# What emissions does a faecal sludge treatment plant produce?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/faecal-sludge-treatment-plant-emissions

Methane from sludge left without air is the main concern, with some nitrous oxide. Drying beds and well run aerobic stages emit less; anaerobic ponds emit more. Add electricity at 0.710 kg CO2 per kWh and diesel for desludging trucks. Capturing biogas cuts methane.

## Sources

- Methane from anaerobic tanks, ponds and stored sludge.
- Nitrous oxide from treatment stages.
- Electricity for pumps and dewatering.
- Diesel for collection trucks.

## Method

IPCC 2006 Volume 5 gives methods for wastewater and sludge. Methane is converted with the AR6 GWP for non-fossil methane, 27.0.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads electricity bills (CEA grid factor 0.710 kg CO2 per kWh, CO2 Baseline Database version 21.0) and diesel, LPG and gas invoices (IPCC 2006 defaults) into a dated, fingerprinted Scope 1 and 2 record for each site. Intensity per unit uses the activity count you enter, and estimates are labelled as estimates.

- [Septic tank methane](https://senseible.earth/answers/septic-tank-methane-scope-1)
- [Sewage treatment electricity](https://senseible.earth/answers/sewage-treatment-plant-electricity-per-kl)
- [Landfill methane](https://senseible.earth/answers/landfill-gas-methane-municipal-landfill)

Sources: [IPCC 2006 Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories](https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/), [IPCC AR6 Working Group I](https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/), [Central Pollution Control Board](https://cpcb.nic.in)

Last reviewed 2026-10-22.