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Review
. 2021 Sep 8;18(18):9466.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18189466.

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

Anouk F Duque  1   2 , Riccardo Campo  3 , Angeles Val Del Rio  4 , Catarina L Amorim  5
Affiliations
Review

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

Anouk F Duque et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

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: recycling; resource recovery; reuse; sludge; valorization; wastewater.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
General overview of the review article: from wastewater to resource.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Summary of the resources recovered from wastewater reviewed in this study, with indication of the relative abundance of routes applied to the water and sludge lines.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Biorefinery concept overview: volatile fatty acids production and their applications.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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