INTRODUCTION
The harmful impact of waste streams of all types on the environment is hard
to overstate. Waste is produced continually and with each passing year the
quality of many global resources measurably deteriorates. Government
regulations, public demand and increased industrial commitment to a clean
environment have created a multibillion-dollar business in waste and water
treatment. The imperative is simple: produce less waste, implement cleaner
processes and clean up the messes of the past.
Individuals, communities,
industries and nations are striving for ways to remove pollutants from drinking
water sources, reduce levels of harmful and toxic discharges, and reclaim and
reuse by-products, raw materials and even water from various waste streams. The
drive to keep essential resources available and suitable for use has sparked the
development of a growing market for innovative solutions for treating potable
water, wastewater, air and soil, and for handling solid and toxic waste.
Increasingly, technological advances are responding to the demand. In fact, the
proliferation of advanced environmental technologies, products and processes
adds up to new opportunities, as well as new challenges.
Water supply and
water purity have never been more important. Virtually every municipality and
every industry is affected. Wastewater quality rules are becoming ever more
stringent, complex and costly. Companies and communities of all sizes must meet
federal Clean Water Act standards and sometimes a maze of state and local
regulations, as well. And effluent is by no means the only water issue. Faced
with more polluted water sources, municipalities are subject to increasingly
strict Safe Drinking Water Act laws that regulate contaminants in potable water.
Therefore, most companies are finding they must clean their water both before
and after they use it.
Power plants, chemical manufacturers, pulp mills and
other industrial users also are seeking ways to reduce atmospheric emissions of
particulate, sulfur, carbon, nitrogen, mercury, volatile organic compounds and
other gases. The international Kyoto Protocol agreement and impending U.S.
regulations are spurring the sale of air pollution control equipment for these
point sources as well as non-point emissions from vehicle engines and non-road
mobile sources.
In most developed nations, the solid and hazwaste markets are
mature industries with excess handling capacity and low profitability.
Expenditures on hazardous waste treatment: chemical, metal, medical, nuclear,
etc. is focused increasingly on source reduction to minimize waste volumes and
keep costs under control. In the European Union, especially, new initiatives are
directing hazwaste away from landfills, imposing more stringent laws for waste
treatment and incineration, and adding to the number of types of waste
designated as hazardous. Technological advances are not a major factor in
shaping solid waste management. Opportunities still exist in the markets of
developing countries.
The world market for water and waste treatment
technologies is estimated at nearly $550 billion in 2004. Forecast to grow at an
average annual growth rate of 2.2 % over the next five years, this market is
likely to reach $615 billion by 2009. The forecast includes annual sales of
equipment and services related to water/wastewater, air pollution, solid and
hazardous waste, recycling and remediation.
There is no shortage of emerging
cost-cutting technology. Almost daily, equipment and instrument makers, as well
as industry and academic researchers, announce new ways to monitor quality,
remove contaminants and recycle water and wastes. But finding the proper
alternatives¾at the right price¾can be bewildering. This anthology
keeps readers abreast of the rapid technology developments, which characterize
the entire environmental technology industry. It covers:
- Biological Treatments
- Bottled Water
- Chemical Treatments
- Equipment
- Groundwater, Stormwater and Surface Water
- Government
- HazwasteHybrid Treatments
- Industry News and Insight
- Instrumentation, Modeling, Monitoring and Testing
- Membranes
- Physical Treatments
- Recycle/Reuse
- Wastewater
This publication assembles and analyzes the most important developments of
2003. All important issues are covered, including: legislation, economics, new
technologies, patents, R&D, new products and processes, investments,
funding, contract awards, costs, testing and standards, classifications, legal
challenges, international activities, government, energy, environmental trends,
Superfund, and more. This compilation is a critical tool for anyone involved in
the rapidly changing environmental industry.
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