Sanitary Systems: Challenges for Innovation

Abstract

Global society is confronted with various challenges: climate change should be mitigated, and society should adapt to the impacts of climate change, resources will become scarcer and hence resources should be used more efficiently and recovered after use, the growing world population and its growing wealth create unprecedented emissions of pollutants, threatening public health, wildlife and biodiversity. This paper provides an overview of the challenges and risks for sewage systems, next to some opportunities and chances that these developments pose. Some of the challenges are emerging from climate change and resource scarcity, others come from the challenges emerging from stricter regulation of emissions. It also presents risks and threats from within the system, next to external influences which may affect the surroundings of the sewage systems. It finally reflects on barriers to respond to these challenges.

Why Novel Sanitary Systems are Hardly Introduced?

“…Urban sanitary systems provide an interesting case for systems innovation as they are more or less present in every city, in a similar basic design. Sanitary systems are criticized for insufficiently cleaning sewage, emitting greenhouse gases, insufficiently contributing to a circular use of minerals, and insufficiently producing renewable energy [18].…”

Future Options for Sewage and Drainage Systems Three Scenarios for Transitions and Continuity

“…In order to mitigate climate change, emissions of greenhouse gases should be prevented. In the waste water treatment process, the greenhouse gases CO 2 , methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) are produced [25]. The CO 2 originates from short cycle biomass, and can be neglected here.…”

“…The waste water treatment process itself is still far from perfect. Besides emissions of greenhouse gases, WWTPs often cause eutrophication by emissions of organics, phosphates, and nitrates [25].…”