Advanced Treatment Methods for Removal of Pollutants from Urban Wastewater

Urban wastewater can be distinguished as wastewater from domestic activities and rainwater runoff. It consists of organic pollutants which need to be treated for the safety of human health and to protect the environment. The contaminants in urban wastewater are organic matter, nutrients (phosphorous, nitrates, and ammonia-nitrogen), and heavy metals. The wastewater generated from industries and the household sector contains organic matter and nutrients that can cause eutrophication of receiving water bodies and impact the aquatic environment. The wastewater treatment process can be divided into pretreatment, primary treatment, secondary treatment, and disinfection. This chapter aims to analyze the various treatments like conventional treatment methods (i.e., physical, biological, and chemical) and advanced techniques (i.e., membrane process, and activated carbon adsorption) used to remove various pollutants present in urban wastewater. The efficiency of these processes and their limitations and advantages are studied in this chapter.