Journal of Applied Economic Research
ISSN 2712-7435
Ensuring Water Treatment Assessment Within Spatial Ecological and Economic Security Framework Towards Circular Economy
Kiselev A.V., Magaril E.R.
Abstract
The article is focused on an urgent and global issue of water pollution due to inefficient nature management. The authors examine it in the context of the Circular Economy paradigm and environmental and economic security of territories. A number of tasks, including the systematization of the existing methodology for assessing the wastewater treatment efficiency; the development of a new toolkit as part of the environmental and economic security policy of the territories that would meet the principles of the circular economy; testing the proposed indicators set to check the progress towards circular economy, are under consideration as part of the current research. Clear and representative results were obtained to evaluate the efficiency of the wastewater treatment technological process under three different scenarios in various territories. These data is quite simple for interpretation by a wide range of stakeholders and can be used as benchmarking for spatial industry assessment or analysis of the dynamics of a particular business entity. The proposed toolkit for assessing the effectiveness of water treatment taking into account the principles of the circular economy can be used as an element of public non-financial reporting, for example, within the framework of disclosure standards in the field of plumbing and sewage, as well as in the national benchmarking system. Carrying out benchmarking involves a process aimed at searching, evaluating and transferring the best business practices and introducing the best available technologies. It enables one to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the enterprise, including aspects that need to be optimized. Such information will ensure long-term sustainability, transparency and security for the main stakeholders: for investors - clear rules of work, for consumers - high quality services at affordable prices, for state and municipal authorities - providing residents with infrastructure and solving modernization problems.
Keywords
sustainable development; economic security; wastewater treatment; circular economy; key performance indicators; circularity index; benchmarking.
References
1. Pintilie, L., Torres, C.M., Teodosiu, C., Castells, F. (2016). Urban wastewater reclamation for industrial reuse: An LCA case study. Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 139, 1–14. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.07.209.
2. United Nations Sustainable Development. Available at: www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment.
3. Naidoo, S., Olaniran, A.O. (2014). Treated wastewater effluent as a source of microbial pollution of surface water resources. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol. 11, Issue 1, 249–270. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph110100249.
4. Back to Our Common Future: Sustainable Development in the 21st Century (SD21) Project (2012). United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affair. Available at: sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/UN-DESA_Back_Common_Future_En.pdf.
5. Niu, K., Wu, J., Qi, L., Niu, Q. (2019). Energy intensity of wastewater treatment plants and influencing factors in China. Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 670, 961–970. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.159.
6. Pajares, E.M., Valero, L.G., Sánchez, I.M.R. (2019). Cost of urban wastewater treatment and ecotaxes: Evidence from municipalities in southern Europe. Water, Vol. 11, Issue. 3, 423.
7. Langone, M., Ferrentino, R., Trombino, G., Waubert De Puiseau, D., Andreottola, G., Rada, E.C., Ragazzi, M. (2015). Application of a novel hydrodynamic cavitation system in wastewater treatment plants. UPB Scientific Bulletin. Series D, Vol. 77, Issue 1, 225–234.
8. Ragazzi, M., Catellani, R., Rada, E.C., Torretta, V., Salazar-Valenzuela, X. (2016). Management of urban wastewater on one of the Galapagos Islands. Sustainability, Vol. 8, Issue 3, 208.
9. Eggimann, S., Truffer, B., Feldmann, U., Maurer, M. (2018). Screening European market potentials for small modular wastewater treatment systems – an inroad to sustainability transitions in urban water management? Land Use Policy, Vol. 78, 711–725.
10. Managing Water under Uncertainty and Risk (2012). The UN World Water Development Report 4. Vol. 1. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 867 р. Available at: unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002156/215644e.pdf.
11. The State of Renewable Energies in Europe (2016). Edition 2016. 16th EurObserv’ER Report, EurObserv’ER consortium, 265 р. Available at: www.eurobserv-er.org/pdf/2016/EurObservER-Annual-Overview-2016-EN.pdf.
12. Towards the Circular Economy: Economic and Business Rationale for an Accelerated Transition (2013). Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Vol. 1, 96 р. Available at: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/publications/Ellen-MacArthur-Foundation-Towards-the-Circular-Economy-vol.1.pdf.
13. Circularity Indicators. An Approach to Measuring Circularity. Methodology (2015). Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 97 р. Available at: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/insight/Circularity-Indicators_Methodology_May2015.pdf.
14. Saidani, M., Yannou, B., Leroy, Y., Cluzel, F., Kendall, A. (2019). A taxonomy of circular economy indicators. Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 207, 542–559.
