Advancing Global Goals: The Critical Role of Wastewater Treatment in Sustainable Development

Bobby Brown

Post 2023-12-13

Advancing Global Goals: The Critical Role of Wastewater Treatment in Sustainable Development

Overview

Wastewater treatment removes contaminants from water to make it safe for environmental release or reuse, targeting suspended solids, organic matter, and harmful microorganisms.
Expanding wastewater treatment is vital for Sustainable Development Goal 6.3, aiming to improve water quality globally by addressing pollution and reducing untreated wastewater.
Addressing emerging contaminants like pharmaceuticals and microplastics is a significant challenge in wastewater treatment, crucial for human health and environmental safety.
Recycling wastewater, increasingly important in water management, involves treating and reusing municipal wastewater for various purposes, essential in water-scarce regions.
The wastewater treatment industry evolves with new technologies and methods focusing on sustainable practices. The treatment involves stages like pretreatment, primary (physical), secondary (biological), and tertiary (chemical) processes.

What is Wastewater Treatment
Why is Wastewater Treatment important for Global Sustainable Development
Challenges in Wastewater Treatment
Recycled Wastewater: A Sustainable Solution
Industry Trends and Future Directions
How Does Wastewater Treat
Application of Flow Meters in Wastewater Treatment - Monitoring Inflow and Outflow

What is Wastewater Treatment

Wastewater treatment aims to remove contaminants from water used in households, industries, and businesses to make it safe for return to the environment or for reuse. This includes removing suspended solids, reducing organic matter and pollutants, and eliminating harmful bacteria and viruses. The primary treatment process typically removes about 60% of suspended solids, while secondary treatment can remove over 90%

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Why is Wastewater Treatment important for Global Sustainable Development

The expansion of wastewater treatment is crucial for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6.3, which focuses on improving water quality by reducing pollution and halving the proportion of untreated wastewater. Significant expansions in wastewater treatment are required worldwide, especially in regions with high pollutant loadings. For instance, countries like China, the USA, and India are leading in required expansions by 2030. This expansion is not only about increasing capacity but also about enhancing the efficiency of removing pollutants like biological oxygen demand (BOD) and fecal coliform (FC) to improve surface water quality

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Challenges in Wastewater Treatment

One of the key challenges in wastewater treatment is dealing with emerging contaminants like pharmaceuticals and microplastics, which pose risks to both human health and the environment. These contaminants are often not fully understood, making it difficult to incorporate them effectively into water management and treatment processes

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Recycled Wastewater: A Sustainable Solution

Recycling wastewater is becoming an increasingly important part of water resource management. This approach involves treating municipal wastewater to a higher quality and reusing it for both potable (drinkable) and non-potable purposes. This practice is essential in areas facing water scarcity and is supported by advancements in technology, reliable monitoring, and public acceptance. Recycled wastewater can be reintroduced into the environment or directly used in water supply systems, contributing to the diversification of water resources and enhancing water security, especially during droughts

Industry Trends and Future Directions

The wastewater treatment industry is evolving with new technologies and approaches to address the growing demand for clean water. Innovations in treatment processes, regulatory frameworks, and public awareness are shaping the future of wastewater management. The focus is shifting towards more sustainable, efficient, and cost-effective methods to not only treat but also recycle and reuse wastewater, aligning with global efforts to achieve a more sustainable and resilient water future.

How Does Wastewater Treat

Industrial facilities, such as refineries, chemical plants, and petrochemical plants, often produce wastewater containing high concentrations of organic matter (like oil and grease), toxic pollutants (such as heavy metals and volatile organic compounds), and nutrients (like ammonia). While some of this industrial wastewater can be treated in municipal sewage treatment plants, most industrial processes have their own specialized treatment facilities to ensure that pollutant concentrations in the treated wastewater comply with regulatory standards for disposal into sewers or natural water bodies

| Three Level of Wastewater Treatment：Physical Treatment➜Biological Treatment➜ Chemical Treatment

Pretreatment

This is the initial stage of wastewater treatment, commonly performed at every stage of the process. The primary goal here is to remove large particulate matter, solids, and oil or grease to prevent damage to subsequent treatment processes.

Primary Treatment (Physical Treatment)

This stage includes physical treatment methods such as grates, sedimentation (settling tanks), oil-water separators, and flotation. These methods use mechanical means to filter or remove solid waste, oil, sand, grit, and other settleable materials from wastewater.

Secondary Treatment (Biological Treatment)

Biological treatment methods include trickling filters (where water passes through a biofilm to decompose organic matter), aeration (adding oxygen to assist aerobic decomposition by bacteria and fungi), and disinfection (using chlorine, ozone, or ultraviolet light). This stage is crucial for breaking down organic matter in the water.

Tertiary Treatment (Chemical Treatment)

This further stage of physical or chemical treatment involves advanced filtration, sand filters, activated carbon, chemical coagulation, oxidation, and utilizing microalgae for bioremediation to remove residual suspended solids, organic matter, or other pollutants.

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Application of Flow Meters in Wastewater Treatment - Monitoring Inflow and Outflow

In wastewater treatment, flow meters are used to monitor the amount of water consumed in the purification process, controlling process cost-effectiveness. Inflow typically consists of clean water or chemical agents, and requires control through a control panel. Flow meters with electronic signal output can significantly enhance the efficiency of inflow monitoring.

| Monitoring Inflow and Outflow

Case: Leading Plastic Supplier in the Market

Situation: The factory's wastewater treatment effluent pool initially used an insert-type paddlewheel flow meter. However, due to impurities inside the effluent pipe and the buildup of scale over time, the paddlewheel flow meter's impeller suffered damage.

Solution: LORRIC FU-TX310 Clamp-On Ultrasonic Flow Meter We recommended the FU-TX310 clamp-on ultrasonic flow meter to the customer. Its non-intrusive measurement principle allows for installation without stopping production, without cutting pipes, without leaks, and without blockages. The measurement probe is mounted on the outside of the pipe, allowing for easy maintenance and removal without being affected by scale buildup, thereby reducing the customer's maintenance costs.