Modern and Emerging Methods of Wastewater Treatment

Abstract

The world is progressing at a rapid pace, and this progression is exerting a lot of pressure on natural resources. The resources are limited, but demand has been increased to all time higher. The nations are facing many issues including climate change, extinction of natural flora and fauna. Another big issue which is common to all the nations is management of wastewater being generated from domestic, industries, and agricultural sources. Inflow of wastewater into rivers, seas, and oceans harms the aquatic environment in many ways such as acidification, nutrient enrichment, high level of growth, and oxygen depletion. This leads to the extinction of rich flora and fauna of aquatic systems and also has indirect impact on human health by means of biomagnifications. Over the years, different natural methods are being used to treat wastewater such as wetlands and ponds with specific aquatic plants. But due to certain limitations, new and advanced methods have emerged which are much more efficient in treating wastewater with different types of contaminants. Methods like activated sludge, oxidation ditches, UASB, activated carbon, nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, and microbial fuel cells are currently being employed at various levels to treat wastewater. These advanced methods are having more efficiency but on the same hand have less sustainability. The other major drawback associated with these systems is that their establishment leads to forfeiture of natural resources which are valuable to us. The treatment and disposal of wastewater are a major challenge for protection of public health and environmental resources. Thus, principle of ecological wisdom should be employed to design new treatment strategies and also to strengthen the available natural treatment methods in order to achieve the goal of sustainable development.