Water: A Source of Resources – Recent Advances in Technologies and Strategies

Dear Colleagues,

The considerable growth of human society and living standards in the last 70 years has caused extensive exploitation of Earth’s non-renewable resources. The linear approach of productive processes and current lifestyles have severely impacted the planet’s climate, the consequences of which will undoubtedly impact the lives of future generations. It is therefore necessary to change current exploitation methods by introducing circular approaches. Water is the most abundant compound on Earth and the only renewable source of potentially valuable elements. Over 70% of Earth is covered by water in the form of oceans, rivers, and lakes, and less than 1% is currently used by humans. Moreover, industries and communities discharge wastewater into the environment, posing additional threats to the health of our planet. The sustainable and circular use of all available water sources is likely the fastest way to implement the ecological transition of current processes.

This Special Issue welcomes work on recent advancements in technologies and strategies related to water, such as production, treatment, desalination, valorization, and conversion to energy.

Based on the above, we invite researchers to submit articles, communications, or reviews on the following topics:

• Reducing water consumption and developing smart wastewater management systems;
• The recovery of energy and materials (e.g., minerals and nutrients) from wastewater (e.g., urban-, industrial- and seawater);
• The recovery of minerals from seawater, wastewater, and brines;
• Water reuse strategies that embrace the circular water economy;
• Freshwater production from alternative water sources (e.g., seawater desalination).

Well-documented and relevant case studies and practical field-test reports would also be valuable additions to this Special Issue, which aims to underline the importance and the true value of water for a sustainable future on Earth

Dr. Alessandro Tamburini
Dr. Giorgio Micale
Dr. Andrea Cipollina
Dr. Giuseppe Battaglia
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. Water 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 2600 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.

• safe water reuse
• energy production and saving
• recovery and supply of critical raw materials
• circular water economy
• water management
• clean water
• brine valorization
• water treatment