Advanced Technologies and Innovative Process Control Strategies Used for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment and Reuse
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Water Management".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 120
Special Issue Editors
Interests: MBR systems/filtration technologies; membrane fouling control; automatic process control applied in aerobic and anaerobic MBR systems; water/wastewater treatment; real-time control of biological nitrogen removal (BNR) processes; advanced control strategies applied in wastewater treatment plants; online sensors; advanced wastewater treatment technologies
Interests: water and wastewater treatment technologies; control of aerobic and anaerobic biological processes; membrane processes; anaerobic digestion; aerobic and anaerobic membrane biorectors; identification, quantification, and treatment of micro-pollutants in wastewater treatment plants
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Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Advanced wastewater treatment technologies offer promising sustainable solutions for the future that align with circular economy principles. Membrane bioreactors, which utilize filtration processes including ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis, are among the innovative systems can effectively purify water while promoting both environmental and economic sustainability. In recent years, anaerobic membrane bioreactors have been applied as innovative systems to manage sustainable wastewater reuse, offering environmental protection, sustainable management of water resources, and cost-effectiveness.
Additionally, the implementation of process control represents a new sustainable practice to manage wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The increasing demand for advanced technology in WWTPs highlights the importance of automation and control systems. The scope of the automatic process control applied in WWTPs is to mitigate external disturbances related to variations in influent characteristics, flow rates, organic and nutrient loads, toxicity, and temperatures, as well as internal disturbances caused by the wrong choices of operational parameters. The main tools for achieving optimal process control include instrumentation, control, and automation (ICA) technologies, which encompass state-of-the-art sensors, modeling/simulation software, control practices, and technical equipment. ICA enhances the understanding of the relationship between microbial diversity and operational parameters in wastewater treatment. New approaches in advanced process control, including advanced control strategies, have been designed for WWTPs and reported by numerous investigations in recent years.
This Special Issue is devoted to new research and recent contributions in regard to both various advanced technologies and innovative/sophisticated control strategies applied in WWTPs in order to promote sustainable solutions, offer wastewater reuse practices, and minimize energy costs. The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:
- New approaches in process control implemented in WWTPs and advanced control strategies applied in activated sludge systems;
- Application of fouling control in MBR systems;
- Optimization of biological nitrogen removal processes using advanced control methods;
- Real-time control and online monitoring of biological processes in activated sludge systems;
- Automatic control of both biological and filtration processes in aerobic and anaerobic membrane bioreactors;
- Advanced wastewater treatment and reuse technologies.
We would like to invite you to contribute original research and review papers on advanced wastewater treatment and reuse technologies and control strategies applied in WWTPs. We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Konstantinos Azis
Prof. Dr. Paraschos Melidis
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- membrane technologies
- process control applied in activated sludge systems
- advanced wastewater treatment technologies
- advanced automatic control strategies
- online monitoring and control
- instrumentation, control, and automation (ICA) in wastewater treatment plants
- real-time control of BNR processes
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