An agile benchmarking framework for wastewater resource recovery technologies

An agile benchmarking framework for wastewater resource recovery technologies | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Short Report An agile benchmarking framework for wastewater resource recovery technologies Xinyi Zhang, Saumitra Rai, Zixuan Wang, Yalin Li, Jeremy Guest This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7874013/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 06 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in npj Clean Water → Version 1 posted 1 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) face growing pressures to balance compliance, sustainability, and cost while adapting to evolving treatment needs. To support research, development, and deployment (RD&D) of innovative technological solutions, we developed an open-access benchmarking framework comprised of 18 plant-wide simulation models. Implemented in QSDsan, the framework is validated against GPS-X™ simulations while capturing distinct system behaviors, treatment performance, energy demand, and operational costs across diverse designs. It offers a rigorous and transparent foundation for comparative technology evaluations, guiding RD&D decision-making and advancing sustainable water management. Physical sciences/Engineering Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Scientific community and society/Water resources Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files ZhangetalnpgCWSupportingInformationSubmitted.pdf ZhangetalnpgCWSupportingInformationTableS11.xlsx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 06 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in npj Clean Water → Version 1 posted First submitted to journal 16 Oct, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7874013","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Short Report","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":533247418,"identity":"9110e998-b417-499a-bb4c-1db54f6f042b","order_by":0,"name":"Xinyi Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xinyi","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":533247419,"identity":"5b1f02f7-b377-4b20-b6ff-06c0e81ae608","order_by":1,"name":"Saumitra Rai","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Illinois 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