Abstract
Water treatment technology development supports a steady, safe water supply. This study examines trends in water treatment technology innovations, using 227,365 patent granted data published from 1993 to 2016 as an indicator of changing research and development (R&D) priorities. To clarify changes in R&D priorities, we used a decomposition analysis framework that classified water treatment technologies into five types: conventional treatment (117,974 patents, 51.9%), biological treatment (40,300 patents, 17.7%), multistage treatment (45,732 patents, 20.1%), sludge treatment (15,237 patents, 6.7%), and other treatments (8122 patents, 3.6%). The results showed that the number of water treatment technology patents granted increased more than 700% from 1993 to 2016; in particular, the number of multistage water treatment patents granted rapidly grew. The main driver of this growth was expansion in the R&D activity scale and an increase in the priority of multistage water treatment technology in China. Additionally, the trends and priority changes in water treatment technology inventions varied by country and technology groups, which implied that an international policy framework for water treatment technology development should recognize that R&D priorities need to reflect the diverse characteristics of countries and technologies.
Highlights
Water treatment technology creates steady and safe water resources [1,2]
Because of water resource problems, the water management issue was individually established as the goal 6, i.e., “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”, in the sustainable development goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations [6]
The development of water treatment technology is a key factor in accelerating improvements in water quality [2]
Summary
Water treatment technology creates steady and safe water resources [1,2]. The global importance of water treatment technology has been increasing, especially in developing countries [3]. According to World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) [4], in 2015, 844 million people still lacked basic drinking water services, and 892 million people still practiced open defecation These low-quality water treatment activities increase the risk of disease through the use of polluted surface water for household activities [5]. Because of water resource problems, the water management issue was individually established as the goal 6, i.e., “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”, in the sustainable development goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations [6] To achieve this goal, the development of water treatment technology is a key factor in accelerating improvements in water quality [2]. The Chinese government vowed to improve nationwide water quality by 2030, pledging to spend billions of dollars [7]
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