Advanced technologies for wastewater treatments more effective than traditional methods, says report

Almost 68GWh of energy is consumed by the traditional processes used for secondary wastewater treatment a year, while releasing large amount of sludge, according to a report from Lux Research.

Rising water demands due to population explosion and frequent severe storm events necessitate upgrade for the wastewater treatment processes, states the report.

Titled ‘Advances in Secondary Wastewater Treatment’, it states that in spite of much energy usage, the traditional processes fail to remove much of the sludge.

Meanwhile, innovation and advanced technologies have been transforming the treatment process.

Simplified wastewater treatment processes have been used by multiple start-up firms. Harnessing passive aeration for cutting down the energy usage and streamlining microbial population have been found helpful for sludge reduction, according to the report.

Lux Research Associate and the lead author of the report Tess Murray said: "Technologies like membrane bioreactors emerged to improve the quality of wastewater treatment, but don’t address the energy and sludge concerns, and the smallest facilities struggle to implement them effectively.

"Now, new startups are fundamentally rethinking wastewater treatment and effectively addressing energy consumption and sludge generation, which together account for nearly half of the operating costs at today’s plants."