Challenges and Opportunities in Enabling Circular Economy for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment

Globally, the goal of wastewater treatment technologies has shifted from avoiding the spread of water-borne diseases to extracting energy and other resources. The next pursuit in this realm is to solve the challenge of integrating wastewater treatment with circular economy and sustainability at the field scale. Along this line, a plethora of research investigations are available which highlight the reclamation of water, energy, nutrients and other value-added products. This chapter emphasizes the opportunities and challenges in attaining a circular economy in sustainable wastewater treatment. Furthermore, the pivotal role of the wastewater sector in sustainable development is emphasized, exploring its interconnectedness with circularity in other sectors. The chapter introduces the ideas of energy self-sufficiency and resource recovery in wastewater treatment systems, along with the interlinked challenges. The discussion delves into representing the importance of tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA) in assessing treatment technologies and alternate scenarios and making informed decisions. It is concluded that the circularity challenge is subject to local implementation and monitoring administered by global planning and directions in the wastewater sector.