Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Recycling – The future urban sink for wastewater and organic waste

Researchers analyzed how recycling urban wastewater and organic waste as agricultural fertilizer could become a sustainable solution for feeding a growing global population, finding that keeping nutrient-rich sewage separate from chemically contaminated greywater is essential to making this work. The analysis suggests that cities could replace environmentally damaging phosphorus and potassium mining with urban waste recycling if infrastructure is redesigned accordingly.

2023 City and Environment Interactions 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustainable wastewater reuse for agriculture

Researchers reviewed the potential of treating and reusing wastewater for agricultural irrigation, noting that while less than 20% of the world's wastewater is currently treated, advanced systems could provide a stable, energy-generating water supply for farming. The main hurdle is that current treatment technologies cannot fully remove all emerging chemical contaminants, including microplastics, which may affect crops and human health.

2024 Nature Reviews Earth & Environment 142 citations
Article Tier 2

The Future of Municipal Wastewater Reuse Concentrate Management: Drivers, Challenges, and Opportunities

This review examines the growing challenge of managing concentrated waste streams produced when municipal wastewater is treated for reuse using reverse osmosis. These concentrates contain elevated levels of dissolved solids, metals, nutrients, and micropollutants that have passed through conventional treatment. The study discusses disposal options, monitoring needs, and emerging opportunities for recovering valuable resources from these waste streams.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing the potential of a membrane bioreactor and granular activated carbon process for wastewater reuse – A full-scale WWTP operated over one year in Scania, Sweden

Researchers evaluated a full-scale membrane bioreactor followed by granular activated carbon treatment for water reuse, finding that the MBR effectively removed most bacteria while the GAC reduced organic micropollutants, making the combined system suitable for irrigation and potentially drinking water.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Unlocking the Potential of Reclaimed Water: Analysis of the Challenges and Market Size as a Strategic Solution for Water Scarcity in Europe

This study examines the market potential and challenges for reclaimed water as a solution to water scarcity in Europe, assessing regulatory frameworks, treatment technology gaps, and reuse applications. It identifies microplastics and pharmaceuticals as key contaminants of concern in reclaimed water and discusses standardisation needs.

2025 Challenges
Article Tier 2

Impact of inorganic and organic pollutants from a Belgian wastewater treatment plant on adjacent surface and groundwaters

Researchers monitored inorganic and organic pollutants in Belgian wastewater treatment plant effluent and surrounding waters, finding that while nickel exceeded environmental quality standards in surface water, overall contaminant levels suggest treated wastewater could be safely reused for groundwater replenishment and agricultural irrigation.

2023 Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering 3 citations
Review Tier 2

Potential for nutrients reuse, carbon sequestration, and CO2 emissions reduction in the practice of domestic and industrial wastewater recycling into agricultural soils: A review

This review examines the practice of recycling treated wastewater and sewage sludge as agricultural irrigation and fertilizer, assessing both the benefits of nutrient reuse and the risks from contaminants. While recycled wastewater can provide valuable nutrients and help reduce carbon emissions, it also introduces pollutants including microplastics into farm soil. The review highlights the need to balance the environmental benefits of wastewater reuse with the potential health risks from microplastic and chemical contamination of food crops.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Utilization of Microalgae for Urban Wastewater Treatment and Valorization of Treated Wastewater and Biomass for Biofertilizer Applications

Researchers explored using microalgae to treat urban wastewater by recovering phosphorus and nitrogen, then repurposing the resulting biomass as a biofertilizer. The study suggests that this approach offers dual benefits of wastewater remediation and sustainable agriculture, as the nutrient-rich algal biomass promoted plant growth when applied to soil.

2023 Sustainability 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Operational analysis of the biological treatment unit's ultraviolet-wave disinfection method for wastewater outflow

Researchers tested ultraviolet (UV) light as a method for disinfecting industrial wastewater in a laboratory setting, measuring reductions in oxygen demand, phosphate, nitrate, and dissolved solids. The results showed meaningful reductions in key pollution indicators, supporting UV treatment as an effective approach for cleaning wastewater before it is discharged.

2024 Applied Water Science 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Disinfection of Secondary Urban Wastewater Using Hydrogen Peroxide Combined with UV/Visible Radiation: Effect of Operating Conditions and Assessment of Microorganism Competition

Researchers tested hydrogen peroxide combined with UV/visible radiation as a disinfection process for secondary urban wastewater effluent to enable safe reuse. The H2O2-alone treatment was ineffective, but the combined H2O2 + UV/visible process achieved maximum inactivation of enterobacteria, with operational parameters including H2O2 concentration, radiation source, and contact time optimized for efficiency.

2025 Water 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Use of Ultrafiltration Membranes as Tertiary/Quaternary Treatment for Wastewater Reclamation in Municipal WWTPs

Researchers assessed ultrafiltration membranes as tertiary and quaternary municipal wastewater treatment, demonstrating that optimized operating conditions including increased air sparging intensity, elevated solids concentration, and regular acid backwashing minimized fouling and produced permeate meeting the EU's most stringent Class A agricultural reuse standards while effectively removing microplastics.

