Location specific technoeconomic analysis and life cycle assessment of an emerging sanitation technology

Target 6.2 of the United Nations’ 6th Sustainable Development Goal seeks to achieve adequate sanitation services by 2030 for the 2 billion people who currently live without at least basic access. The high cost of constructing centralized wastewater management systems (including collection systems and treatment facilities) often render these options infeasible in resource-limited settings. This study explores the key sustainability drivers, across countries, for a compact, automated sanitation system designed to treat blackwater for onsite reuse. The system has been shown to effectively meet ISO 30500 standards, but its current cost remains too burdensome for low-income households and small communities. Building off a preliminary technoeconomic analysis (TEA) that elucidated specific technological pathways for improvement, this study integrates country-specific parameters into TEA and life cycle assessment (LCA) to investigate how implementation context affects costs, life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and opportunities to improve system sustainability. The study shows that the drivers of both price and environmental impacts are context-dependent, with electricity acting as the major cost and GHG contributor in most locations. Cost and GHG emissions across countries are not correlated. Accordingly, the prioritization of research and development to improve technology sustainability will depend on the planned location of implementation