Abstract
It is well understood that both untreated and partially treated wastewater comprise substantial amount of resources, which can be recovered and utilized for different purposes. Since Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) is energy intensive and expensive, substantiating the WWTPs with Resource Recover Technologies (RRTs) will not only save a considerable amount of energy but also make the environment cleaner and safer. In line with this, this paper seeks to review several RRTS and to identify their limitations. Several effective nutrient recovery methods using both biota (e.g., microalgae, duckweed, aquatic macrophytes) and chemical processes (e.g., struvite precipitation and HAIX resin) are discussed in this study. The recovered nutrients can be used as fertilizer, animal feed and for production of protein rich by-products. In order to enhance the efficiency of nutrient recovery processes, several researchers suggest introducing hybrid system of nutrient recovery. On the other hand, biosolids, biogas, conserved heat, effluent flow, Microbial Fuel Cells (MFC), Microbial Electrolysis Cells (MEC) can potentially be employed to produce electricity and other forms of energy that can meet the demand of existing WWTPs. Moreover, the comparative analysis of these technologies in terms of advantages and disadvantages and their recovery potential has been discussed. The review analysis indicates that despite having limitations, several RRTs are being practiced mostly in developed world. Future research should focus on how to increase the efficiency of existing RRTs and identify innovative RRTs available in developing countries.
Highlights
Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) is a prerequisite to maintain good quality of surface water as most of the treated water from wastewater plants is discharged into nearby water bodies
A closed nutrient loop needs be considered at the time of life cycle study on constructed wetland to assess the benefits of this system accurately
Our literature review shows that wastewater and inadequately treated effluent contain significant amount of resources, for example, energy, nutrients and other chemicals
Summary
Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) is a prerequisite to maintain good quality of surface water as most of the treated water from wastewater plants is discharged into nearby water bodies. The wastewater industries throughout the world continue to explore sustainable resource recovery technologies considering such factors as increasing rate of population, increasing demand of sustainable resources, rigid nutrient discharge limits and strict rules for sludge disposal (Woods et al, 1999). These plants employ new technologies to ensure proficient operation and to recover and reuse the resources (NACWA, 2009). A detail discussion has been presented to comparatively analyze the knowledge gaps and limitations of these technologies
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