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Life cycle assessment of rainwater harvesting systems for Brazilian semi‐arid households
Author(s) -
Barbosa de Jesus Thiago,
Costa Kiperstok Alice,
Borges Cohim Eduardo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
water and environment journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1747-6593
pISSN - 1747-6585
DOI - 10.1111/wej.12464
Subject(s) - rainwater harvesting , environmental science , arid , intensity (physics) , drainage basin , precipitation , energy intensity , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental engineering , life cycle assessment , water cycle , catchment area , water resource management , production (economics) , efficient energy use , geography , meteorology , engineering , geology , ecology , paleontology , physics , cartography , geotechnical engineering , macroeconomics , quantum mechanics , electrical engineering , economics , biology
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.