TY - JOUR
T1 - Revolutionizing wastewater treatment toward circular economy and carbon neutrality goals
T2 - Pioneering sustainable and efficient solutions for automation and advanced process control with smart and cutting-edge technologies
AU - Cairone, Stefano
AU - Hasan, Shadi W.
AU - Choo, Kwang Ho
AU - Lekkas, Demetris F.
AU - Fortunato, Luca
AU - Zorpas, Antonis A.
AU - Korshin, Gregory
AU - Zarra, Tiziano
AU - Belgiorno, Vincenzo
AU - Naddeo, Vincenzo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors
PY - 2024/6
Y1 - 2024/6
N2 - Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play a crucial role in ensuring a safe environment by effectively removing contaminants and minimizing pollutant discharges. Compliance with stringent regulations and the search for sustainable treatment processes pose new challenges and provide opportunities for innovative solutions. These solutions include using wastewater as a resource to recover value-added by-products, such as clean water, renewable energy, and nutrients, while optimizing energy consumption and reducing operating costs without compromising treatment performance. To drive continuous innovation in wastewater treatment, the integration of advanced treatment technologies with robust monitoring and control systems is imperative. This review explores advancements in automation and advanced process control within WWTPs. In this context, technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, robotics, drones, virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR), and digital twin are identified as promising tools for developing innovative, smart, and efficient monitoring and control systems. While the integration of these tools offers many benefits, further research is essential to optimize their performance and cost-effectiveness. A detailed overview of the current and future applications of these advanced tools and smart systems is provided, emphasizing their strengths, limitations, and opportunities for future research and improvements.
AB - Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play a crucial role in ensuring a safe environment by effectively removing contaminants and minimizing pollutant discharges. Compliance with stringent regulations and the search for sustainable treatment processes pose new challenges and provide opportunities for innovative solutions. These solutions include using wastewater as a resource to recover value-added by-products, such as clean water, renewable energy, and nutrients, while optimizing energy consumption and reducing operating costs without compromising treatment performance. To drive continuous innovation in wastewater treatment, the integration of advanced treatment technologies with robust monitoring and control systems is imperative. This review explores advancements in automation and advanced process control within WWTPs. In this context, technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, robotics, drones, virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR), and digital twin are identified as promising tools for developing innovative, smart, and efficient monitoring and control systems. While the integration of these tools offers many benefits, further research is essential to optimize their performance and cost-effectiveness. A detailed overview of the current and future applications of these advanced tools and smart systems is provided, emphasizing their strengths, limitations, and opportunities for future research and improvements.
KW - Advanced control
KW - Digital water
KW - Process optimization
KW - Wastewater data analytics
KW - Wastewater treatment automation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85194391825&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jwpe.2024.105486
DO - 10.1016/j.jwpe.2024.105486
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85194391825
SN - 2214-7144
VL - 63
JO - Journal of Water Process Engineering
JF - Journal of Water Process Engineering
M1 - 105486
ER -