Rapid growth of cities and industries in China is having a dramatic impact on the environment. To counteract further decrease of water quality of rivers, lakes and groundwater bodies, an ambitious environmental remediation programme needs to be designed and brought into action. Intensive research and development activity are required to provide tailored solutions. The articles compiled in the book describe the current situation in China with respect to surface water quality and wastewater treatment, and provide results of specific research projects, leading the way to a China-specific...

The central theme of the book is the flow of information from experimental approaches in biofilm research to simulation and modeling of complex wastewater systems. Probably the greatest challenge in wastewater research lies in using the methods and the results obtained in one scientific discipline to design intelligent experiments in other disciplines, and eventually to improve the knowledge base the practitioner needs to run wastewater treatment plants. The purpose of Biofilms in Wastewater Treatment is to provide engineers with the knowledge needed to apply the new insights gained by...

The authors of this book, who represent a broad range of scientific disciplines, discuss the issue of centralized versus decentralized control and regulation in the context of sustainable development. The stability and resilience of complex technical, economic, societal and political systems are commonly assumed to be highly dependent on the effectiveness of sophisticated, mainly centralized regulation and control systems and governance structures, respectively. In nature, however, life is mainly self-regulated by widespread, mainly DNA-encoded control mechanisms. The fact that life has...