Due to urbanisation, there are large amounts of waste concrete, particularly in rapidly industrialising countries. Currently, demolished concrete is mainly recycled as aggregate for reconstruction. This study has shown that larger sizes (2–5 mm) of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) removed more than 90% of P from effluent when at pH 5. Analysis of the data, using equilibrium models, indicated a best fit with the Langmuir which predicated an adsorption capacity of 6.88 mg/g. Kinetic analysis indicated the equilibrium adsorption time was 12 h, with pseudo second-order as the best fit. The thermal dynamic tests showed that the adsorption was spontaneous and, together with the evidence from the sequential extraction and desorption experiments, indicated the initial mechanism was physical attraction to the surface followed by chemical reactions which prevented re-release. These results suggested that RCA could be used for both wastewater treatment and P recovery.

Microwave assisted with alkaline (MW-A) condition was applied in the pretreatment of swine manure, and the effect of the pretreatment on anaerobic treatment and biogas production was evaluated in this study. The two main microwaving (MW) parameters, microwaving power and reaction time, were optimized for the pretreatment. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to investigate the effect of alkaline microwaving process for manure pretreatment at various values of pH and energy input. Results showed that the manure disintegration degree was maximized of 63.91% at energy input of 54 J/g and pH of 12.0, and variance analysis indicated that pH value played a more important role in the pretreatment than in energy input. Anaerobic digestion results demonstrated that MW-A pretreatment not only significantly increased cumulative biogas production, but also shortened the duration for a stable biogas production rate. Therefore, the alkaline microwaving pretreatment could become an alternative process for effective treatment of swine manure.

In the last 10 years, the extent of wastewater treated in China has increased by 57%, the great amounts of sewage have threatened people's health as well the natural environment. In the last 10 years, the sewage treatment rate has improved, in December 2013, 99.1% of Chinese cities and 82.6% counties have sewage treatment plants. This review paper describes the current situation and has suggestion of how to overcome future sewage problems especially water pollution in China from domestic, agriculture and industrial sectors. It also discusses the urban/ rural wastewater for treatment including sewerage systems, treatment plants and water quality standards in China. The paper highlights the challenges of effective wastewater treatment in rural areas as a particular issue due to lack of monitoring and law support. This has led to ineffective management of treatment plants, financial difficulties; inappropriate sewerage, treatment facilities and standards; as well as poor awareness.

Water pollution is a globally issue. With population increase, this issue became more serious than before. All the authorities are seeking a way to solve this problem, especially China. However, there is a huge cost for treating vast amount of wastewater, particularly in rural areas. Low cost and easy maintenance treatment process is a sustainable choice such as trickling filter and constructed wetland. Currently, Activated sludge process is replacing these processes due to better performance, but the cost much higher. By improving the filled filter media, these processes could improve their performance. This study conducted lab-scale TF and static test to investigate the media such as Furnace blast slag, Maifan stone, Zeolite, Waste Concrete and Brick. The TF results presented waste concrete and brick achieved desirable performance and reliable to remove majority of pollutants (such as COD, TSS and turbidity), but poor to remove nutrients. The further static study was P removal. By adopting different condition, the removal rate was discovered that affect by pH and initial P concentration. This study also found zeolite, Maifan stone and waste brick released P in lower pH condition with lower and higher P concentration. By concluding these results, waste concrete presented greater adsorption for both pilot and static test. Waste Concrete could be recycled as filter media for treating wastewater in less developed areas.