Dagnew, Martha (The University of Western Ontario)

Purpose

Over the years, wastewater treatment objectives have become more stringent. These objectives demand more energy and higher wastewater treatment operating costs. These increasing costs coupled with emerging sustainability requirements are propelling researchers, industry, and utilities to come up with more efficient ways of managing wastewater. Mainstream wastewater treatment has undergone a paradigm shift; parties now emphasize wastewater energy recovery and the concurrent reduction of energy consumption. This shift enables wastewater treatment plants to achieve energy neutrality while meeting treatment objectives. Despite extensive effort and rapid technological advances, demonstrating mainstream energy neutrality is still challenging due to the diluted nature and lower operating temperature characterizing mainstream wastewater. Other challenges include process complexity, knowledge gaps in process control and the lack of robust technologies.