Introduction of New Process Technology into the Wastewater Treatment Sector

Abstract

Innovative wastewater treatment technologies are developed to respond to changing regulatory requirements, increase efficiency, and enhance sustainability or to reduce capital or operating costs. Drawing from experience of five successful new process introductions from both the inventor/developer's and adopter's viewpoints coupled with the application of marketing analysis tools (an S curve), the phases of new technology market penetration can be identified along with the influence of market drivers, marketing, patents and early adopters. The analysis is used to identify measures that have increased the capture of benefits from new technology introduction. These have included funding by the government for research and demonstrations, transparency of information, and the provision of independent technology evaluations. To reduce the barriers and speed the introduction of new technology, and thereby harvest the full benefits from it, our industry must develop mechanisms for sharing risks and any consequences of failure more broadly than just amongst the early adopters. WEF and WERF will continue to have the central role in providing reliable information networks and independent technology evaluations.

Energy Return on Investment for Algal Biofuel Production Coupled with Wastewater Treatment

“…The inclusion of BNR in wastewater treatment is based on the expectation that increasingly strict effluent regulations will require most large WWTPs to implement nutrient removal in the near future. That is, the analysis of the present study is forward-looking in its broad applicability (Parker, 2011). In 1998, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published the National Strategy for the Development of Regional Nutrient Criteria (U.S. EPA, 1998) with the expectation that states adopt nutrient criteria by 2004.…”

Analysis of adoption rates for Needs Driven versus Value Driven innovation water technologies

“…Another author, Parker, has previously emphasized that sharing information was a key factor for increased rate of adoption in the water technology market (Parker, 2011).…”

Municipal demand-side policy tools and the strategic management of technology life cycles

“…While the s-curve has been challenged because in reality, products and technologies rarely travel through a smooth curvilinear evolution (Doyle, 1976), it is still a widely used concept to depict product and technology evolution including in the sustainable technology arena such as water treatment (Parker, 2011), building integrated photovoltaic systems (Hammond, 2012) and broadly applied to various technologies associated with industrial sustainability (Paramanathan, et al, 2004).…”