EdX

Sustainable Resource Recovery from Used Water (edX)

Offered by University of Queensland, UQx,
Sustainable Resource Recovery from Used Water (edX)

Learn about the latest resource recovery concepts, technologies and products related to sustainable wastewater management. Wastewater is a major end product generated by humans. Traditionally, wastewater has been treated mostly for sanitary and environmental protection reasons, but this waste product harbours an enormous value, both from an ecological and economical perspective.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see EdX's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

This course is about the state of the art in resource recovery technologies from wastewater. Regardless of your background, we will teach you the core concepts underpinning the recovery of carbon, nutrients, energy and water.
Learn from experts in wastewater engineering from The University of Queensland and Tsinghua University. This course will help you identify opportunities towards the sustainable management of wastewater as well as understand the major applications for recovered products.
What you'll learn

  • Identify recoverable resources in wastewater.
  • Appreciate the breadth of potential products.
  • Discover the technological principles of the resource recovery processes.
  • Recognise the resources that can be recovered in different situations.
  • Appreciate sustainability in the urban water cycle and the importance of resources recovery in a circular economy context.

Syllabus

MODULE 1: Introduction to the water cycle and used water management
Impact of water cycle on water resource sustainability, sources of used water, consumption of energy and resource recovery potentials, trends for used water management.

MODULE 2: Carbon
Carbon biological transformations, anaerobic digestion, carbon to electricity: microbial cells, carbon to PHA, cellulose recovery.

MODULE 3: Nutrients
Nitrogen and phosphorous biological metabolism, microbial protein production and use as feed or fertiliser, phosphorous recovery, source separation, element recovery.

MODULE 4: Water
Fit-for-purpose water reuse, water recycling for drinking or irrigation use, environmental application of reclaimed water, industrial application of reclaimed water - desalination.

MODULE 5: Integrated solutions and successful cases
Sustainability assessment of water technologies, the Huaifang case study, expert panel discussion, visions for the future of resource recovery.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Environmental Engineering: Drinking Water Treatment (edX) EdX
Seoul National University,SNUx

Environmental Engineering: Drinking Water Treatment (edX)

Sci: Environment

Understand what makes water clean or dirty and what are being done at water treatment facilities to make water safe to drink. This course will cover fundamental science and engineering principles dealing with natural and water environmental systems. First, we focus on what influences water quality and what are sources, characteristics, and effects of water pollutants. Second, we will explore the basic chemical concepts needed to understand how pollutants may change their forms and influence water quality.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Water Environment Water Treatment
Details
Religious Symbols of the World (edX) EdX
Seoul National University,SNUx

Religious Symbols of the World (edX)

Humanities

This course is the third and final course in the series following “Understanding Religious Symbolism” and “Myths, Rituals, and Cosmos.” Through the theories and patterns that you learned in these three courses, I hope that you will be able to interpret the various religious phenomena in different cultures, and through this gain a better understanding of culture and human beings.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Earth Water Human
Details
Water Supply and Sanitation Policy in Developing Countries Part 1: Understanding Complex Problems (Coursera) Coursera
University of Manchester

Water Supply and Sanitation Policy in Developing Countries Part 1: Understanding Complex Problems (Coursera)

Social Sciences

Our course explores what can be done to solve the complex problem that half a billion people worldwide do not have improved water supplies and two billion do not have improved sanitation. We look forward to you joining us. We want to help you develop the skills you need to address this major global challenge of the 21st century.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Health Water Public Health
Details
Climate Change in Water and Sanitation Utilities (Coursera) Coursera
Inter-American Development Bank - IDB

Climate Change in Water and Sanitation Utilities (Coursera)

Sci: Environment

The objective of this course is to support urban water and sanitation utilities in transitioning to climate-resilient management by reducing their carbon emissions. This course, consisting of 4 modules, addresses the concept of climate change, its impacts, risks, and actions that can be employed for its mitigation, specifically within water and sanitation utilities. In this context, an introduction to climate financing is provided, explaining how companies can secure funding for projects that yield climate-related benefits.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Water Climate Change Sanitation
Details
Water: Addressing the Global Crisis (edX) EdX
SDGAcademyX,SDG Academy

