A comparison of three treatment processes for emulsified rinsing wastewater using integrated LCA-AHP: From lab to pilot-scale

IF 6.6 2区工程技术 Q1 ENGINEERING, CHEMICAL

Journal of water process engineering Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-23 DOI:10.1016/j.jwpe.2026.109686

Cheng Ma , Ziyi Guo , Mushi Li , Wenjing Sang , Muzamil Ali Brohi , Dengxin Li

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Abstract

Emulsified rinsing wastewater from textile industry is difficult to treat due to its stable oil-in-water emulsion. To address the issues of high cost and suboptimal effluent quality in the flocculation-biotreatment process at a textile wastewater pretreatment station, this study systematically compared two improved schemes: enhanced pretreatment (demulsification-flocculation coupled with biotreatment) and enhanced biotreatment (carbon material enhanced anaerobic process). Key operational parameters were optimized through lab-scale experiments. Demulsifier E and biochar showed the best effect respectively. These parameters were validated in a 100-day, 1000 m³/d pilot-scale application. Two schemes both achieved better average effluent chemical oxygen demand (COD) than the original process. For comprehensive decision-making, an integrated life cycle assessment (LCA) combined analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model was developed, evaluating in economic, environmental, and technical effectiveness. LCA results indicated the biochar enhanced anaerobic process exhibited the lowest environmental impact, particularly in global warming potential (GWP). AHP weight revealed that technical effectiveness, especially COD removal efficiency, was the primary concern, resulting the selection on biochar enhanced anaerobic process. This study provides both a practical upgrade solution for industrial wastewater treatment plants and demonstrates the value of the LCA-AHP framework in guiding the green transformation of such processes.

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综合LCA-AHP处理乳化漂洗废水的三种工艺比较：从实验室到中试规模

纺织工业的乳化漂洗废水由于具有稳定的水包油乳液，处理难度较大。针对某纺织废水预处理站絮凝-生物处理工艺成本高、出水水质欠佳的问题，系统比较了两种改进方案：强化预处理（破乳-絮凝+生物处理）和强化生物处理（碳材料强化厌氧工艺）。通过实验室规模实验优化了关键操作参数。破乳剂E和生物炭的效果最好。这些参数在100天、1000 m3/d的中试应用中得到了验证。两种方案的平均出水化学需氧量（COD）均优于原工艺。在综合决策方面，建立了综合生命周期评价（LCA）结合层次分析法（AHP）模型，从经济、环境和技术三个方面评价综合决策的有效性。LCA结果表明，生物炭强化厌氧工艺对环境的影响最小，特别是对全球变暖潜值（GWP）的影响最小。AHP加权结果表明，技术效率，特别是COD去除效率是主要考虑因素，因此选择了生物炭强化厌氧工艺。本研究为工业废水处理厂提供了一个实用的升级解决方案，并证明了LCA-AHP框架在指导工业废水处理厂绿色转型方面的价值。

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来源期刊

Journal of water process engineering Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology-Biotechnology

CiteScore

10.70

自引率

8.60%

发文量

846

审稿时长

24 days

期刊介绍： The Journal of Water Process Engineering aims to publish refereed, high-quality research papers with significant novelty and impact in all areas of the engineering of water and wastewater processing . Papers on advanced and novel treatment processes and technologies are particularly welcome. The Journal considers papers in areas such as nanotechnology and biotechnology applications in water, novel oxidation and separation processes, membrane processes (except those for desalination) , catalytic processes for the removal of water contaminants, sustainable processes, water reuse and recycling, water use and wastewater minimization, integrated/hybrid technology, process modeling of water treatment and novel treatment processes. Submissions on the subject of adsorbents, including standard measurements of adsorption kinetics and equilibrium will only be considered if there is a genuine case for novelty and contribution, for example highly novel, sustainable adsorbents and their use: papers on activated carbon-type materials derived from natural matter, or surfactant-modified clays and related minerals, would not fulfil this criterion. The Journal particularly welcomes contributions involving environmentally, economically and socially sustainable technology for water treatment, including those which are energy-efficient, with minimal or no chemical consumption, and capable of water recycling and reuse that minimizes the direct disposal of wastewater to the aquatic environment. Papers that describe novel ideas for solving issues related to water quality and availability are also welcome, as are those that show the transfer of techniques from other disciplines. The Journal will consider papers dealing with processes for various water matrices including drinking water (except desalination), domestic, urban and industrial wastewaters, in addition to their residues. It is expected that the journal will be of particular relevance to chemical and process engineers working in the field. The Journal welcomes Full Text papers, Short Communications, State-of-the-Art Reviews and Letters to Editors and Case Studies