratory team for providing the data used in this study obtained during the SLCF-2013 Mexico Campaign. M.G. Paredes is grateful to the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT) for providing her PhD scholarship.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The Authors

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Environmental Engineering
Environmental Chemistry
Waste Management and Disposal
Pollution

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.111

Cite this

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title = "Methane correction factors for estimating emissions from aerobic wastewater treatment facilities based on field data in Mexico and on literature review",

abstract = "Wastewater treatment (WWT) may be an important source of methane (CH4), a greenhouse gas with significant global warming potential. Sources of CH4 emissions from WWT facilities can be found in the water and in the sludge process lines. Among the methodologies for estimating CH4 emissions inventories from WWT, the more adopted are the guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which recommends default emission factors (Tier 1) depending on WWT systems. Recent published results show that well managed treatment facilities may emit CH4, due to dissolved CH4 in the influent wastewater; in addition, biological nutrient removal also will produce this gas in the anaerobic (or anoxic) steps. However, none of these elements is considered in the current IPCC guidelines. The aim of this work is to propose modified (and new) methane correction factors (MCF) regarding the current Tier 1 IPCC guidelines for CH4 emissions from aerobic treatment systems, with and without anaerobic sludge digesters, focusing on intertropical countries. The modifications are supported on in situ assessment of fugitive CH4 emissions in two facilities in Mexico and on relevant literature data. In the case of well-managed centralized aerobic treatment plant, a MCF of 0.06 (instead of the current 0.0) is proposed, considering that the assumption of a CH4-neutral treatment facility, as established in the IPCC methodology, is not supported. Similarly, a MCF of 0.08 is proposed for biological nutrient removal processes, being a new entry in the guidelines. Finally, a one-step straightforward calculation is proposed for centralized aerobic treatment plants with anaerobic digesters that avoids confusion when selecting the appropriate default MCF based on the Tier 1 IPCC guidelines.",

author = "A. Noyola and Paredes, {M. G.} and G{\"u}ereca, {L. P.} and Molina, {L. T.} and M. Zavala",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the project SLCF-2013 Mexico, which was funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF) and coordinated by the Molina Center for Energy and the Environment, under contract GFL-4C58 of UNEP. The authors would like to acknowledge the Aerodyne Mobile Laboratory team for providing the data used in this study obtained during the SLCF-2013 Mexico Campaign. M.G. Paredes is grateful to the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT) for providing her PhD scholarship. Funding Information: This work was supported by the project SLCF-2013 Mexico, which was funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF) and coordinated by the Molina Center for Energy and the Environment, under contract GFL-4C58 of UNEP. The authors would like to acknowledge the Aerodyne Mobile Laboratory team for providing the data used in this study obtained during the SLCF-2013 Mexico Campaign. M.G. Paredes is grateful to the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT) for providing her PhD scholarship. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 The Authors",

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doi = "10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.111",

language = "English",

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T1 - Methane correction factors for estimating emissions from aerobic wastewater treatment facilities based on field data in Mexico and on literature review

AU - Noyola, A.

AU - Paredes, M. G.

AU - Güereca, L. P.

AU - Molina, L. T.

AU - Zavala, M.

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the project SLCF-2013 Mexico, which was funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF) and coordinated by the Molina Center for Energy and the Environment, under contract GFL-4C58 of UNEP. The authors would like to acknowledge the Aerodyne Mobile Laboratory team for providing the data used in this study obtained during the SLCF-2013 Mexico Campaign. M.G. Paredes is grateful to the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT) for providing her PhD scholarship. Funding Information: This work was supported by the project SLCF-2013 Mexico, which was funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF) and coordinated by the Molina Center for Energy and the Environment, under contract GFL-4C58 of UNEP. The authors would like to acknowledge the Aerodyne Mobile Laboratory team for providing the data used in this study obtained during the SLCF-2013 Mexico Campaign. M.G. Paredes is grateful to the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT) for providing her PhD scholarship. Publisher Copyright: © 2018 The Authors

PY - 2018/10/15

Y1 - 2018/10/15

N2 - Wastewater treatment (WWT) may be an important source of methane (CH4), a greenhouse gas with significant global warming potential. Sources of CH4 emissions from WWT facilities can be found in the water and in the sludge process lines. Among the methodologies for estimating CH4 emissions inventories from WWT, the more adopted are the guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which recommends default emission factors (Tier 1) depending on WWT systems. Recent published results show that well managed treatment facilities may emit CH4, due to dissolved CH4 in the influent wastewater; in addition, biological nutrient removal also will produce this gas in the anaerobic (or anoxic) steps. However, none of these elements is considered in the current IPCC guidelines. The aim of this work is to propose modified (and new) methane correction factors (MCF) regarding the current Tier 1 IPCC guidelines for CH4 emissions from aerobic treatment systems, with and without anaerobic sludge digesters, focusing on intertropical countries. The modifications are supported on in situ assessment of fugitive CH4 emissions in two facilities in Mexico and on relevant literature data. In the case of well-managed centralized aerobic treatment plant, a MCF of 0.06 (instead of the current 0.0) is proposed, considering that the assumption of a CH4-neutral treatment facility, as established in the IPCC methodology, is not supported. Similarly, a MCF of 0.08 is proposed for biological nutrient removal processes, being a new entry in the guidelines. Finally, a one-step straightforward calculation is proposed for centralized aerobic treatment plants with anaerobic digesters that avoids confusion when selecting the appropriate default MCF based on the Tier 1 IPCC guidelines.

AB - Wastewater treatment (WWT) may be an important source of methane (CH4), a greenhouse gas with significant global warming potential. Sources of CH4 emissions from WWT facilities can be found in the water and in the sludge process lines. Among the methodologies for estimating CH4 emissions inventories from WWT, the more adopted are the guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which recommends default emission factors (Tier 1) depending on WWT systems. Recent published results show that well managed treatment facilities may emit CH4, due to dissolved CH4 in the influent wastewater; in addition, biological nutrient removal also will produce this gas in the anaerobic (or anoxic) steps. However, none of these elements is considered in the current IPCC guidelines. The aim of this work is to propose modified (and new) methane correction factors (MCF) regarding the current Tier 1 IPCC guidelines for CH4 emissions from aerobic treatment systems, with and without anaerobic sludge digesters, focusing on intertropical countries. The modifications are supported on in situ assessment of fugitive CH4 emissions in two facilities in Mexico and on relevant literature data. In the case of well-managed centralized aerobic treatment plant, a MCF of 0.06 (instead of the current 0.0) is proposed, considering that the assumption of a CH4-neutral treatment facility, as established in the IPCC methodology, is not supported. Similarly, a MCF of 0.08 is proposed for biological nutrient removal processes, being a new entry in the guidelines. Finally, a one-step straightforward calculation is proposed for centralized aerobic treatment plants with anaerobic digesters that avoids confusion when selecting the appropriate default MCF based on the Tier 1 IPCC guidelines.

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ER -

Methane correction factors for estimating emissions from aerobic wastewater treatment facilities based on field data in Mexico and on literature review

Abstract

Bibliographical note

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

UN SDGs

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