Leaders in the wastewater process modeling community from around the world convened at the 4th International Water Association (IWA; London)/Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) Wastewater Treatment Modeling Seminar (WWTmod). Held March 30–April 2 in Spa, Belgium, the seminar enabled participants to work toward consensus on the emerging challenges faced by the wastewater treatment sector, according to an IWA news release.
“The exchange of ideas and jumpstarting collaborations is one of the main objectives of WWTmod,” said Ingmar Nopens, co-chair of the latest conference. “This year’s conference has been a great example of this; we expect to see a great number of research and practice collaborations coming out of the event.”
A total of 137 experts — representing academic, industrial, utility, and business organizations — discussed ways to
- optimize nutrient removal modeling process performance and reduce environmental effects,
- increase energy modeling in water resource recovery facilities to reduce energy requirements for wastewater treatment,
- refine life-cycle analyses to evaluate the overall sustainability of wastewater treatment, and
- improve modeling of advanced technologies to enhance water reuse and resource recovery from wastewater.
The seminar featured workshops and short presentations selected by modeling experts, followed by discussions and consensus-building involving participants. It also integrated young professionals in the consensus-building with a young water professional workshop.
“WWTmod aims at bringing researchers and practitioners together to bring advances in academia to practice and to give researchers critical feedback of what are the most pressing issues to be addressed,” said Daniel Nolasco, wastewater process modeling practitioner and keynote speaker at the WWTmod.
June 7, 2014
WEF Resources & Efforts