TY - JOUR
T1 - The bottlenecks and causes, and potential solutions for municipal sewage treatment in China
AU - Cao, Yeshi
AU - Van Loosdrecht, M. C.M.
AU - Daigger, Glen T.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Since about the 1990s China has achieved remarkable progress in urban sanitation. The country has built very extensive infrastructure for wastewater treatment, with 94.5% treatment coverage in urban areas and legally mandated nation-wide full nutrient removal implemented. However, municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in China are still confronted with issues rooted in the unique sewage characteristics. This study compares energy recovery, cost of nutrient removal and sludge production between Chinese municipal WWTPs and those in countries with longer wastewater treatment traditions, and highlights the cause-effect relationships between Chinese sewage characteristics-high inorganic suspended solids (ISS) loads, and low COD and C/N ratio, and municipal WWTP process performance in China. Integrated design and operation guidelines for municipal WWTPs are imperative in relation to the unique sewage characteristics in China. Cost-effective measures and solutions are proposed in the paper, and the potential benefits of improving the sustainability of municipal WWTPs in China are estimated.
AB - Since about the 1990s China has achieved remarkable progress in urban sanitation. The country has built very extensive infrastructure for wastewater treatment, with 94.5% treatment coverage in urban areas and legally mandated nation-wide full nutrient removal implemented. However, municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in China are still confronted with issues rooted in the unique sewage characteristics. This study compares energy recovery, cost of nutrient removal and sludge production between Chinese municipal WWTPs and those in countries with longer wastewater treatment traditions, and highlights the cause-effect relationships between Chinese sewage characteristics-high inorganic suspended solids (ISS) loads, and low COD and C/N ratio, and municipal WWTP process performance in China. Integrated design and operation guidelines for municipal WWTPs are imperative in relation to the unique sewage characteristics in China. Cost-effective measures and solutions are proposed in the paper, and the potential benefits of improving the sustainability of municipal WWTPs in China are estimated.
KW - Energy recovery
KW - Municipal wastewater treatment
KW - Nutrient removal
KW - Sludge production
KW - Sustainability
KW - Wastewater treatment in China
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85083954877&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2166/wpt.2020.006
DO - 10.2166/wpt.2020.006
M3 - Article
SN - 1751-231X
VL - 15
SP - 160
EP - 169
JO - Water Practice and Technology
JF - Water Practice and Technology
IS - 1
ER -