Important note:

This is only a sample for assignment 1. Please note, this sample is for T2, 2020. This
sample also not covered all T2, 2020 marking criteria.
The marking criteria and the marking rubrics for T1, 2022 have been changed.
Students are advised to follow T1, 2022's marking criteria and the marking rubrics
for assignment 1.

Australian Engineering Practice

Unit code: ENEG20001

Term 2, 2020

Assignment - 1

Student Name: Daniel Alejandro Lossada Perez Student ID:12139051

Week of Submission: 6
Date of Submission: 5/08/2020

School of Engineering and Technology Central Queensland University

ENEG20001 – Australian Engineering Practice Assignment 1 | Page 1

Part A – Annotated Bibliography
Section Your response
Reference Simms, A., Hamilton, S. & Biswas, W.K. 2017, "Carbon footprint assessment of
Western Australian Groundwater Recycling Scheme", Environmental Management,
vol. 59, no. 4, pp. 557-570.
Introduction Simms, Hamilton, and Biswas (2017) studied greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions
from the groundwater recycling scheme in Western Australia in 2016. For that, they
undertook a life cycle assessment (LCA). The approach used in this analysis was a
cradle to gate, in which the first refers to the entry untreated water at the Beenyup
wastewater plant, and the second refers to the release of treated water into the
Water Corporation's Wanneroo reserve. The paper includes four main examination
points: allocation of emissions in each stage, the use of renewable energies to
reduce the emissions, compare emissions from groundwater treatment to the
desalination process, and the use of a new technology called V-Sep to reduce CO2
emissions.
Aim The paper aims to generate a mass balance of to compute the volume of entry and
product in the scheme of the product life cycle to produce 1 Gigalitre (GL) of
recycling water, and the reason for choosing the GHG emissions for the study rest in
the fact that Australia has committed to reducing them and because it is most
regularly recognized and referenced (Worldwatch Institute 2011)
Research The research used a life cycle assessment, supervening the guidelines described in
methods ISO140-44 (ISO 2010), and it consists of four stages. They started with the goal that
involves the measurement of GHG emissions to deliver 1 GL of recycling water, as
mentioned before. The second step refers to the inventory analysis of each stage,
where the Water Corporation presented the inputs and outputs, and when the data
was not available, the design average and setpoint data were used. With this, they
built a life cycle inventory and converted it to a single unit to allow comparison
among them, and the unit of water designated was 1GL outputted at the end of the
process. The third stage of the scheme was the impact assessment, where it
contemplated the 100 years horizon, and software of LCA called SimaPro was used
to convert, compute, and sum up the GHG emissions. The fourth and final stage was
the interpretation of the results.
Scope Three plants were part of the study: the wastewater treatment, groundwater pre-
injection treatment, and groundwater treatment.
Outcomes Due to the data's uncertainty from the input and output to calculate the GHG
emissions, a Monte Carlo Simulation was set to mitigate such uncertainty and
anticipate the effect that variable has on the environmental impacts (Goedkoop et
al. 2013). The carbon footprint value associated with the overall scheme was 1300
tonnes of CO2 per GL of water production. A breakdown of the total number showed
that 79% of the GHG emissions come from the groundwater replenishment section;
this is due to the vast amount of energy needed to pump the water into pressure in
the reverse osmosis tanks and the power used to gather water from the aquifers.
The second outcome shown in the research is that 83% of the GHG emissions are
generated by the electricity used to operate the scheme, 16% from the chemicals
been used, and only 0.5% comes from the transport.
After obtaining the groundwater scheme plant's total emissions, it can be compared
with the Southern Seawater Desalination Plant (SSDP) emissions. Firstly, specific
environmental considerations were contemplated: at the groundwater recycling
plant uses 100% grid electricity, whereas the SSDP uses 100% renewable energies. If
the SSDP uses grid electricity, it will produce 3890 tonnes of CO2 per GL of recycled
water, while it would only produce 367 tonnes CO2 where it uses renewable

