Resource recovery from municipal wastewater: A critical paradigm shift in the post era of activated sludge

Abstract

The conventional activated sludge (CAS) process as one of the greatest engineering marvels has made irreplaceable contributions towards the human development in the past one hundred years. However, the underlying principle of CAS which is primarily based on biological oxidation has been challenged by accelerating global climate change. In such a situation, a fundamental question that urgently needs to be answered is what wastewater treatment technology would be in the post era of activated sludge? Thus, this article illustrates the necessity of a technology paradigm shift from the current linear economy to circular economy with the energy and resource recovery from municipal wastewater being a major driver. It is argued that ammonium recovery should be considered towards the sustainable municipal wastewater reclamation. Meanwhile, the potential novel processes with enhanced energy and resource recovery are also discussed, which may offer useful insights into the ways to achieve the carbon-neutral municipal wastewater reclamation.

Keywords: Ammonium recovery; Carbon emission; Circular economy; Energy and carbon neutrality; Municipal wastewater reclamation.