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DOI : 10.17640/KSWST.2026.34.1.21 , Vol.34, No.1, 21 ~ 26, 2026
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| Title |
| Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Carbon Neutralization in Sewage Treatment Facilities |
| 이석주 Seok-ju Lee , 이석홍 Seok-hong Lee , 김홍찬 Hong-chen Kim , 강광원 Gwang-won Kang , 여인혁 In-hyuk Yeo , 김지연 Ji-yeon Kim |
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| Abstract |
| In modern society, domestic wastewater treatment plants are essential infrastructure. However these facilities are also major sources of significant greenhouse gas emissions. To mitigate the climate crisis and move towards a sustainable society, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from domestic wastewater treatment plants is an urgent task. Achieving this requires the integrated application of technological improvements and institutional measures. In order to increase and diversify the use of renewable energy, the integrated digestion biogas of organic waste resources, the use of cooling and heating energy based on sewage heat, and the development of salinity gradient power generation were reviewed. Based on this, it was intended to contribute to the preparation of measures to achieve carbon neutrality in sewage treatment facilities. Among the investigated treatment processes, the lowest amount of emissions was observed in the conventional activated sludge process, whereas the highest CO₂ emissions were recorded in the membrane bioreactor (MBR) process. These results are considered to be associated with nitrogen removal performance during the wastewater treatment process. In addition, energy-intensive processes tended to exhibit higher carbon emissions, which are believed to be strongly influenced by aeration intensity. In particular, in the SBR and MBR processes, electricity consumption increased due to membrane cleaning and excess sludge discharge operations, resulting in a corresponding increase in carbon dioxide emissions per unit volume of treated wastewater. Furthermore, insufficient nitrogen removal within the bioreactor led to nitrogen being discharged in the effluent rather than being released into the atmosphere as nitrogen gas or nitrous oxide. This suggests that relatively low amounts of nitrous oxide were emitted during the treatment process. In general, the global warming potential of wastewater treatment plants is known to be significantly influenced by nitrous oxide, which has a high contribution to climate change. The results of this study can be used to calculate greenhouse gas emissions from biological wastewater treatment processes and prepare their reduction plans. |
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| Key Words |
| 탄소중립, 활성슬러지공정, 전기소모량, 온실가스, 분리막생물반응조, 회분식연속반응조, Carbon neutrality, Conventional activated sludge process, Electricity consumption, Greenhouse gas, MBR, SBR |
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