Industrial water reclamation in southern Italy: Insights from the life cycle assessment of a brewery case study

Italy, like other Mediterranean regions, is increasingly affected by water scarcity driven by climate change and inefficient water management. The Food & Beverages sector is particularly water-intensive not only for production but also for heating, cooling and cleaning purposes. Brewing, in particular, stands out as one of the most water-consuming processes. To reduce water demand, alternative water supply strategies such as water reclamation from treated wastewater are gaining attention, but a reliable tool for environmental assessment of reclamation alternatives is needed. In this paper, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was applied to assess the environmental performance of a tertiary treatment plant for brewery wastewater reclamation in a southern Italian brewery (Apulia region). The plant comprises a filtration stage based on quartz sand, activated carbon and membrane ultrafiltration, followed by disinfection via ultraviolet irradiation and sodium hypochlorite. The environmental performance was compared to the one of the conventional brewery's water supply, consisting of desalinated groundwater. Results show substantial benefits of the reclamation process in water use and ozone depletion impact categories, but in the remaining impact categories, from climate change to eutrophication, reclamation performs worse, largely driven by the ultrafiltration stage. While trade-offs exist and outcomes depend on regional specificities and electricity mix, the findings provide decision-relevant insights for evaluating wastewater reclamation as an alternative water supply in other water-stressed regions where conventional supply relies on desalination or overexploited groundwater. • LCA is used to evaluate a full-scale plant designed for water reuse in a brewery. • The reclaimed water scenario is compared with conventional desalinated groundwater. • Water reclamation lowers water use but raises other environmental impacts. • The ultrafiltration stage is the main hotspot driving environmental burdens. • Monte Carlo simulation confirms result reliability and quantifies uncertainty.