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New technologies are transforming wastewater treatment to address environmental issues and promote resource recovery while the global demand for clean water rises.
Fremont, CA: With the growing population and increasing urbanization, urgent needs have been felt to evolve effective solutions in wastewater treatment. If untreated, water wastage severely risks public health and the environment. Fortunately, technologies are advancing to provide more efficient, sustainable, and innovative wastewater treatment methods. Many of the technologies applied for purification for safe discharge enable the recovery of precious resources, ensuring that wastewater treatment should not be omitted in a circular economy.
MBR technology promises integrated biological processes with membrane filtration to treat wastewater. MBR removes suspended solids and pathogens from the water; it requires less space than traditional plants because it occupies a much smaller footprint. MBR effluent is of sufficient quality for reuse in irrigation and industrial processes. MBRs can operate at higher sludge concentrations, improving treatment efficiency and lowering energy consumption.
Advanced oxidation processes are the newest development in water quality management and constitute an essential impetus for treatment. This category of processes generates very reactive species, such as hydroxyl radicals, that can break a broad class of pollutants, including pharmaceuticals and personal care products. These compounds often resist traditional treatment strategies, so their removal is challenging for water quality. Thus, AOPs, in general, and ozonation and UV irradiation, in particular, have a tremendous impact on removing these pollutant components, making it achieve high-quality water.
MFCs have been developed to provide the twin benefits of wastewater treatment and energy production. MFCs exploit bacteria that oxidize organic matter in wastewater, producing electricity as a metabolic by-product. This technology is helpful for wastewater treatment and generates energy, making it a greener way to manage wastewater. Research is ongoing to advance this technology toward achieving high performance, thus making MFCs a viable option for large-scale wastewater treatment systems.
Intelligent technologies are revolutionizing the operations of waterways by adding them to wastewater treatment. Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring and controlling real-time water treatment processes allow efficient resource use and output. When smart sensors sense changes in water quality, flow rates, and system performance, operators can respond rapidly to any developing issues since they may well have arisen. This proactive approach improves effectiveness and reduces maintenance costs and energy consumption.
Decentralized systems hold great promise as alternatives to traditional centralized plants because they can be flexible and suited to the needs of local situations and treat wastewater close to its origin. Technologies such as constructed wetlands, anaerobic digesters, and biofiltration can be applied in rural and urban settings, making them flexible and resilient systems in wastewater management. These complement the increasing volume of wastewater generated in the urban setting.
Rising interest in sustainable practices, such as nutrient recovery technologies that extract nutrients from wastewater, has risen sharply. These technologies include struvite precipitation, ammonia stripping, and closing the nutrient loop. These prevent the pollution of water bodies through nutrients while contributing to sustainable agriculture by reducing the use of synthetic fertilizers.
