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Editorial Board Members’ Collection Series: “Critical Issues in Waste Management and Wastewater Treatment”

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 6213

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Chongqing Wang

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Guest Editor

School of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Interests: functional materials derived from solid wastes; biochar; wastewater treatment; waste management; recycling of solid wastes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Grigorios L. Kyriakopoulos

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Guest Editor

Photometry Laboratory, Electric Power Division, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 9 Heroon Polytechniou Street, 15780 Athens, Greece
Interests: engineering; environment; energy; renewable energy sources; waste management from organic pollutants; properties of polymer materials; business administration; education; culture; human resource management; psychology; urban and regional development; forest resource management; extroversion and internationalization of small and medium enterprises (SMEs); development economics; environmental systems; circular economy; behavioral ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the rapid development of society, a series of environmental problems are worsening. Industrial production and daily activities produce increasing waste and wastewater, significantly impacting the environment and threating ecosystems and public health. Waste management and wastewater treatment are receiving growing global attention and are imperative to be solved. Various techniques have been developed for waste management and wastewater treatment. Considering the cost, operation, and emerging pollutants, innovative processes and technical advances are still essential. Moreover, the excessive exploitation of natural resources significant hinders the sustainably of our society. The recycling and recovery of valuable components from waste and wastewater are receiving increasing interest. The effective disposal of waste and wastewater benefits environmental protection and resource utilization. Therefore, it is helpful to find novel strategies and practices to improve the status of waste management and wastewater treatment.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to inspire more efforts and studies to provide scientific, technical, and political strategies for the better management of wastes and wastewater. This Special Issue aims to publish recent advances in the basic research and technical development of waste management and wastewater treatment. The Special Issue accepts review papers, original research articles, communications, and perspective papers. Topics relevant to the scope of this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

Wastewater containing heavy metals;
Wastewater containing organic pollutants;
Wastewater containing nutrients;
Desalination;
Microplastics;
Industrial wastes;
Sewage sludge;
Agricultural and forest residues;
Adsorption;
Advanced oxidation process;
Resource recycling.

Prof. Dr. Chongqing Wang
Dr. Grigorios L. Kyriakopoulos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

wastewater
waste management
recycling
sustainability
environmental remediation
adsorption
advanced oxidation process

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 5413 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Solar-Induced Photocatalytic Degradation of Reactive Red and Turquoise Dyes Using a Titanium Oxide/Xanthan Gum Composite

by Abeer I. Alwared, Noor A. Mohammed, Tariq J. Al-Musawi and Ahmed A. Mohammed

Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 10815; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151410815 - 10 Jul 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1080

Abstract

The present study explores the solar-induced photocatalytic degradation of reactive red (RR) and reactive turquoise (RT) dyes in a single system using TiO₂ immobilized in xanthan gum (TiO₂/XG), synthesized using the sol–gel dip-coating technique for direct precipitation. SEM-EDX, XRD, FTIR, and UV–Vis were used to assess the characteristics of the resulting catalyst. Moreover, the effects of different operating parameters, specifically pH, dye concentration, TiO₂/XG concentration, H₂O₂ concentration, and contact time, were also investigated in a batch photocatalytic reactor. The immobilized TiO₂/XG catalyst showed a slight adsorption degradation efficiency and then improved the RR and RT dye degradation activity (92.5 and 90.8% in 120 min) under solar light with a remarkable Langmuir–Hinshelwood pseudo-first-order degradation rate of 0.0183 and 0.0151 min⁻¹, respectively, under optimum conditions of pH 5, dye concentration of 25 mg/L, TiO₂/XG concentration of 25 mg/L, H₂O₂ concentration of 400 mg/L, and reaction time of 120 min. The improved photocatalytic ability was ascribed to the impact of TiO₂/XG nanoparticles with a high surface area, and lower band gap energy. Solar light energy has significant potential for addressing energy deficit and water pollution concerns. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Editorial Board Members’ Collection Series: “Critical Issues in Waste Management and Wastewater Treatment”)

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18 pages, 4577 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Transforming Waste into Value: Eco-Friendly Synthesis of MOFs for Sustainable PFOA Remediation

by Atef El Jery, Renzon Daniel Cosme Pecho, Meryelem Tania Churampi Arellano, Moutaz Aldrdery, Abubakr Elkhaleefa, Chongqing Wang, Saad Sh. Sammen and Hussam H. Tizkam

Sustainability 2023, 15(13), 10617; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310617 - 5 Jul 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1548

