Authors: Manuela christy dany S
Abstract: Wastewater stabilization is one of the primary methods of environmental engineering that can protect public health and preserve aquatic ecosystems. In this regard, increasing wastewater generation due to urbanization, industrialization, and population growth has increased the need for cost-effective, sustainable, and efficient treatment technologies. Wastewater stabilization techniques undertake the reduction of organic matter, nutrients, pathogens, and toxic substances through biological, chemical, and physical processes. Among these technologies, WSPs, sludge stabilization methods, and integrated hybrid systems have shown high efficiency, especially in developing countries and rural regions. This review paper covers a critical and comprehensive synthesis of recent studies on the various technologies of wastewater stabilization. Major topics that will be covered in this review include fundamental aspects of stabilization, design and operational issues of WSPs, stabilization techniques of sludge, hybrid and decentralized systems, and more recent studies on modeling optimization, and AI applications. Much emphasis is placed on the environmental, economical, and public health impacts, along with the shortcoming of the existing systems. Also, resource recovery, energy-neutral treatment, and climate-resilient design are some of the emerging trends pointed out in this review. This paper intends to provide an in-depth understanding among students, researchers, and practitioners regarding the different stabilization technologies of wastewaters and their future research directions towards sustainable wastewater management.
