Review of freezing methods used in freeze concentration and its scope in urban wastewater treatment

• Main Authors: Dhaneshwar, P., Jabade, S., Watve, H., Bhatkhande, D., Khamparia, S., Kulkarni, S., Patkar, R.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Dissolved solids; Drinking water; Freezing; Natural resources; Reverse osmosis; Sustainable development; Tertiary treatment; Wastewater treatment; Water quality
• ISSN: 0094-243X; 1551-7616
• DOI: 10.1063/5.0157423

The communities use freshwater collected from various natural resources for drinking and other routine purposes. The urban population is generating huge amounts of wastewater. Till 2015, the volume of municipal wastewater generated globally was of the order of 330 km3/year. To achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6, it is of pivotal importance to manage water effectively to cater to the needs of the ever-increasing population. Urban wastewater has been treated to produce potable quality water to mitigate the partial demands of the urban population. However, it asks for primary, secondary and tertiary treatments as well to remediate a host of impurities. Reverse Osmosis (RO) has been the most sought-after tertiary treatment today for removal of total dissolved solids (TDS). This paper however critically reviews the application of freeze concentration to concentrate solutions enabling separation of solutes and solvents and its potential as a tertiary treatment method for the treatment of urban wastewater and in numerous other domains. This review paper critically evaluates the freezing techniques implemented to concentrate a solution to separate solute and solution. The prior research undertaken on each technology will be presented briefly, and it will be evaluated and reviewed from the point of view of using the corresponding technique for the treatment of urban wastewater.