Unravelling environmental and economic criteria for resource recovery in centralised and decentralised wastewater treatment

Abstract

In the context of a world population that is growing every year, environmental problems such as global warming and water scarcity are becoming increasingly critical. For this reason, it is crucial to seek new alternatives in reducing energy demand, waste disposal as well as ensuring water quality. In this last aspect, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play an important role. The main goal of this doctoral thesis was to analyse and compare different wastewater treatment configurations from an environmental and economic point of view to provide insights on the sustainability of existing and innovative schemes of wastewater treatment.