Because the assessment of grey water according to the Water Footprint Network (WFN) permits to quantify the dilution volume to restore water quality considering the substance that demands the highest dilution volume, the effect of other polluting substances (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorous, pesticides) applied on field cannot be evaluated. Nevertheless, the environmental load of all these substances cannot be neglected, especially when huge amounts of organic fertilisers are spread.Additionally, because blue water quantification with WFN permits to analyse only the water consumed by the crop (mainly for irrigation purposes), a method assessing the gross irrigation volume effectively applied on field was used (i.e. Water Footprint Applied - WFA).A Pollution Water Indicator (PWI) was developed to denote the intensity of water pollution identifying the effect of the main polluting substances from crop cultivation. For PWI, both grey water and the water-related environmental impact categories (freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication and freshwater ecotoxicity) evaluated by means of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) were considered.In this context, this study proposes a framework for assessing both the environmental impact and the consumption of freshwater. Different organic fertilisers spreading techniques with different timing of incorporation and straw management and three irrigation technologies with variable technical efficiency were compared for WFA quantification of maize grain production in Northern Italy.With regard to organic fertilisers spreading, PWI resulted better when nutrients leaching is reduced, while it was worse with fast soil incorporation and direct soil injection of organic fertilisers that, reducing ammonia volatilisation, involve higher nitrate losses. As concerns irrigation, sprinkler and drip irrigation are highly recommended because they permit to apply water volumes much close to the consumed ones, with blue water between -33% and -60% of total WFA with drip instead of surface irrigation.

Beyond the Water Footprint : A new framework proposal to assess freshwater environmental impact and consumption / D. Lovarelli, C. Ingrao, M. Fiala, J. Bacenetti. - In: JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION. - ISSN 0959-6526. - (2016 Jul 26), pp. 1-11. [Epub ahead of print] [10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.067]

Beyond the Water Footprint : A new framework proposal to assess freshwater environmental impact and consumption

D. Lovarelli
Primo
;
M. Fiala;J. Bacenetti
2016

Abstract

Because the assessment of grey water according to the Water Footprint Network (WFN) permits to quantify the dilution volume to restore water quality considering the substance that demands the highest dilution volume, the effect of other polluting substances (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorous, pesticides) applied on field cannot be evaluated. Nevertheless, the environmental load of all these substances cannot be neglected, especially when huge amounts of organic fertilisers are spread.Additionally, because blue water quantification with WFN permits to analyse only the water consumed by the crop (mainly for irrigation purposes), a method assessing the gross irrigation volume effectively applied on field was used (i.e. Water Footprint Applied - WFA).A Pollution Water Indicator (PWI) was developed to denote the intensity of water pollution identifying the effect of the main polluting substances from crop cultivation. For PWI, both grey water and the water-related environmental impact categories (freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication and freshwater ecotoxicity) evaluated by means of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) were considered.In this context, this study proposes a framework for assessing both the environmental impact and the consumption of freshwater. Different organic fertilisers spreading techniques with different timing of incorporation and straw management and three irrigation technologies with variable technical efficiency were compared for WFA quantification of maize grain production in Northern Italy.With regard to organic fertilisers spreading, PWI resulted better when nutrients leaching is reduced, while it was worse with fast soil incorporation and direct soil injection of organic fertilisers that, reducing ammonia volatilisation, involve higher nitrate losses. As concerns irrigation, sprinkler and drip irrigation are highly recommended because they permit to apply water volumes much close to the consumed ones, with blue water between -33% and -60% of total WFA with drip instead of surface irrigation.
eutrophication; grey water; pollution water indicator; water footprint applied; water footprint network; renewable energy, sustainability and the environment; 2300; strategy and management1409 tourism, leisure and hospitality management; industrial and manufacturing engineering
Settore AGR/09 - Meccanica Agraria
26-lug-2016
26-lug-2016
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/474395
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