Life cycle assessment of rainwater harvesting systems for Brazilian semi‐arid households

We assess and compare energy intensities in different setups of Rainwater Harvesting Systems (RHWS), in households located in Brazilian semi‐arid. Life cycle assessment was applied to verify the cumulative energy demand (CED) of systems with different catchment areas and reservoir volumes. The contr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water and environment journal : WEJ 2020-08, Vol.34 (3), p.322-330
Main Authors: Barbosa de Jesus, Thiago, Costa Kiperstok, Alice, Borges Cohim, Eduardo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aridity
Catchment area
Catchment areas
cumulative energy demand
embodied energy
Energy
Energy demand
energy intensity
Energy utilization
Evaluation
Harvesting
Households
Life cycle
Life cycle analysis
Life cycle assessment
Life cycles
Rain
Rain water
Rainfall
Rainwater recovery systems
Reservoirs
Systems analysis
Waste disposal
Water demand
Water harvesting
water savings
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Summary:We assess and compare energy intensities in different setups of Rainwater Harvesting Systems (RHWS), in households located in Brazilian semi‐arid. Life cycle assessment was applied to verify the cumulative energy demand (CED) of systems with different catchment areas and reservoir volumes. The contribution of each component to the energy intensity was considered, as well the feedstock energy of the materials in final waste disposal. None of the evaluated systems were able to meet the total demand for water in a household due production limitations such as catchment area and precipitation. In all RWHS evaluated, the energy intensity was lower than municipality. Larger catchment areas increase productivity and reduce the energy intensity of the systems. Differently, increasing reservoir volume initially reduces energy intensity and reaches an optimal point around 1000–2500 L capacity. The construction phase had more intensity than the use phase.
ISSN:1747-6585
1747-6593
DOI:10.1111/wej.12464