22nd BANGKOK International Conference on Waste Management, Water Treatment & Management: WMWTM-26

Call for papers/Topics

Topics of Interest for Submission include, but are Not Limited to:

 Water Treatment and Resource Management

This area covers the full water cycle, from source protection to advanced purification and reuse.

1. Advanced Water and Wastewater Treatment Technologies

• Removal of Emerging Contaminants (ECs): Research on persistent organic pollutants (e.g., PFAS, pharmaceutical residues, microplastics, and hormones) using advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), photocatalysis, and novel adsorbents.

• Membrane Technologies: Innovations in membrane bioreactors (MBRs), nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis for high-efficiency water reuse and desalination.

• Anaerobic Treatment/Digestion: Using anaerobic processes for high-strength industrial wastewater to recover energy (biogas) and reduce operational costs.

• Nature-Based Solutions (NBS): Design and performance of constructed wetlands, living machines, and biofilters for sustainable and low-energy treatment.

2. Water Resource Recovery and Reuse (Circular Water)

• Direct Potable Reuse (DPR) and Indirect Potable Reuse (IPR): Technology, regulatory frameworks, and public perception for recycling municipal wastewater into drinking water.

• Nutrient Recovery: Technologies for harvesting valuable resources like phosphorus and nitrogen from wastewater sludge for use as fertilizer.

• Energy Neutral/Positive Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs): Strategies to maximize biogas production and integrate renewable energy sources (e.g., solar, wind) to offset operational energy demands.

• Industrial Water Management: On-site closed-loop systems and industrial symbiosis to minimize water footprint.

3. Digitalization and Smart Water Networks

• AI and Machine Learning (ML): Application in predictive maintenance, real-time process optimization, and demand forecasting in water utilities.

• IoT and Sensor Networks: Deployment of smart sensors for continuous, real-time water quality monitoring and leak detection in urban distribution systems.

• Digital Twins: Creating virtual models of WWTPs and water networks for simulation, training, and optimizing complex operational scenarios.

Waste Management and Circular Economy

This area focuses on shifting from the traditional "take-make-dispose" model to resource conservation and high-value recovery.

1. Circular Economy Models and Policy

• Industrial Symbiosis: Creating networks where the waste of one industry becomes the raw material for another.

• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): Policy and operational challenges of implementing EPR schemes for complex wastes (e.g., electronics, plastics, textiles).

• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Evaluating the environmental, economic, and social impacts of different waste management and recycling systems.

2. Specialized Waste Streams and Treatment

• E-Waste Management (WEEE): Advanced methods for urban mining and recovering critical raw materials (CRMs) like rare earth elements and precious metals.

• Plastic Waste Management: Chemical and mechanical recycling innovations, valorization of hard-to-recycle plastics, and mitigation of microplastic pollution in the environment.

• Waste-to-Energy (WtE) and Waste-to-Fuel: Technologies like incineration, pyrolysis, and gasification for energy recovery from non-recyclable residual waste.

• Biomedical and Healthcare Waste: Best practices for management, sterilization, and disposal of hazardous and infectious wastes.

3. Landfill Management and Environmental Remediation

• Sustainable Landfill Design: Innovations in leachate collection and treatment systems, and optimizing gas collection for energy use.

• Landfill Mining: The process of excavating old landfills to recover land, materials, and energy.

• Solid Waste Characterization: Advanced methods for sorting, separation, and accurate characterization of municipal solid waste (MSW) streams.

 Cross-Cutting and Integrative Topics

These topics blend both water and waste management with broader environmental and health concerns.

• Wastewater-Based Epidemiology (WBE): Monitoring public health trends (e.g., drug consumption, virus circulation like COVID-19) by analyzing municipal wastewater.

• Sludge (Biosolids) Management and Valorization: Treatment, disposal, and beneficial use of sludge (e.g., production of construction materials, biochar).

• Climate Change Adaptation: Designing water and waste infrastructure to be resilient to extreme weather events (e.g., floods, droughts).

• Water-Energy-Waste Nexus: Integrated planning to maximize efficiency, where the energy recovered from waste powers water treatment, or vice versa.