Integrated Hybrid Biological Systems in Wastewater Treatment and Recycling

Population growth and climate change are identified as the primary cause of water scarcity at global as well as regional levels, and the final outcome of this scarcity or crisis is that a large portion of the world’s population is under severe water stress and does not have adequate freshwater resources for satisfying present and future demands. Adding to this, the current water supply practices wherein freshwater is being supplied even for secondary usages like flushing toilets, gardening, street cleaning, etc., aggravate the water stress. It has become imperative to judiciously use our water resources to have sustainable progress. In this context, the world across, policymakers, researchers, and industries started thinking about treating the wastewater and effectively recycling the same to meet the secondary requirement, which accounts for about 50% of the total water requirement. The present chapter discusses the role of integrated hybrid biological systems in addressing wastewater treatment to recyclable levels, specifically in handling volumetric and organic shock loadings.