Mahesh Ganesapillai, Anil Kumar Vinayak, Aditya Tiwari, Anushka Darda, Kasvi Chindalia, Thangapandi Chellapandi
Global freshwater scarcity and degradation demand reconceptualizing wastewater as a resource within circular economy transitions. This review utilizes the resource-stack model and treatment-train design space to evaluate wastewater valorization, assessing recovery of water, energy, nutrients, carbon, and trace elements. It examines barriers, inefficiencies, costs, regulatory gaps, and societal resistance and highlights that aligning innovation with policy and governance can transform wastewater systems into infrastructures supporting water security and climate resilience. (Figure presented.) © The Author(s) 2026.
Mass Transfer Research Group, School of Chemical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu, Vellore, India; Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada; School of Engineering, Merz Court, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom; Centre for Applied Nanomaterials, Chennai Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu, Chennai, India; Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia
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