Date of Award

8-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Environmental Engineering and Earth Science

Committee Chair/Advisor

Michael Carbajales- Dale

Committee Member

David Ladner

Committee Member

Sarah White

Abstract

Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) remediate wastewater through phytoremediation and have garnered increasing attention in recent years. While adopting more sustainable wastewater treatment methods is important, understanding the environmental risks these methods pose is equally important. To address this, the present study employed life cycle assessment (LCA), a method used to quantify the environmental impacts of a product or service across its life cycle. The primary objective was to conduct a cradle-to-gate analysis that compares the impacts of emerging biodegradable and transitional FTW technologies, constructed at the mesocosm scale, against the incumbent high-density polyethylene (HDPE) system for a functional unit of 1m2 deployed for 10 years without replacement. In addition, cost analysis was used to evaluate the economic feasibility of three technologies: (1) Biodegradable FTW made of BioD-mat from coconut husk, pinewood, and cork back; (2) Aeroglass FTW made from recycled glass aggregate and wire mesh; and (3) Beemat FTW made of HDPE. Among the three, Aeroglass FTW recorded the highest global warming potential (GWP) at 5.24kg CO₂-eq, with a capital cost of $36/m². Beemat exhibited the lowest GWP at 2.15 kg CO₂-eq but the highest capital cost at $190/m². Although the Biodegradable FTW did not achieve the lowest GWP, it offered the lowest capital cost at $14.68/m² with a GWP of 3.42 kg CO₂-eq, making it the most attractive option for stakeholder adoption when balancing cost and environmental performance. Future work incorporating a full cradle-to-grave analysis, coupled with a comprehensive technoeconomic assessment, would provide deeper insight into the long-term sustainability and viability of these technologies.

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