Water: Addressing the Global Crisis (edX)

Sci: Environment

We are living in a water stressed world. It is a global crisis and therefore we must act now! What can we do to save the planet and ensure availability of water for all by 2030? Water isthe source of all life. Without it, neither humans nor nature will survive. Yet lack of access to water is a rapidly growing problem and one of the world’s gravest risks. It is a global crisis.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Water Climate Change Ecosystems
Details
Nutrient Removal and Resource Recovery in Wastewater (edX) EdX
Purdue University,PurdueX

Nutrient Removal and Resource Recovery in Wastewater (edX)

Engineering

This course introduces nutrient removal principles used in biological wastewater treatment plants. Nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, are essential for all living organisms. However, excess amounts of nutrients in wastewater often result in eutrophication that may deplete oxygen, promote harmful algal bloom, and even create dead zone for aquatic organisms.

Feb 13th 2023
5-12 Weeks
Wastewater Wastewater Treatment Anaerobic Digestion
Details
Climate Change in Water and Sanitation Utilities (edX) EdX
Inter-American Development Bank - IDB,IDBx

Climate Change in Water and Sanitation Utilities (edX)

Sci: Environment

Did you know that some water and sanitation utilities are beginning to lead the transition towards a carbon-neutral future? If you are a professional or an active stakeholder in the water and sanitation sector and want to learn more about how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at every stage of the urban water cycle, this course is for you. In this course, you will learn about the actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in urban water and sanitation utilities and the benefits this brings in terms of economics, environmental impact, and efficiency. Discover the unexplored potential of water and sanitation utilities in global greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Water Climate Change Wastewater
Details
Backyard Meteorology: The Science of Weather (edX) EdX
HarvardX,Harvard University

Backyard Meteorology: The Science of Weather (edX)

Science

Learn to forecast the weather just by looking out your window. The weather forecasts we see every day are based on an army of meteorological sensing networks and intensive computer modeling. Before the rise of these technologies, predictions were made by methods like discerning cloud formations and wind directions.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Science Wind Water
Details
Modern Biotechnologies for Wastewater Treatment (edX) EdX
Purdue University,PurdueX

Modern Biotechnologies for Wastewater Treatment (edX)

Engineering Sci: Environment

This course introduces modern biotechnologies for wastewater treatment. Modern biotechnologies have been widely used in clinical diagnosis, food production, and the pharmaceutical industry. Their applications in wastewater treatment have greatly improved the accuracy and efficiency of characterizing biological systems in biological wastewater treatment plants and the natural environment.

Mar 27th 2023
5-12 Weeks
Biotechnology Microbiology Antibiotic Resistance
Details
Water Works: Activating Heritage for Sustainable Development (edX) EdX
Delft University of Technology,DelftX

Water Works: Activating Heritage for Sustainable Development (edX)

Architecture & Design

Address contemporary challenges from a socio-spatial and cultural perspective, and activate water heritage for decision-making in water management. Water has served and sustained societies throughout history. Understanding the complex and diverse water systems of the past is key to devising sustainable development for the future with regard to socioeconomic structures, policies, and cultures. Today, past systems form the framework for preservation and reuse as well as for new proposals.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Sustainability Water Water Management
Details
Introduction to Sustainability (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Introduction to Sustainability (Coursera)

Sci: Energy & Earth Sciences

This course introduces the academic approach of Sustainability and explores how today’s human societies can endure in the face of global change, ecosystem degradation and resource limitations. The course focuses on key knowledge areas of sustainability theory and practice, including population, ecosystems, global change, energy, agriculture, water, environmental economics and policy, ethics, and cultural history.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Earth Sustainability Energy
Details