Sustainable biological wastewater management: paradigm shift in recent years

Urban wastewater management encompasses a series of steps that transform household sewage into 'clean' water, suitable for discharge into natural water bodies. In achieving this primary goal, microbial-based biotechnologies play a pivotal role, rendering urban wastewater treatment the world's largest environmental biotechnology. With growing populations and continuing urbanization, the biological wastewater treatment has been facing emerging requirements to upgrade its established century-old design. The pursuit of upgrades is driven by a combination of factors, including cost reduction, capacity building, mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, and the management of emerging bio/chemical contaminants. These efforts aim to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and overall sustainability of urban wastewater management.