Advances in Wastewater Treatment Technologies as Enablers to Reach Sustainable Development Goal 6

Emerging global trends, such as rapid urbanization and climate change, put further pressure on already scarce water resources. Water and sanitation utilities, as important service providers, play a key role to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”, Goal 6 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6). To help achieve SDG 6, water utilities need to increase their productivity and become more efficient. This will require tapping into new approaches, technologies, and solutions to meet emerging needs. Consequently, the role of chemical engineers in the water and wastewater treatment field is becoming more critical, as their expertise is needed to develop materials, technologies and design multistep processes required to treat water from complex streams and sources. In this chapter, we present a review on recent advancements in technologies for wastewater treatment. Research trends and innovation in physical, chemical, and biological processes for wastewater treatment are discussed. Current gaps and barriers are also identified. Moreover, the contribution of chemical engineers to the generation of knowledge in the field is evaluated. While chemical engineers have consistently contributed to the improvement of water and wastewater treatment processes, other disciplines are contributing in greater proportion to clean water and sanitation research. However, chemical engineering research seeking technological strategies to improve sanitation and water quality can be an essential component in the efforts to reach SDG 6.