Journal article
Benchmarking greenhouse gas emissions from US wastewater treatment for targeted reduction
Nature water, Vol.3(10), pp.1133-1143
10/08/2025
DOI: 10.1038/s44221-025-00485-w
Abstract
Here, to assess the national climate impact of wastewater treatment and inform decarbonization, we assembled a comprehensive greenhouse gas inventory of 15,863 facilities in the contiguous USA. Considering location and treatment configurations, we modelled on-site CH4, N2O and CO2 production and emissions associated with energy, chemical inputs and solids disposal. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we estimated median national emissions at 47 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year, with on-site process CH4 and N2O emissions exceeding current government estimates by 41%. Treatment configurations with anaerobic digesters are responsible for 16 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year of fugitive methane, outweighing benefits achieved through on-site electricity generation. Systems designed for nutrient removal have the highest greenhouse gas emissions intensity, attributable to energy requirements and N2O production, demonstrating current trade-offs between meeting water quality and climate objectives. We analysed key sensitivities and included a geospatial analysis to highlight the scale and distribution of opportunities for reducing life cycle greenhouse gas emissions.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Benchmarking greenhouse gas emissions from US wastewater treatment for targeted reduction
- Creators
- Sahar H. El Abbadi - Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryJianan Feng - University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignAbigayle R. Hodson - Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryMaryam Amouamouha - Loyola University ChicagoMargaret M. Busse - Pennsylvania State UniversityChristina Polcuch - Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryPengxiao Zhou - Northwestern UniversityJordan Macknick - National Laboratory of the RockiesJeremy S. Guest - University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignJennifer R. Stokes-Draut - Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryJennifer B. Dunn - Northwestern University
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Nature water, Vol.3(10), pp.1133-1143
- DOI
- 10.1038/s44221-025-00485-w
- ISSN
- 2731-6084
- eISSN
- 2731-6084
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Number of pages
- 11
- Grant note
- U.S. Department of Energy Industrial Technologies Office, Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231; United States Department of Energy (DOE) Loh Kwan Chen fellowship at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; United States Department of Energy (DOE) DE-AC02-05CH11231 / US Department of Energy; United States Department of Energy (DOE) US Department of Energy Industrial Technologies Office; United States Department of Energy (DOE) DE-AC36-08GO28308 / National Renewable Energy Laboratory; United States Department of Energy (DOE)
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 10/08/2025
- Academic Unit
- Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Record Identifier
- 9985014800002771
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