2025 Water
Article Tier 2

Emerging Pollutants in Wastewater: A Challenge for Water Reuse

This review examines emerging pollutants in wastewater as a central challenge for water reuse strategies, covering contaminants present at both domestic and industrial scales. It evaluates the sustainability benefits and treatment hurdles associated with recycling wastewater to address global water scarcity.

2025 Advances in water security
Article Tier 2

Organomineral fertilizer from sewage sludge: nutrient recycling and environmental safety for tropical agriculture

Not relevant to microplastics — this study evaluates an organomineral fertiliser derived from sewage sludge for tropical agriculture, focusing on nutrient recycling and heavy metal safety.

2023 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Use of Nanofiltration and Demineralization of Industrial Effluents : Evaluation of the Feasibility of Reuse for Irrigation of Green Spaces

Researchers evaluated whether nanofiltration-treated industrial wastewater could be safely reused for irrigating green spaces. Most water quality parameters met regulatory standards, with only minor exceedances related to cation resin regeneration, suggesting feasibility with appropriate treatment measures.

2023 International Journal of Membrane Science and Technology
Article Tier 2

Treated wastewater irrigation: unlocking sustainability in agriculture and food security—a comprehensive review

This comprehensive review explores treated wastewater as an alternative irrigation source for agriculture in water-scarce regions. While treated wastewater can improve soil fertility and crop growth, the review notes concerns about contaminants including microplastics that can accumulate in soil and potentially enter the food chain, emphasizing the need for effective treatment technologies.

2026 Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
Article Tier 2

Circular Economy in Wastewater Treatment Plant—Water, Energy and Raw Materials Recovery

This review proposes a conceptual framework for future wastewater treatment plants operating as resource recovery facilities within a circular economy, focusing on technologies for recovering water, energy, and raw materials including nutrients and biopolymers.

2023 Energies 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental Performance of Nitrogen Recovery from Reject Water of Sewage Sludge Treatment Based on Life Cycle Assessment

This study used life cycle assessment to evaluate nitrogen recovery from sewage sludge reject water via air stripping and biochar adsorption, finding that both methods can reduce environmental impacts compared to conventional fossil-based fertilizer production.

2023 Recycling 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Biological Risks of Waste Water for Irrigation

This study examined the biological risks of using treated wastewater for irrigation, including contamination by pathogens, heavy metals, and microplastics, and the implications for agricultural sustainability and public health.

2022 CURRENT TRENDS IN NATURAL SCIENCES 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Challenges and solutions of municipal biosolids market creation: A critical review

This review examines the challenges of using municipal biosolids, the nutrient-rich byproduct of wastewater treatment, as agricultural fertilizer. While biosolids help recycle nitrogen and phosphorus back into farmland, emerging contaminants like microplastics and PFAS are raising concerns about their safety. The study highlights the need for updated regulations and innovative treatment technologies to balance resource recovery with environmental and health protection.

2025 Cleaner Waste Systems 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Revolutionizing Wastewater Reuse: A Critical Review of Innovative Treatment Technologies for a Sustainable Energy-Water Nexus

This review critically examines innovative wastewater treatment technologies for sustainable reuse, covering advances in membrane filtration, electrochemical processes, advanced oxidation, and emerging contaminant removal including microplastics, in the context of addressing global water scarcity.

2025
Article Tier 2

Potential Nutrient Conversion Using Nature-Based Solutions in Cities and Utilization Concepts to Create Circular Urban Food Systems

This review examines how nature-based solutions in cities—like constructed wetlands and green infrastructure—can help recover nutrients from wastewater for reuse in agriculture. These systems can also help filter out microplastics and other contaminants before they reach waterways.

2021 Circular Economy and Sustainability 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Dry Weather Adaptations in Wastewater Treatment: Innovative Control Strategies for Effective Organic and Nitrogen Elimination

Researchers developed a meta-heuristic framework using genetic algorithms to optimize wastewater treatment plant performance, adapting activated sludge models to include ion speciation and examining the role of pH in biological treatment processes for organic and nitrogen removal. The study also identifies microplastics as an emerging challenge in wastewater treatment requiring further model integration.

2024 E3S Web of Conferences
Article Tier 2

Circular Economy in Wastewater Treatment Plants—Potential Opportunities for Biogenic Elements Recovery

This paper modeled carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling through a wastewater treatment plant serving 70,000 people and evaluated potential circular economy strategies for recovering these biogenic elements as biogas, fertilizer, and soil amendments.

2023 Water 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Application of Advanced Integrated Technologies (Membrane and Photo-Oxidation Processes) for the Removal of CECs contained in Urban Wastewater.

Researchers reviewed and evaluated the integration of membrane filtration and photo-oxidation technologies for removing contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) from urban wastewater, arguing that combining these methods yields synergistic effects not achievable by individual treatments. The study highlights the importance of advanced integrated treatment systems to enable wastewater reuse and address the global freshwater scarcity challenge.

2024