15. Heshmati, A. (2015). A Review of the Circular Economy and its Implementation. IZA Discussion Paper, No. 9611. Bonn, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), 61 р. Available at: www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/130297/1/dp9611.pdf.
16. Pinter, L. (2006). International Experience in Establishing Indicators for the Circular Economy and Considerations for China. Report for the Environment and Social Development Sector Unit, East Asia and Pacific Region. World Bank, 27 р.
17. van Leeuwen, K., de Vries, E., Koop, S., Roest, K. (2018). The Energy & Raw Materials Factory: Role and Potential Contribution to the Circular Economy of the Netherlands. Environmental Management, Vol. 61., 786–795. DOI: 10.1007/s00267-018-0995-8.
18. On a Monitoring Framework for the Circular Economy (2018). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Strasbourg, European Commission, 10 р. Available at: ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/pdf/monitoring-framework.pdf.
19. Closing the Loop – an EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy (2015). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Brussels, European Commission, 21 р. Available at: eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html.
20. Buonocore, E., Mellino, S., De Angelis, G., Liu, G., Ulgiati, S. (2018). Life cycle assessment indicators of urban wastewater and sewage sludge treatment. Ecological Indicators, Vol. 94, 13–23. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.04.047.
21. Geng, Y., Fu, J., Sarkis, J., Xue, B. (2012). Towards a national circular economy indicator system in China: an evaluation and critical analysis. Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 23, 216–224.
22. Cai, Z.C., Wennerstern, R. (2010). Ecological Urban Design through Material and Energy Flow Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment: from an architect’s perspective. WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol. 142, 3–13.
23. Rukavishnikova, I., Kiselev, A., Berezyuk, M., Ashirova, I. (2018). Improvement of the methodology for assessing domestic wastewater treatment quality using benchmarking tools. WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol. 228, 209–219.
24. Kiselev, A., Magaril, E., Magaril, R., Panepinto, D., Ravina, M., Zanetti, M.C. (2019). Towards Circular Economy: Evaluation of Sewage Sludge Biogas Solutions. Resources, Vol. 8, Issue 2, 91. DOI: 10.3390/resources8020091.
25. Pabi, S., Amarnath, A., Goldstein, R., Reekie, L. (2013). Electricity Use and Management in the Municipal Water Supply and Wastewater Industries. Electric Power Research Institute and Water Research Foundation, Report No.: 3002001433. Water Research Foundation.
26. Gandiglio, M., Lanzini, A., Soto, A., Leone, P., Santarelli, M. (2017). Enhancing the Energy Efficiency of Wastewater Treatment Plants through Co-digestion and Fuel Cell Systems. Frontiers in Environmental Science. Available at: www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2017.00070/full.
27. Molina-Sánchez, E., Leyva-Díaz, J.C., Cortés-García, F.J., Molina-Moreno, V. (2018). Proposal of Sustainability Indicators for the Waste Management from the Paper Industry within the Circular Economy Model. Water, Vol. 10, Issue 8, 1014. DOI: 10.3390/w10081014.
28. Su, B., Heshmati, A., Geng, Y., Yu, X. (2013). A review of the circular economy in China: moving from rhetoric to implementation. Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 42, 215–227. DOI:10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.11.020.
About Authors
Kiselev Andrey Vladimirovich – Post-Graduate Student, Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, Ekaterinburg, Russia (620002, Ekaterinburg, Mira street, 19); e-mail: ipkiselyov@mail.ru.
Magaril Elena Romenovna – Doctor of Technical Science, Professor, Head of Department of Environmental Economics, Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, Ekaterinburg, Russia (620002, Ekaterinburg, Mira street, 19); e-mail: magaril67@mail.ru.
For citation
Kiselev A.V., Magaril E.R. Ensuring Water Treatment Assessment within Spatial Ecological and Economic Security Framework Towards Circular Economy. Bulletin of Ural Federal University. Series Economics and Management, 2019, Vol. 18, No. 6, 911–929. DOI: 10.15826/vestnik.2019.18.6.044.
Article info
Received November 1, 2019; Accepted December 1, 2019.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15826/vestnik.2019.18.6.044
Download full text article:
~884 KB, *.pdf
(Uploaded
29.12.2019)
Created / Updated: 2 September 2015 / 20 September 2021
© Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education «Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N.Yeltsin»
Remarks?
select the text and press:
Ctrl + Enter
Portal design: Artsofte
Contact us
Rector's Office
Rector, Dr. Victor Koksharov
Tel. +7 (343) 375-45-03, e-mail: rector@urfu.ru
Vice-Rector for International Relations, Dr. Maxim Khomyakov
Tel. +7 (343) 375-46-27, e-mail: Maksim.Khomyakov@urfu.ru