Environmental And Social Economic Impacts Of Sewage Sludge Treatment

This book presents an experimental simulation of sewage treatment, which is designed to evaluate the environmental and social-economic impacts of integrated sewage treatment policies. The author puts forward a comprehensive linear optimization simulation model that takes the environmental, energy and economic systems into consideration. Beijing was selected as a typical Chinese city for the purposes of simulation, and the comprehensive model employed realistically reflects the specific and unique characteristics of Beijing’s social economy and environmental status. Given the importance of sewage treatment and the accurate assessment of its impacts, the book will be of interest to researchers and scholars of environmental economics.

It is more than clear that during the last decades the interest in environmental issues is constantly increasing and environmental issues have gradually been broadened, including economic and social responsibilities. Among several issues, the treatment of wastewater, and consequently, the handling of sewage sludge generated, are of the most significant challenges in environmental management. The properties of sludge depend on the contents of the wastewater treated and also on the operational characteristics of the wastewater and sludge treatment facilities. Treated sludge can be recycled or disposed of using three main routes: recycling to agriculture, incineration or land filling. This book reviews current scientific knowledge on the sewage sludge topic and assess the environmental and economic impact of the main disposal and recycling routes for sewage sludge.

New Edition now available - click hereIt is well recognized everywhere that management of sludge derived from wastewater treatment is one of the most critical environmental issues, due to the very fast increase in sludge production as a result of sewerage extension, new installations and upgrading of existing facilities. Within this general picture, sludge is produced under different technical, economic and social contexts, thus requiring different approaches. This report is intended to give an overview of the sludge field in different parts of the world by summarising: current wastewater and sludge treatment provision; current and anticipated legislation; current research horizons; anticipated evolution of management approaches; and prospects for use of innovative and / or simple technologies. The report has been prepared for the Water21 Market Briefing Series in collaboration with the International Water Association's Specialist Group on Sludge Management. It is based on contributions from: Western Europe (Johannes Mueller); Eastern Europe (Pavel Jenicek); North America (Steve Dentel); Latin America and the Caribbean (Jose Barrios); East Asia (Nagaharu Okuno); South Asia and China (Duu-Jong Lee); Africa (Heidi Snyman); and Australasia (David Dixon and Terry Anderson). There is also an introduction and overview section (Ludovico Spinosa).

This book introduces the 3R concept applied to wastewater treatment and resource recovery under a double perspective. Firstly, it deals with innovative technologies leading to: Reducing energy requirements, space and impacts; Reusing water and sludge of sufficient quality; and Recovering resources such as energy, nutrients, metals and chemicals, including biopolymers. Besides targeting effective C,N&P removal, other issues such as organic micropollutants, gases and odours emissions are considered. Most of the technologies analysed have been tested at pilot- or at full-scale. Tools and methods for their Economic, Environmental, Legal and Social impact assessment are described. The 3R concept is also applied to Innovative Processes design, considering different levels of innovation: Retrofitting, where novel units are included in more conventional processes; Re-Thinking, which implies a substantial flowsheet modification; and Re-Imagining, with completely new conceptions. Tools are presented for Modelling, Optimising and Selecting the most suitable plant layout for each particular scenario from a holistic technical, economic and environmental point of view.

Sewage sludge is the product resulting from wastewater treatment plants and aquaculture systems. It is an abundant waste biomass, as its production keeps increasing due to population growth, particularly in developing countries and intensified wastewater treatment plants in the developed world due to industrialisation. Effective management and handling of sewage sludge in an environmentally friendly way has become a matter of increasing importance globally, due to the potential health risks on the environment. Importantly, sewage sludge contains large amounts of organic components and nutrients; hence, resource recovery from such an abundant biomass is necessary. This comprehensive book presents an assessment into the impact of sewage sludge on the environment and provides the various treatment options for converting the sludge into useful resources. Biochemical (or biological) and thermochemical (or thermal) methods of sewage sludge treatment are covered. Through contributions from experts in diverse fields, this book has been organised to suit a variety of readers, including professionals and students who are interested in sewage sludge treatment as well as resource recovery from sewage sludge by using different and innovative technologies.

This book presents the results of an analytical study on the economic valuation for wastewater, comparing the cost of no action versus the cost of effective wastewater management. One of the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the United Nations was to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation by 2015. Further, at the Rio+20 Summit in June 2012, governments recognised the need to adopt measures to significantly reduce water pollution, increase water quality and significantly improve wastewater treatment which is now reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals. To achieve these objectives, substantial investment in sanitation including septage and sewage management is required, in particular in developing countries. A financial analysis of wastewater management looks at its private costs and benefits and can underpin decision making from a business or treatment plant operator standpoint. Economic analysis looks at the broader costs and benefits for society, providing information for public policy decisions to support improvements in wastewater management. Adequate wastewater collection, treatment, and safe use or disposal can lead to significant environmental and health benefits. However, because some of these benefits do not have a market price, they have not traditionally been considered in the financial analysis of wastewater treatment projects, therefore underestimating total benefits.