Abstract

In response to the need for sustainable solutions to address perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) contamination, we have developed an eco-friendly approach for synthesizing two types of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) using waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles via a one-pot microwave-assisted strategy. Our innovative method not only avoids the initial depolymerization of PET bottles but also promotes environmental conservation by recycling waste materials. The La-MOF and Zr-MOF materials exhibit remarkable surface areas of 76.90 and 293.50 m²/g, respectively, with La-MOF demonstrating greater thermal stability than Zr-MOF. The maximum experimental PFOA adsorption for La-MOF and Zr-MOF was obtained at 310 and 290 mg/g, respectively. Both MOFs follow the Langmuir isotherm closely, with the adsorption of PFOA following a pseudo-2nd-order kinetic model. In packed-bed column tests, breakthrough positions of 174 and 150 min were observed for La-MOF and Zr-MOF, respectively, with corresponding bed volumes of 452 mL and 522 mL based on the PFOA limit of 0.07 µg/L in drinking water. These findings indicate that these MOFs can be used in industrial packed-bed columns to remove PFOA from contaminated water sources in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Importantly, the sorption performance of the fabricated MOFs for PFOA remained stable, decreasing by less than 10% over seven cycles. This study underscores the potential of recycled PET bottles and the one-pot microwave-assisted synthesis of MOFs as an effective and environmentally friendly solution for PFOA remediation. This innovative approach has several managerial implications, such as the use of waste materials as a feedstock, which can reduce the cost of production and minimize environmental impact by promoting recycling and repurposing, enhancing the reputation of companies operating in the chemical industry, and improving their sustainability metrics. By integrating sustainability principles and waste recycling, our approach offers promising avenues for addressing PFOA contamination while promoting resource efficiency and environmental conservation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Editorial Board Members’ Collection Series: “Critical Issues in Waste Management and Wastewater Treatment”)

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18 pages, 2722 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation of Thermochemical Properties and Pyrolysis of Barley Waste as a Source for Renewable Energy

by Md Sumon Reza, Juntakan Taweekun, Shammya Afroze, Shohel Ahmed Siddique, Md. Shahinoor Islam, Chongqing Wang and Abul K. Azad

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1643; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021643 - 14 Jan 2023

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2079

Abstract

Energy consumption is rising dramatically at the price of depleting fossil fuel supplies and rising greenhouse gas emissions. To resolve this crisis, barley waste, which is hazardous for the environment and landfill, was studied through thermochemical characterization and pyrolysis to use it as a feedstock as a source of renewable energy. According to proximate analysis, the concentrations of ash, volatile matter, fixed carbon, and moisture were 5.43%, 73.41%, 18.15%, and 3.01%, consecutively. The ultimate analysis revealed that the composition included an acceptable H/C, O/C, and (N+O)/C atomic ratio, with the carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen amounts being 46.04%, 6.84%, 3.895%, and 0.91%, respectively. The higher and lower heating values of 20.06 MJ/kg and 18.44 MJ/kg correspondingly demonstrate the appropriateness and promise for the generation of biofuel effectively. The results of the morphological study of biomass are promising for renewable energy sources. Using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the main link between carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen was discovered, which is also important for bioenergy production. The maximum degradation rate was found by thermogravimetric analysis and derivative thermogravimetry to be 4.27% per minute for pyrolysis conditions at a temperature of 366 °C and 5.41% per minute for combustion conditions at a temperature of 298 °C. The maximum yields of biochar (38.57%), bio-oil (36.79%), and syngas (40.14%) in the pyrolysis procedure were obtained at 400, 500, and 600 °C, respectively. With the basic characterization and pyrolysis yields of the raw materials, it can be concluded that barley waste can be a valuable source of renewable energy. Further analysis of the pyrolyzed products is recommended to apply in the specific energy fields. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Editorial Board Members’ Collection Series: “Critical Issues in Waste Management and Wastewater Treatment”)

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15 pages, 9727 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on Removal of Methylene Blue by Condensation Self-Assembled Graphene Oxide/Thiourea Composite Adsorbent

by Jiaqi Bu, Lu Yuan, Hongru Jiang and Chongqing Wang

Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15290; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215290 - 17 Nov 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1064

Abstract

A novel adsorbent (GO-TOA) was prepared by condensation and self-assembly of graphene oxide (GO) and thiourea, and it was characterized systematically. The results revealed that thiourea has anchored on graphene oxide (GO) successfully. The results showed that GO-TOA had a higher adsorption capacity (641.724 mg/g) and adsorption rate (92.32%) than GO (196.8 mg/g and 65.6%), indicating that the introduction of thiourea greatly improved the adsorption capacity of GO. Adsorption kinetics, adsorption thermodynamics isotherm, and adsorption thermodynamics were used to study the adsorption mechanism. The results show that GO-TOA still has an adsorption rate of 90.44% compared with 0 cycles (92.32), indicating that GO-TOA has good activation and regeneration capacity. In addition, ethanol and dilute hydrochloric acid were used for the desorption of MB, and the effect of desorption was found very well. Through reusability experiments, we also found that GO-TOA has excellent application potential. We believe that GO-TOA will be a potential adsorbent for MB. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Editorial Board Members’ Collection Series: “Critical Issues in Waste Management and Wastewater Treatment”)

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