Chapter 3 - Recent advances on 3D printing for wastewater treatment and process optimization using artificial intelligence and machine learning: updates and perspectives

Abstract

3D printing, the most emerging technologies of the recent times, has attracted academic research interests and is driving innovation in industries including energy and water resource sectors. The process has enormous capabilities to fabricate complex shapes with high precision in a faster and cost-effective way. With the recent technological advancements, urbanization, the exponential growth in industries, and climate change, the sustainability of energy and water resources of desirable quality for human existence has become critical. 3D printing has gained application in design and fabrication of membranes and module spacers for wastewater treatment as well as water purification and desalination. This article attempts at providing an insight on the current state of 3D printing technology for wastewater treatment to help researchers and practitioners. The process of wastewater treatment is very complex due to presence of various pollutants in different concentrations. Conventional systems of wastewater treatment require datasets for water quality prediction. Hence, the recent technology demands application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) techniques for water treatment to deal with the complexities. This article summarizes various methods of membrane filtration, membrane preparation using 3D printing, applications, major problems, level of success, cost optimization using the data-driven techniques, fault detection, and diagnosis. Suggestions for next-generation water treatment technology have been proposed based on comparative studies made by the previous research work in the related field.