Abstract
This chapter presents wastewater as a valuable source having the potential to contribute towards a circular economy. The rationale and necessities for considering circular economy in wastewater treatment industry have been emphasized by highlighting some of the direct and indirect benefits. The resource potential in wastewater is present in carbon and nutrients, energy, and water forms. Therefore, it is proposed that wastewater should be recognized as a resource and should be appropriately called “Used Water.” This chapter provides discussion on potential pathways through which used water (domestic and industrial wastewater) treatment and management can be tailored to improve the circular economy at different scales of economies. The topics discussed are chemical utilization and recovery, energy consumption and recovery, sludge recovery and management for beneficial uses, and water resource management through integrated process configurations. Various options for energy and resource recovery are discussed through current techno-economics and technology readiness levels. Future needs and research directions are also presented.
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Gude, V.G. (2022). Used Water Management from Circular Economy Perspective. In: Baskar, C., Ramakrishna, S., Baskar, S., Sharma, R., Chinnappan, A., Sehrawat, R. (eds) Handbook of Solid Waste Management. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4230-2_92
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