Life Cycle Assessment of Three Drinking Water Treatment Technologies Reflecting Their Economic Significance

Egypt is currently facing major challenges in managing the limited water resources amid a growing demand driven by a population that has surpassed 100 million. This study utilizes life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate and compare the environmental impacts of three drinking water treatment technologies commonly used in Egyptian cities: Conventional Treatment, Ultrafiltration (UF), and Reverse Osmosis (RO) Desalination. The analysis was conducted using SimaPro 8.04 software and the Eco-indicator 99 method.Additionally, a cost analysis was carried out to determine the most sustainable and efficient approach to water management that aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean water and Sanitation.Results showed that RO technology had the highest impact on the different environmental aspects particularly in GWP, AP and FFDP. This was mainly attributed tothe high energy consumption during the process and also the production of chemicals used in the process (5050 MJ). The main contributor to these impacts was theCO₂ emissionsfrom fossil fuel used in electricity generation and chemical production for RO treatment processes. UF had the highest impact on CP and RIOP due to the chemical production processes,then conventional technologythat had the least environmental impact in most categories.In terms of cost analysis, it was found that the cost of treated water from conventional technology was the cheapest alternative (0.063 USD/m³), followed by UF (0.38 USD)/m³, then RO(0.54 USD)/m³. In conclusion, conventional treatment was the most favorable technique among the three techniques in terms of environmental impacts as well as cost.