Environmental impact assessment of manufacturing seawater desalination technology using life cycle assessment

Abstract The seawater desalination technology, named WEFO (Water with Electrolysis, Filtration, and Ozonation), holds significant potential for addressing clean water scarcity in coastal areas. This study employs Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental impact of producing the WEFO device. The LCA results indicate notable environmental impacts, mostly attributable to using stainless steel and aluminum alloy. Stainless steel contributes 72.81% to abiotic depletion, 85.54% to acidification, 47.64% to eutrophication, 79.87% to freshwater ecotoxicity, 81.05% to terrestrial ecotoxicity, and 81.40% to photochemical oxidation. Meanwhile, aluminum alloy is responsible for 57.48% of global warming and 64.10% of ozone layer depletion. The manufacturing process of these materials emits pollutants that damage air and water quality and contributes to climate change and ecosystem disturbance. To mitigate these impacts, it is advisable to decrease the utilization of materials with significant environmental consequences in components such as wheel plates, faucets, and frames, replacing them with more environmentally friendly alternatives. Implementing these alternatives is expected to make WEFO technology more sustainable and provide an environmentally friendly solution to clean water scarcity in coastal areas while preserving human and ecosystem health.