Volume 5: Innovative Solutions for Energy Transitions: Part IV

Analysis of the Emission Reduction Effect of Sewage Treatment During the Construction of a Sponge City in Xiamen Weiwei Shao, Yuanfei Li, Jiahong Liu, Zhiyong Yang, Zhaohui Yang, Yingdong Yu, Penggui Xie

Abstract

Climate change caused by increased greenhouse gases (GHGs) is having an increasingly profound impact on human society. Urban sewage treatment processes and tailwater pollutant emissions generate large amounts of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, which are considered important anthropogenic GHGs. Based on the emission factor method recommended by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) this study analyzed the carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) of wastewater treatment in Xiamen in 2016 and the emission reduction effect of the development of wastewater treatment for tailwater pollutants after the completion of the sponge city in 2030. The results showed that the CO2e of sewage treatment in Xiamen in 2016 was 71,366,300 t, of which direct carbon emissions comprised 29,200 t and energy consumption and indirect carbon emissions from flocculants comprised 71,337,100 t. In 2016, the amount of GHGs directly generated from the discharge of sewage tailwater pollutants was effectively reduced by 34.11%. Under the same sewage discharge in 2030, compared with the traditional model before the upgrade, the construction of sponge city can effectively reduce carbon emissions by 27.12%, and the emission reduction effect would be significant.

Keywords greenhouse gas, sewage treatment, sponge city, carbon emission reduction, climate change