“I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things we could use.”

– Mother Teresa

Editor’s Note, November 2018

I would begin with a humble and heartfelt thank you – to all of you – who have accepted and supported our new initiative – Smart Water & Waste World. We launched our inaugural issue in October and introduced it at the IFAT India show in Mumbai. The timing proved to be perfect, as all the exhibitors, participants, and visitors gave us a big thumbs-up (see page 14-15). A special thanks to national and international water experts, authors, and consultants who reached out to me with their positive feedback and insightful suggestions for the magazine. We promise to keep surprising you with new features, interesting sections, and ground-breaking content, as always in an unbiased manner.

This month, our cover story is the “Value of Wastewater”. We reached out to wastewater technology and service providers, contractors, and engineering experts to analyze the current and future needs of the wastewater segment, with a focus on innovations and cost-effective strategies for recycle and reuse.

The fast-growing population and expanding industrial landscape have rapidly increased sewerage and industrial waste. Water scarcity and day-zero like situations are no longer a future threat. There is no surprise then that wastewater in already being seen as a potential source of drinking water.

The wastewater market has been growing at a fast pace and will continue to do so. China’s wastewater treatment market, for example, was valued at USD 39.3 billion in 2016. The wastewater treatment companies in China treated more than 100.0 billion metric tons of wastewater in 2017 alone.

The largest segment of the global wastewater market – residential & commercial – is expected to increase its market share because of improving standards of treated water. The other big segment – industrial – will grow steadily right now but may slow in the future because of reduced water consumption and emissions (results of new manufacturing technologies), though it would take longer than what is being expected, specifically in developing countries.

Enforcement of new laws on wastewater management is already driving the adoption of technologies like Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD). The global market for ZLD could reach USD 1,002 million by 2025. In a country like India, Thermal Power, Distillery, Iron & Steel, Textile, and Pulp & Paper industries need to adopt ZLD sooner than later, being major the most water-intensive and highly polluting industries.

And then there is the point of value of wastewater itself. Currently, a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) consumes the energy equivalent of more than two power plants per year, at most places. On the other hand, if innovative techniques, combined with an optimized integration of available technologies, are used for energy-positive wastewater treatment, then the same plants can produce up to 12 power plants’ worth of efficient and renewable energy. Converting WWTPs into efficient renewable-energy generators will help in making our economies even stronger.

– Mayur Sharma
Editor, Smart Water & Waste World Magazine

© Smart Water & Waste World. Send us your editorial contributions at mayur@smartwww.in