From scarcity problem diagnosis to recycled water acceptance: A perceptive-axiological model (PAM) of low and high contact uses

Exploring the recycled water acceptance based on the technological perspective of UTAUT2: a hybrid analytical approach

Introduction

The development of advanced sewage technologies empowers the industry to produce high-quality recycled water, which greatly influences human's life and health. Thus, this study investigates the mechanism of individuals' adoption of recycled water from the technology adoption perspective.

Methods

Employing the mixed method of structural equation modeling and artificial neural network analysis, we examined a research model developed from the extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) framework. To examine the research model, this study employs a leading web-survey company (Sojump) to collect 308 valid samples from the residents in mainland China.

Results

The structural equation modeling results verified the associations between the six predictors (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, environmental motivation, and price value), individuals' cognitive and emotional attitudes, and acceptance intention. The artificial neural network analysis validates and complements the structural equation modeling results by unveiling the importance rank of the significant determinants of the acceptance decisions.

Discussion

The study provides theoretical implications for recycled water research and useful insights for practitioners and policymakers to reduce the environmental hazards of water scarcity.

Advanced oxidation of recalcitrant chromophores in full-scale MBR effluent for non-potable reuse of leachate co-treated municipal wastewater

Wastewater non-potable reuse involves further processing of secondary effluent to a quality level acceptable for reuse and is a promising solution to combating water scarcity. Recalcitrant chromophores in landfill leachate challenge the water quality for non-potable reuse when leachate is co-treated with municipal wastewater. In this study, we first use multivariate statistical analysis to reveal that leachate is an important source (with a Pearson's coefficient of 0.82) of recalcitrant chromophores in the full-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR) effluent. We then evaluate the removal efficacies of chromophores by chlorination, breakpoint chlorination, and the chlorination-UV/chlorine advanced oxidation treatment. Conventional chlorination and breakpoint chlorination only partially remove chromophores, leaving a colour level exceeding the standards for non-potable reuse (>20 Hazen units). We demonstrate that pre-chlorination (with an initial chlorine dosing of 20 mg/L as Cl2) followed by UV radiation (with a UV fluence of 500 mJ/cm2) effectively degraded recalcitrant chromophores (>90%). By quantifying the electron donating capacity (EDC) and radical scavenging capacity (RSC) of the reclaimed water, we demonstrate that pre-chlorination reduces EDC and RSC by up to 64%, increases UV transmittance by 32%, and increases radical yields from UV photolysis of chlorine by 1.7-2.2 times. The findings advance fundamental understanding of the alteration of dissolved coloured substances by (photo)chlorination treatment and provide implications for applying advanced oxidation processes in treating wastewater effluents towards sustainable non-potable reuse.

Dynamic simulation for reclaimed water reuse under multi-intervention policies in China

Unconventional water constitutes the fundamental approach to addressing global water scarcity and achieving the sustainable circulation of water resources. Due to the significant environmental advantages and economical production costs, reclaimed water has emerged as a preeminent unconventional source. However, the use in China confronts the predicament of oversupply relative to demand, requiring policy measures to overcome this challenge. Limited research exists on the combined impact of subsidies and water quality information disclosure supervision on reclaimed water utilization, potentially underestimating the practical incentivizing role of water quality information disclosure. Therefore, based on the framework of 'external environment-perceived value-utilization intention,' a multi-agent-based simulation model driven by evolutionary game theory is constructed, from micro to macro perspective, to investigate the composite effects of subsidies and water quality information disclosure supervision on public intentions for reclaimed water utilization and the evolutionary track of public decision-making. The results showed that (1) The influence of subsidies on the public's inclination toward reclaimed water has regional heterogeneity. In regions with average economic development, the subsidy policy shows an inverted U-shaped correlation with the public's intention to reclaimed water, indicating the presence of an optimal value for maximizing the promotional effect of subsidies. Conversely, the effect is less discernible in regions with higher economic development. (2) In regions with average economic development, supervision of information disclosure behavior can avert the diminishing incentivizing effects under radical subsidies, but the assistance of various supervision intensities is different. (3) In regions with higher economic development, the incentive effect of subsidies can be positively modulated by the supervision policy. Interactions between subsidy and supervision policies evoke diverse chain reactions under varying intensities in these regions, and the combination of moderate subsidies and high supervision emerges as the most optimal strategy to advance reclaimed water development.

