A survey of new technologies for water and wastewater treatment

Abstract

Water is an essential substance for living systems as it allows the transport of nutrients and waste products in living systems. Research shows a clear correlation between diseases and the amount and types of fluids consumed, health-promoting properties of nutrients which can be added to water, optimal intake levels, and consumption patterns. Although three quarters of the Earth’s surface is covered with water, most of that water is not suitable for human consumption. Today, hundreds of millions of people in vast regions of the world do not have access to water to meet their basic needs. Natural disasters also create conditions which limit the availability of water that is suitable for human consumption. Industrial processes use significant amounts of water which require treatment before discharging to surface water systems. Municipal wastewater treatment systems discharge their effluents which often impact the aquatic organisms. This paper provides a survey of new developments and innovations relative to water treatment for drinking purposes and wastewater treatment during the last few years. For drinking water treatment, the recent technological advancements relate to primarily filtration (media filtration and membrane systems), disinfection processes, ion exchange, and carbon adsorption processes. For wastewater treatment, a significant majority of recent developments relate to biological processes and advanced treatment technologies such as adsorption. A review of the recent patents show innovative designs for treatment units, efficient approaches for water quality, as well as nanotechnology applications for removing impurities and disinfection purposes.