Page 270 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

Support Sustainable Wastewater Treatment in Developing Countries 251

Europe Africa
8% 5%

America
Asia 40%
47%

FIGURE 12.2 Regional distribution of publications related to LCA applied to wastewater
management in developing countries.

12
11
10 8
Number of publications 6 4 5 6

2 2 2 2

0
India Romania Singapore Mexico Brazil China

FIGURE 12.3 LCA applied to wastewater management in developing countries classified
by country.

This interest in LCA applications to wastewater in Asia and America demon-
strates that researchers in these countries already have some know-how regarding
this approach. However, the dissemination of LCA still depends on the develop-
ment of inventories, characterization factors, and methodologies adapted to regional
specificities.
Concerning Africa, only two studies were recorded, one related to Egypt (El-Sayed
et al., 2010) and another involving the South African context (Nikadimeng, 2015).
The low level of research in Africa is probably related to the absence of regional
models and databases and due to the low number of regional research groups dedi-
cated to LCA studies.