Environmental systems engineering: A state of the art review

This paper presented a state-of-the-art review in the field of Environmental Systems Engineering (ESE). The source material of the review consisted of four state-of-the-art approaches to environmental systems engineering in water and waste-water systems and air pollution dating back to the time period between 2004 and 2010. Apart from an analysis of related work, this review provided an overview of applied research methods and topics in the field of ESE as well as a categorization of the analyzed source material. The environmental systems, such as water cycles, air pollution and ecosystem cycles, are quite complex and known to be highly dynamic, with an uncertainty compared to chemical systems. The challenges associated with the modeling, control and optimization of environmental systems have provided us with fascinating opportunities. Furthermore, elements of a research agenda were discussed in order to determine possible further research steps in the discipline of ESE. Like most other systematic literature reviews, this paper is aimed at an audience of experienced researchers in the field of ESE who are looking for research ideas and junior scientists entering into the emerging field of research. Practitioners might benefit from our review by gaining a stronger awareness of the importance of ESE for business companies.