Current trends in modular wastewater treatment – a patent review

Abstract

Wastewater is a major source of water pollution, as it contains contaminants from human waste, chemicals, industrial runoff, and other sources that can be harmful to the environment and human health. Therefore, treatment is necessary to reduce its harmful effects. However, wastewater treatment (WWT) is often costly and difficult to implement in many areas. With conventional WWT designs lacking robustness and adaptability, modular designs can be a viable solution for this problem. In this review, a patent survey covering patents from 1996 to 2021 yielded 66 patents regarding modular WWT. The patent search showed increasing patents regarding modular WWT in recent years. Most of the patents were filed by companies in China. The International Patent Classification (IPC) was used to determine the current trends in modular WWT. Current patented designs suggest that there have been attempts to develop modularized electrochemical, separation, and sorption methods. Also, multistep patent designs showed fully integrated modular units from conventional WWT design and offer robustness and adaptability. This patent review showed that modular WWT technologies are capable and ready to be used in different settings.