The traditional methods of wastewater treatment becomes increasingly challenged with the identification of more and more contaminants, rapid population growth, increasing industrial activities, and ever shrinking fresh water sources. Conventional process has been proven in removing many chemical and microbial contaminants from wastewater. However, the effectiveness of these processes has become limited over the last two decades because of new challenges; increased knowledge about the consequences from water pollution and public demand for better quality water have enforced the implementation of much stricter regulations by expanding the scope of regulated contaminants and lowering the maximum contaminant levels set for wastewater discharge. Among them, the most signifcant are to remove nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and synthetic organic compounds (SOCs) because of their significant impacts on public health and the environment. The negative energy balance of wastewater treatment could be reversed if anaerobic technologies were implemented for organic carbon oxidation and phototrophic technologies were utilized for nutrient recovery.

New Technologies for Wastewater Treatment

A.    Membrane Filtration

The key benefits of the system are:

1.      Higher solids capacity

2.     Continuously cleaned media beds

3.     Elimination of ancillary equipment

4.     Even flow distribution

5.     Cost effective to install and low operating and maintenance costs Average reject of 5-15%

6.     Extremely low power consumption

7.     Ease of Operation & Maintenance

B.    Nanotechnology

C.     Automatic Variable Filtration (AVF) Technology

D.    Microbial Fuel Cells

E.     New Urban Sanitation Technology

F.     Natural Treatment Systems

G.    Urine Separating Proces