Wastewater treatment plants as energy-producers: Comparison of the status in India and Sweden / Avloppsreningsverk som energiproducenter: Jämförelse av status i Indien och Sverige
As the population of the world rises and economies grow, both energy and water will be needed in ever-increasing quantities. There is a delicate balance between these two resources called the energy-water (or the water-energy) nexus. One way to reduce the energy consumption associated with wastewater treatment is to use the sludge produced during the process to generate biogas. In most countries in the developed world, the coverage, standards and reliability of wastewater treatment are high. But as the countries in the developing world are striving towards the living standards of those in the developed world, even as they combat population pressure, it is imperative that they learn from the experiences (the mistakes which occurred during the ‘learning-by-doing’ process) of the developed world. In this paper, Sweden has been used as a proxy for the developed world with a well-functioning sanitation infrastructure and reliable power supply; and India (the home country of one of the coauthors) is a proxy for the developing world which lacks the same. A very important starting point for development would be to educate people about the long-term socio-economic and environmental benefits of wastewater treatment.