Assessing The Carbon Footprint of A High-Capacity Wastewater Treatment Plant

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to quantify the carbon footprint of one of Türkiye’s most advanced wastewater treatment plants, situated in central Anatolia. This facility boasts one of the largest processing capacities in the nation, employing the Classic Activated Sludge Process to handle an impressive 765,000 m³ per day, thereby effectively serving approximately 3 million people. The main method for calculating the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the facility involved the use of two different calculation software tools: Ecozero and CarbonIT, both developed by Turkish-based companies. With the help of these software the carbon footprint of the facility's activities for two years (2021-2022) was calculated, following the IPCC (2006) National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Guidelines, with additional guidance from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and the GHG Protocol. The results for Ecozero in 2021 indicated emissions of 14,337.43 t CO2e, with emissions in 2022 at 14,035.00 t CO2e. Similarly, CarbonIT showed emissions of 24,381.2027 t CO2e for 2021 and 22,609.3423 t CO2e for 2022. The differences between the calculation results are mostly due to the use of different Well-To-Tank (WTT) emission factors and leakage gas emission calculation methods. These findings highlight the efficacy of both Ecozero and CarbonIT in tracking and promoting sustainable practices over consecutive years. Emission differences between 2021 and 2022 were also interpreted within the scope of the thesis. Furthermore, the study offers several recommendations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the plant, contributing to more sustainable and environmentally friendly operations.