News Release

Sustainable and low-emissions options for wastewater problems

New publication by hydrobiologist, Prof Nick Gray, presents nature-based solutions for wastewater treatment, surface water protection and creating new habitats to support and enhance wildlife biodiversity

Book Announcement

World Scientific

Natural Wastewater Treatment Systems and Sustainability

image: Photo of a copy of "Natural Wastewater Treatment Systems and Sustainability" view more 

Credit: World Scientific / Amanda Yun

The number of treatment plants reporting failures, resulting in raw or partially treated sewage being discharged to surface waters, has never been so high. Therefore, conventional energy-demanding treatment systems such as activated sludge are constantly being modified and retrofitted to treat ever increasing loads to prevent pollution. This, and meeting higher effluent quality standards, results in significant increases in carbon emissions from treatment systems. So, conventional treatment is at a crossroads where new sustainable solutions are required to protect the quality of our rivers, estuaries, and seas.

Nature-based treatment is the theme of the second book in a series on the biology of wastewater treatment published by World Scientific. Natural Wastewater Treatment Systems and Sustainability

Natural wastewater treatment systems, which primarily employ plants and soil micro-organisms, are very much nature-based solutions and where appropriate can offer sustainable and low-emissions options for a range of wastewater problems, protecting surface waters as well as creating new habitats to support and enhance wildlife biodiversity. In terms of circularity, natural treatment systems also have the potential to produce a staggering array of useful and valuable by-products, including high-value compounds for the pharmaceutical industry. Micro-algae and cyanobacteria are at the forefront of this revolution.

Directed at environmental engineers and scientists at all levels who wish to find out more about sustainable wastewater treatment and the use of nature based solutions and natural treatment systems, Natural Wastewater Treatment Systems and Sustainability retails for US$158 / £140 (hardcover) and is also available in electronic formats. This handbook is a good reference book for undergraduate and postgraduates, as well as useful for wastewater engineers, scientists and consultants.

To order or know more about the book, visit http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/Q0320.

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About the Author

Professor Nick Gray has worked primarily in the area of biological wastewater treatment for almost forty years, working mainly on full-scale treatment systems both Ireland and abroad. The prime focus of his work is the design and operation of reactor processes, and in their microbial ecology. The work has been published in over 180 scientific publications including 14 books. After his first degree in microbiology and biochemistry and a masters in Conservation management he did a PhD in Civil Engineering, working on fixed-film reactor design. Work on river pollution control has always run in parallel to his work on wastewater treatment, in particular dealing with complex pollutants and their effects. He is a founder member and former Director of the Environmental Sciences Unit at Trinity College Dublin (University of Dublin), now the Trinity Centre for the Environment, where he was instrumental in the development of the first professional masters course in Environmental Sciences and was involved in the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in Ireland.

About World Scientific Publishing Co.

World Scientific Publishing is a leading international independent publisher of books and journals for the scholarly, research and professional communities. World Scientific collaborates with prestigious organisations like the Nobel Foundation and US National Academies Press to bring high quality academic and professional content to researchers and academics worldwide. The company publishes about 600 books and over 140 journals in various fields annually. To find out more about World Scientific, please visit www.worldscientific.com.

For more information, contact WSPC Communications at communications@wspc.com.


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