Wastewater Valorization: Practice around the World at Pilot- and Full-Scale

Anouk F. Duque, Riccardo Campo, Angeles Val del Rio and Catarina L. Amorim
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Anouk F. Duque: Associate Laboratory i4HB—Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, 1099-085 Lisboa, Portugal
Riccardo Campo: DICEA—Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Ambientale, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via di S. Marta 3, 50139 Florence, Italy
Angeles Val del Rio: Department of Chemical Engineering, CRETUS Institute, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Rúa Lope Gómez de Marzoa s/n, E-15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Catarina L. Amorim: CBQF—Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina—Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Diogo Botelho 1327, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 18, 1-28

Abstract: Over the last few years, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been rebranded as water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs), which recognize the resource recovery potential that exists in wastewater streams. WRRFs contribute to a circular economy by not only producing clean water but by recovering valuable resources such as nutrients, energy, and other bio-based materials. To this aim, huge efforts in technological progress have been made to valorize sewage and sewage sludge, transforming them into valuable resources. This review summarizes some of the widely used and effective strategies applied at pilot- and full-scale settings in order to valorize the wastewater treatment process. An overview of the different technologies applied in the water and sludge line is presented, covering a broad range of resources, i.e., water, biomass, energy, nutrients, volatile fatty acids (VFA), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), and exopolymeric substances (EPS). Moreover, guidelines and regulations around the world related to water reuse and resource valorization are reviewed.

Keywords: wastewater; valorization; recycling; reuse; resource recovery; sludge (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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