ENEG20001 – Australian Engineering Practice Assignment 1 | Page 2

 energies. On the other hand, the groundwater scheme using 100% non-renewable
energies produces 1300 tonnes of CO2, as mentioned before, and when projected
to use 100% green energies, it produces 294-353 tonnes of CO2 (different
production of CO2 depending on the percentage of wind and solar power). When
placed under the same conditions, it can be stated that the groundwater compares
favourably to the SSDP in terms of emissions and costs.
Also included in this paper is the use of V-Sep (Vibrational Separation) technology.
This technology is the agglomeration in the MIEX® stage of rubbish, discharging
some of the regenerated chemicals that, on the contrary, would end in wastage, and
it is completed by using a vibrating membrane. Such technology allowed a cutback
of more than 4 tonnes of CO2 eq per GL of produced water.
After obtaining the results of this study, GHG emission potential mitigation solutions
were presented. Firstly, the possible reduction of pressure differential at the
membranes of the reverse osmosis tanks could bring a lower energy use of the
pumps, although this research did not cover such a solution. Secondly, the Water
Corporation set an energy efficiency improvement at the scheme through asset
design, maintenance, operating practices, and staff awareness. Thirdly, contemplate
the introduction of renewable energy in the plant scheme, this could bring a
compelling reduction of GHG emission from the plant, a maximum reduction of 91%
to a minimum one of 21%. A fund program called Low Emissions Energy
Development is the most likely option to introduce renewable energy technologies;
it has been investing more than 30 million dollars in Western Australia for the last
four years at the moment of this study. However, as a result of the plant's location,
this mitigation option is not feasible, although the Water Corporation is considering
a mix of grid and renewable energy (wind and solar), and at this stage, it is in the
process of decision making.
Limitations This study had limitations; the first one stands from the fact that there is an absence
of a database for some of the scheme's chemicals. The second limitation is that the
life cycle and construction of the membranes and cartridges from the reverse
osmosis tanks were not considered attributable to the exploratory essence of the
project [Hamilton S, Water Corporation, Perth, personal communication, March 31,
2016]. However, these omissions only account for less than 5% of the research's
overall outcome, which means it will not affect the result of the study (Biswas 2009).
Reflections As a civil engineer, I believe this research represents a magnificent opportunity to
understanding from where exactly all the GHG emissions come from the
groundwater recycling schemes within Western Australia and that, even though the
groundwater recycling process represents a positive action towards helping to save
the planet, its procedures also generate emissions that harm it. Thus, life cycle
assessments should be performed in most projects to consider their emissions and
come up with a possible reduction of them. This paper also helped me gain a more
profound level of consciousness of the positive impact of implementing renewable
energy sources to mitigate the CO2 emissions within a project. I believe governments
and the private sector should advocate more resources to facilitate their use.

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Part B – Evidence of the Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies
Competency elements Evidence from the paper you studied
The paper acknowledges water scarcity in Western Australia within the
1.1 past decades along with the available solutions and using engineering
fundamental principles; this paper researches how these solutions
produce emissions of CO2 that cause harm to the planet.
Using a Monte Carlo Simulation method and the SimaPro software, the
1.2 study produces a confidence interval of 95% and 1000 iterations,
demonstrating numerical analysis, statistics, and computer science
associated with the engineering discipline.
The authors of this research paper possess an in-depth understanding
1.3 of environmental engineering, in this article in particular with GHG
emissions, how are they produced, where are they located, how to
compute a total, conversion of them to a single universal unit, and
several mitigation options to reduce their production as well.
The researchers, when trying to allocate solutions to the green energy
production to the groundwater recycling scheme, used their
1.4 discernment to acknowledge that it was not possible in the immediate
future to create wind or solar energy fields because of the proximity to
a residential area due to noise, landscape changes and space available.
To compare the Southern Seawater Desalination Plant (SSDP) with the
Groundwater Recycling Scheme, contextual factors were put in place.
1.5 Even though SSDP only uses renewable energy electricity to provide a
contextual comparison, its emissions were computed as it was using
grid electricity; thus, both plants were using the same environmental
consideration.
Researchers set a scope for their project, which was the study of the
1.6 three primary plants of the groundwater recycling scheme, and
followed the ISO 14040-44 norms to estimate carbon emissions.

To solve the complex engineering problem of each data points'

2.1 uncertainty, and to predict that variable has of the environmental
impact, the study used a Monte Carlo Simulation, which throws a 95%
confidence interval after 1000 iterations.
The Monte Carlo Simulation is an engineering technique used to deal
with uncertainty, and the SimaPro software was set to resolve the
2.2 uncertainty problems. The software possesses a database resource to
calculate the GHG emissions of chemicals used and processes (CO2,
N2O, CH4), and it is used as a tool to convert them to its equivalent in
CO2.
The study used an engineering design process when presenting
possible mitigation to reduce the emissions from the groundwater
2.3 recycling plant. They came up with partial to complete use of wind and
solar power distribution to replace the electricity grid and its
emissions.
A systematic approach to conduct the research was used when the
2.4 authors divided their work into four necessary steps: goal and scope,
inventory analysis, impact assessment, and interpretation.
The authors point to the Low Emissions Energy Development fund
3.1 program as the most suitable organization to guide the introduction of
renewable energy sources to reduce the GHG emission from the

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 groundwater recycling scheme. They also occur in ethical conduct
when citing all sources mentioned in this research paper.
All along the process of making this research paper, the authors kept
3.2 an effective oral and written communication with the Water
Corporation to obtain the most accurate information and data to meet
the study's goals.
3.3 The study presents an innovative and creative technology called V-Sep
that can potentially reduce the scheme's GHG emissions.
The study used the Water Corporation's data professionally to their
3.4 inventory analysis through the inputs and outputs and managed the
process of data in the life cycle assessment to obtain the outcomes for
the article.
The researchers reviewed current papers to keep themselves up to
3.5 date with similar topic papers and investigations about GHG emissions
worldwide, followed international standards, set priorities, and made
decisions on the path of the investigation.
The research paper possesses three authors, demonstrating a valid
3.6 team membership and leadership between them to work together and
present a well-managed project.

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