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Frontier 2022: Sustainable Management of Water and Wastewater Treatment Systems

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "B: Energy and Environment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 June 2022) | Viewed by 9551

Special Issue Editor

Department of Civil Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Interests: environmental management of water and wastewater treatment systems; water distribution network; removal and recovery of nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) from wastewater; microplastics in the environment; treatment of desalination reject/brine water; water reuse; application of nanoparticles in concrete and green concrete

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The importance of water and wastewater systems globally has increased substantially in recent decades as water scarcity and pollution from improper wastewater treatment discharges play havoc to our fragile natural environment. While important breakthroughs in the treatment of water and wastewater have occurred, it is equally important to determine the environmental impacts of these processes and related activities.     

This Special Issue will focus on emerging technologies that focus on the environmental management of water and wastewater treatment systems. We therefore invite papers on innovative technical developments, reviews, case studies, and analytical, as well as assessment, papers from different disciplines, which are relevant to the topic of the issue.  Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:

  • Innovative water production processes;
  • Sustainable wastewater treatment processes;
  • Life cycle analysis of water and wastewater treatment systems;
  • Environmental impact and remediation of treatment processes;
  • Management of contaminants of emerging concern;
  • Treatment and reuse of waste from treatment plants;
  • Risk assessment of treatment processes and collection networks;
  • Resource recovery from treatment plants;
  • Waste management at treatment plants.

Dr. Kazi Parvez Fattah
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Water production
  • Wastewater treatment
  • Life cycle analysis
  • Resource recovery
  • Environmental impact
  • Contaminants of emerging concern
  • Waste reuse

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 4225 KiB  
Article
Long-Term, Simultaneous Impact of Antimicrobials on the Efficiency of Anaerobic Digestion of Sewage Sludge and Changes in the Microbial Community
by Małgorzata Czatzkowska, Monika Harnisz, Ewa Korzeniewska, Izabela Wolak, Paulina Rusanowska, Łukasz Paukszto, Jan P. Jastrzębski and Sylwia Bajkacz
Energies 2022, 15(5), 1826; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15051826 - 01 Mar 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2236
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of simultaneous, long-term exposure to increasing concentrations of three classes of antimicrobials (β-lactams, fluoroquinolones and nitroimidazoles) on: (1) the efficiency of anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge, (2) qualitative and quantitative changes in microbial [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of simultaneous, long-term exposure to increasing concentrations of three classes of antimicrobials (β-lactams, fluoroquinolones and nitroimidazoles) on: (1) the efficiency of anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge, (2) qualitative and quantitative changes in microbial consortia that participate in methane fermentation, and (3) fate of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Long-term supplementation of sewage sludge with a combination of metronidazole, amoxicillin and ciprofloxacin applied at different doses did not induce significant changes in process parameters, including the concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFAs), or the total abundance of ARGs. Exposure to antibiotics significantly decreased methane production and modified microbial composition. The sequencing analysis revealed that the abundance of OTUs characteristic of Archaea was not correlated with the biogas production efficiency. The study also demonstrated that the hydrogen-dependent pathway of methylotrophic methanogenesis could significantly contribute to the stability of anaerobic digestion in the presence of antimicrobials. The greatest changes in microbial biodiversity were noted in substrate samples exposed to the highest dose of the tested antibiotics, relative to control. The widespread use of antimicrobials increases antibiotic concentrations in sewage sludge, which may decrease the efficiency of anaerobic digestion, and contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance (AR). Full article
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Review

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12 pages, 284 KiB  
Review
Impact of Magnesium Sources for Phosphate Recovery and/or Removal from Waste
by Kazi Parvez Fattah, Sarah Sinno, Serter Atabay, Zahid Khan, Zahraa Al-Dawood, Alaa Kamel Yasser and Riyad Temam
Energies 2022, 15(13), 4585; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15134585 - 23 Jun 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1875
Abstract
As the population continues to rise, the demand for resources and environmentally friendly management of produced wastes has shown a significant increase in concern. To decrease the impact of these wastes on the environment, it is important to utilize the wastes in producing [...] Read more.
As the population continues to rise, the demand for resources and environmentally friendly management of produced wastes has shown a significant increase in concern. To decrease the impact of these wastes on the environment, it is important to utilize the wastes in producing and/or recovering usable products to provide for the sustainable management of resources. One non-renewable and rapidly diminishing resource is phosphorus, which is used in several products, the most important being its use in manufacturing chemical fertilizer. With the increase in demand but reduction in availability of naturally occurring mineral phosphorus, it is important to investigate other sources of phosphorus. Phosphorus is most commonly recovered through struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate) precipitation. The recovery of phosphorus from various wastewater has been well established and documented with recovery rates mostly above 90%. However, one of the major drawbacks of the recovery is the high cost of chemicals needed to precipitate the phosphorus. Since the external magnesium needed to achieve struvite precipitation accounts for around 75% of the total chemical cost, applicability of low-cost magnesium sources, such as bittern or seawater, can help reduce the operational cost significantly. This paper investigates the different magnesium sources that have been used for the recovery of phosphorus, highlighting the different approaches and operating conditions investigated, and their corresponding phosphorus recovery rates. An investigation of the economic aspects of the magnesium sources used for removal/recovery show that costs are dependent on the raw waste treated, the source of magnesium and the location of treatment. A review of published articles on the economics of phosphorus removal/recovery also indicates that there is a lack of studies on the economics of the treatment processes, and there is a need for a comprehensive study on life cycle assessment of such processes that go beyond the technical and economical aspects of treatment processes. Full article
16 pages, 1525 KiB  
Review
Agricultural Use of Sewage Sludge as a Threat of Microplastic (MP) Spread in the Environment and the Role of Governance
by Natalia Milojevic and Agnieszka Cydzik-Kwiatkowska
Energies 2021, 14(19), 6293; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14196293 - 02 Oct 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4603
Abstract
Sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants is commonly used as a soil amendment on agricultural land. Unfortunately, more and more research indicates that large amounts of microplastic (MP) are re-introduced to soil with sludge. This study aims to present the impact MP has [...] Read more.
Sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants is commonly used as a soil amendment on agricultural land. Unfortunately, more and more research indicates that large amounts of microplastic (MP) are re-introduced to soil with sludge. This study aims to present the impact MP has on soil ecosystems, global trends in agricultural sludge management resulting from a high concentration of micropollutants in sludge, and finally propose a high-level strategy for sustainable sludge management. This strategy is mostly dedicated to the European Union and involves multiple stakeholders and the links between each of them to achieve appropriate sludge management to avoid soil pollution with MP. Governance, Technology, Consumer Acceptance, and Economy and Commercial Viability is explored in depth. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first paper to discuss these topics in the context of a changing agricultural scene and identifies ways of which sewage sludge can limit MP pollution whilst still fitting into a circular economy. As total elimination of agriculturally used sludge is not a viable option, more stringent regulation on sludge quality before its use is necessary, especially on contaminant concentrations. This includes MPs limits, to improve sludge quality, in turn improving soil health. More alternative management options for sludge that does not meet land usage requirements are necessary and will be explored in this study. Overall, the combination of factors discussed will inevitably lead to more emphasis on sewage sludge management, therefore it can be expected that the information presented in this review will be of high demand and importance for sludge producers and serves as a comprehensive foundation for researchers to build off. Full article
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