To intervene or not: the game of recycled water use for residents with different preferences

Recycled water contributes to sustainable development by providing a unified approach to wastewater treatment and rational water supply. However, the environmental benefit-sharing feature of recycled water may encourage some residents to show "free-rider" behavior. In this study, the evolutionary game model was applied to a game system consisting of two types of people, environmental preference and risk aversion. We analyzed internal and external factors and conducted a numerical simulation to seek both players' behavior evolutionary and stabilization trends. The study found that interventions are indispensable during recycled water use's initial and intermediate stages. Moreover, interventions should be tailored to different stages. In the initial stage, the benefits of co-use and the recycled water scientific information should be advertised. In the intermediate and mature stages, it is necessary to increase the trust coefficient or knowledge base of decided people who belong to early adopters of the recycled water diffusion system.

An analytical framework-based pedagogical method for scholarly community coaching: A proof of concept

Working in academia is challenging, even more so for those with limited resources and opportunities. Researchers around the world do not have equal working conditions. The paper presents the structure, operation method, and conceptual framework of the SM3D Portal's community coaching method, which is built to help Early Career Researchers (ECRs) and researchers in low-resource settings overcome the obstacle of inequality and start their career progress. The community coaching method is envisioned by three science philosophies (cost-effectiveness, transparency spirit, and proactive attitude) and established and operated based on the Serendipity-Mindsponge-3D knowledge (SM3D) management framework (i.e., mindsponge thinking and Bayesian Mindsponge Framework analytics serve as the coaching program's foundational theory and analytical tools). The coaching method also embraces Open Science's values for lowering the cost of doing science and encouraging the trainees to be transparent, which is expected to facilitate the self-correcting mechanism of science through open data, open review, and open dialogue. Throughout the training process, members are central beneficiaries by gaining research knowledge and skills, acquiring publication as the training's product, and shifting their mindsets from "I can't do it" to "I can do it," and at the same time transforming a mentee to be ready for a future mentor's role. The coaching method is thus one of the members, for the member, by the members.•The paper provides the structure, operation method, and conceptual framework of the SM3D Portal's community coaching method, which is built to help Early Career Researchers (ECRs) and researchers in low-resource settings overcome the obstacle of inequality and start their career progress.•The paper presents three major science philosophies envisioning the establishment and operation of scholarly community coaching.•The paper employs the mindsponge theory and BMF analytics to construct a conceptual framework explaining how an environment is created to help shift members' mindsets from "I can't do it" to "I can do it."

Recycled water acceptance: Data from two Spanish regions with opposite levels of scarcity

The dataset presented in this paper were collected for testing a perceptive-axiological model of recycled water acceptance for low and high contact uses. Participants were selected by proportional random sampling by sex and age the two Spanish communities with the most extreme values of water stress (Galicia, the rainiest region and Murcia, the driest). Data were collected by a company specialized in market research using an online survey housed on Qualtrics. Participants who matched the specified profile were contacted by email. The company compensated them financially. The final sample size consisted of 726 valid responses. The survey collected data on a variety of variables related to three conceptual dimensions: the diagnosis of the environmental situation, the axiological influence and the public perceptions regarding recycled water. The survey also collected demographic data from respondents. The survey was designed and reviewed by four experts in social psychology and two experts in methodology. The dataset featured in this article provides the raw survey data plus sociodemographic distribution, survey items, and other statistical data. This is the first and most comprehensive set of comparative data known to the authors on public acceptance of water reuse for high and low contact uses comparing regions with and without water scarcity. The authors have published an open access paper based on this data set, which are linked to this paper. Water industry professionals, policymakers, researchers and other stakeholders aiming to implement wastewater reuse systems in society may be interested in using the data as a point of comparison for their own study on public acceptance of water reuse or examining the data for relationships not yet explored in the literature.