Contemporary Rubbish and Wastewater Treatment: Advanced Materials, Methods and Technologies

Dear Colleagues,

Currently, there is a real need for rapid progress and development in almost all industries and areas of human activity. In the field of waste management and wastewater treatment, the development of already existing technologies is clearly recognized. The main focus is on the development of new, innovative processes concerning not only the degradation of pollutants, but also the recovery of valuable raw materials from wastes and wastewater. It is strongly linked to carbon footprint reduction, and it also refers to the recently discussed “water footprint”. Nowadays, wastes, wastewater, and sewage sludge are more frequently being recognized as valuable sources of energy, most often being non-renewable resources. Such an approach is consistent with the assumptions of circular economy ideas that could be applied in wastewater treatment plants by means of energy production and its optimized consumption and the recovery of important raw materials, e.g., phosphorous, nitrogen, and water from wastewater and sludge. In the near future, it could also be possible to recover bioplastic materials and produce “green” hydrogen. Therefore, nowadays, modern wastewater treatment plants should not be considered only as facilities protecting water ecosystems, but also as technological energy plants and objects to recover important raw materials.

New technological and scientific challenges confronting teams of scientists and engineers in many areas of waste management, water and sewage management, circular economy and power generation based on renewable sources, as well as priority actions dedicated to counteraction and adaptation to climate change, enforce the search for innovative solutions in the field of AI, machine learning, and deep learning, which support the strategic decision-making process faced in the economy.

This Special Issue (SI) provides an international forum for the publication of work describing the practical applications of advanced technologies for the processing and energy use of waste and sewage sludge. The submitted papers should report some novel aspects of advanced methods and technologies (i.e., artificial intelligence) used for a real-world engineering application and original research contributions.

Sustainable development and proper management are essential for the functioning of water companies. The operation of water treatment plants (WTP) is a difficult task that requires constant supervision. Operator decisions regarding the control of processes and technological systems must be taken immediately in a way that allows the recipients to be provided with treated water in the appropriate quantity and quality, as defined by the legal requirements (Directive (EU) 2020/2184 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2020 on the quality of water intended for human consumption). The dynamics of the processes taking place in water treatment plants and sewage treatment plants are very high; therefore, in order to achieve the intended goals, process control algorithms using PLC controllers and the SCADA system are used, and attempts are made to model the predictive control of technological systems.

Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Gaska
Guest Editor

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