Source Separation and Decentralization for Wastewater Management

Book excerpt: Is sewer-based wastewater treatment really the optimal technical solution in urban water management? This paradigm is increasingly being questioned. Growing water scarcity and the insight that water will be an important limiting factor for the quality of urban life are main drivers for new approaches in wastewater management. Source Separation and Decentralization for Wastewater Management sets up a comprehensive view of the resources involved in urban water management. It explores the potential of source separation and decentralization to provide viable alternatives to sewer-based urban water management. During the 1990s, several research groups started working on source-separating technologies for wastewater treatment. Source separation was not new, but had only been propagated as a cheap and environmentally friendly technology for the poor. The novelty was the discussion whether source separation could be a sustainable alternative to existing end-of-pipe systems, even in urban areas and industrialized countries. Since then, sustainable resource management and many different source-separating technologies have been investigated. The theoretical framework and also possible technologies have now developed to a more mature state. At the same time, many interesting technologies to process combined or concentrated wastewaters have evolved, which are equally suited for the treatment of source-separated domestic wastewater. The book presents a comprehensive view of the state of the art of source separation and decentralization. It discusses the technical possibilities and practical experience with source separation in different countries around the world. The area is in rapid development, but many of the fundamental insights presented in this book will stay valid. Source Separation and Decentralization for Wastewater Management is intended for all professionals and researchers interested in wastewater management, whether or not they are familiar with source separation. Editors: Tove A. Larsen, Kai M. Udert and Judit Lienert, Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Switzerland. Contributors: Yuval Alfiya, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Prof. Dr. M. Bruce Beck, University of Georgia, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources; Dr. Christian Binz, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Innovation Research in Utility Sectors (Cirus); Prof. em. Dr. Markus Boller, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Urban Water Management (SWW); Prof. Dr. Eran Friedler, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Zenah Bradford-Hartke, The University of New South Wales, School of Chemical Engineering and UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology; Dr. Shelley Brown-Malker, Very Small Particle Company Ltd; Bert Bundervoet, Ghent University, Laboratory Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET); Prof. Dr. David Butler, University of Exeter, Centre for Water Systems; Dr. Christopher A. Buzie, Hamburg University of Technology, Institute of Wastewater Management and Water Protection; Dr. Dana Cordell, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF); Dr. Vasileios Diamantis, Democritus University of Thrace, Department of Environmental Engineering; Prof. Dr. Jan Willem Erisman, Louis Bolk Institute; VU University Amsterdam, Department of Earth Sciences; Barbara Evans, University of Leeds, School of Civil Engineering; Prof. Dr. Malin Falkenmark, Stockholm International Water Institute; Dr. Ted Gardner, Central Queensland University, Institute for Resource Industries and Sustainability; Dr. Heiko Gebauer, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Innovation Research in Utility Sectors (Cirus); Prof. em. Dr. Willi Gujer, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETHZ), Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering (BAUG); Prof. Dr. Bruce Jefferson, Cranfield University, Cranfield Water Science Institute; Prof. Dr. Paul Jeffrey, Cranfield University, Cranfield Water Science Institute; Sarina Jenni, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Process Engineering Department (Eng); Prof. Dr. Håkan Jönsson, SLU - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Energy and Technology; Prof. Dr. Ïsik Kabdasli, Ïstanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty; Prof. Dr. Jörg Keller, The University of Queensland, Advanced Water Management Centre (AWMC); Prof. Dr. Klaus Kömmerer, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Institute of Sustainable and Environmental Chemistry; Dr. Katarzyna Kujawa-Roeleveld, Wageningen University, Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group; Dr. Tove A. Larsen, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Urban Water Management (SWW); Michele Laureni, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Process Engineering Department (Eng); Prof. Dr. Gregory Leslie, The University of New South Wales, School of Chemical Engineering and UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology; Dr. Harold Leverenz, University of California at Davis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Dr. Judit Lienert, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Environmental Social Sciences (ESS); Prof. Dr. Jürg Londong, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Department of Urban Water Management and Sanitation; Dr. Christoph Lüthi, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries (Sandec); Prof. Dr. Max Maurer, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Urban Water Management (SWW); Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETHZ), Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering; Prof. em. Dr. Gustaf Olsson, Lund University, Department of Measurement Technology and Industrial Electrical Engineering (MIE); Prof. Dr. Ralf Otterpohl, Hamburg University of Technology, Institute of Wastewater Management and Water Protection; Dr. Bert Palsma, STOWA, Dutch Foundation for Applied Water Research; Dr. Arne R. Panesar, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH; Prof. Dr. Bruce E. Rittmann, Arizona State University, Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology; Prof. Dr. Hansruedi Siegrist, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Process Engineering Department (Eng); Dr. Ashok Sharma, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia, Land and Water Division; Prof. Dr. Thor Axel Stenström, Stockholm Environment Institute, Bioresources Group; Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Department of Mathematical Science and Technology; Dr. Eckhard Störmer, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Innovation Research in Utility Sectors (Cirus); Bjartur Swart, STOWA, Dutch Foundation for Applied Water Research; MWH North Europe; Prof. em. Dr. George Tchobanoglous, University of California at Davis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Elizabeth Tilley, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries (Sandec); Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETHZ), Centre for Development and Cooperation (NADEL); Prof. Dr. Bernhard Truffer, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology; Innovation Research in Utility Sectors (Cirus); Prof. Dr. Olcay Tünay, Ïstanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty; Dr. Kai M. Udert, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Process Engineering Department (Eng); Prof. em. Dr. Willy Verstraete, Ghent University, Laboratory Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET); Prof. Dr. Björn Vinnerås, SLU - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Energy and Technology; Prof. Dr. Urs von Gunten, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Water Resources and Drinking Water (W+T); Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL),School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC); Prof. em. Dr. Peter A. Wilderer, Technische Universität München, Institute for Advanced Study; Prof. Dr. Jun Xia, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Center for Water Resources Research and Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Surface Processes; Prof. Dr. Grietje Zeeman, Wageningen University, Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group