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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 11801

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Bo Sun

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Shandong Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Interests: physicochemical processes including disinfection processes and redox processes; chlorine chemistry; control of micropollutants; solid–liquid separation processes; advanced oxidation processes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Hongyu Dong

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Guest Editor

Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
Interests: advanced oxidation processes; sulfite-based oxidation process; application of reactive metal species in water and wastewater treatment; application of chemiluminescence in environmental area; coagulation–flocculation
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Dr. Juanshan Du

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Guest Editor

Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 37673, Republic of Korea
Interests: environmental ice (photo)chemistry; AOPs for water treatment; zero valent iron technology for water remediation; environmental (photo)chemistry
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water distinguishes our planet from all other planets we are currently aware of. However, the deterioration of water quality presently taking place means we might be unable to meet both current and foreseeable water demands. There are many regions where available freshwater is inadequate to meet human drinking water and sanitation needs, thus constraining human health and economic development as well as the maintenance of a clean environment and healthy ecosystems. All those involved in research must find ways to remove these constraints. How best to meet these challenges requires research in all aspects of water quality and purification. This Special Issue aims to better understand the current status of water quality, develop strategies to sustain this vital resource, and create a more desirable future. Original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

All aspects of emerging organic contaminants (e.g., pharmaceutical and personal care products, pesticides, perfluorinated compounds, persistent organic pollutants, endocrine disruptors, and other industrial chemicals) in water;
All aspects of trace metals and metalloids (e.g., arsenic, selenium) in water;
Drinking water treatment;
Wastewater treatment;
Potable and non-potable water reuse.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Water.

Prof. Dr. Bo Sun
Dr. Hongyu Dong
Dr. Juanshan Du
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. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2500 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

water treatment
wastewater treatment
water reuse
emerging organic contaminants
metals
metalloids
water quality

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 2818 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Application Effect of MF-OP on Collection of Trivalent Holmium from Rare Earth Mining Wastewater

by Liang Pei and Liying Sun

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(2), 1498; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021498 - 13 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1035

Abstract

Microtube microfilter with organic phosphoric acid (expressed as MF-OP) containing a wastewater portion with buffer fluid and an enriched portion with nitric acid fluid and organic phosphoric extractant dissolved in benzin has been studied for its trivalent holmium (expressed as Ho(III) collection from rare earth wastewater. Common parameters affecting the collection effect have been investigated, including hydrogen ion molar concentration (molar concentration can be expressed as Cm) or pH value, initial concentration (expressed as Co) of Ho(III), ion-force of rare earth wastewater, voluminal proportion of organic phosphoric extractant with benzin and nitric acid fluid (expressed as Vr), nitric acid Cm, extractant Cm, and type of acid fluid in an enriched portion. The virtues of MF-OP compared to the traditional collection was explored. The impacts of hydrodynamic characteristics (steadiness and current speed) and MF parameter factors (inradius of tube, tube–shell thickness, proportion of holes) on the collection performance of MF-OP for Ho(III) collection were also considered. The test results displayed that the greatest collection conditions of Ho(III) were attained as nitric acid Cm was 4.00 mol/L, extractant Cm was 0.220 mol/L, and Vr was 0.8 in the enriched portion, and pH value was 4.60 in the wastewater portion. Ion- force of rare earth wastewater had no noticeable outcome on Ho(III) collection. The collection proportion of Ho(III) was attainable to 93.1% in 280 min, while Co was 1.80 × 10⁻³ mol/L. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality and Purification)

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16 pages, 3766 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Using One-Step Acid Leaching for the Recovering of Coal Gasification Fine Slag as Functional Adsorbents: Preparation and Performance

by Tianpeng Li, Shaocang He, Tingting Shen, Jing Sun, Chenxu Sun, Haoqi Pan, Dehai Yu, Wenxue Lu, Runyao Li, Enshan Zhang, Xuqian Lu, Yuxuan Fan and Guiyue Gao

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 12851; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912851 - 7 Oct 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1697

Abstract

Coal gasification fine slag (FS), a kind of by-product of coal chemical industry, was recovered for the preparation of functional adsorbents by acid leaching process, which was orthogonally optimized by HCl, HNO₃, HF, HAc, and H₂SO₄. Methylene blue (MB) was used to evaluate the performance of functional adsorbents. The results demonstrated that 57.6% of the leaching efficiency (R_LE) and 162.94 mg/g of adsorption capacity (C_AC) of MB were achieved under the optimal conditions of HNO₃ of 2.0 mol/L, acid leaching time of 2.0 h, and acid leaching temperature of 293K. The detections on X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and BET surface area (SBET) indicated that the synthesized functional adsorbents were characterized by mesoporous materials. The good fitting of adsorption process using pseudo-second-order and Langmuir models demonstrated that the chemisorption contributed to MB removal. The results of thermodynamics further revealed that the adsorption process of MB occurred spontaneously due to the exothermic properties. The work is expected to develop a novel and cost-effective strategy for the safe disposal of FS, and potentially offer an alternative pathway to increase the additional value for the coal chemical industry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality and Purification)

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13 pages, 1979 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Activation of Bisulfite with Pyrophosphate-Complexed Mn(III) for Fast Oxidation of Organic Pollutants

by Qianli Guo, Xianhu Qi, Jian Zhang and Bo Sun

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(15), 9437; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159437 - 1 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1482

Abstract

Aqueous complexes of Mn(III) ion with ligands exist in various aquatic systems and many stages of water treatment works, while HSO₃⁻ is a common reductant in water treatment. This study discloses that their encounter results in a process that oxidizes organic contaminants rapidly. Pyrophosphate (PP, a nonredox active ligand) was used to prepare the Mn(III) solution. An approximate 71% removal of carbamazepine (CBZ) was achieved by the Mn(III)/HSO₃⁻ process at pH 7.0 within 20 s, while negligible CBZ was degraded by Mn(III) or HSO₃⁻ alone. The reactive species responsible for pollutant abatement in the Mn(III)/HSO₃⁻ process were SO₄^•− and HO^•. The treatment efficiency of the Mn(III)/HSO₃⁻ process is highly related to the dosage of HSO₃⁻ because HSO₃⁻ acted as both the radical scavenger and precursor. The reaction of Mn(III) with HSO₃⁻ follows second-order reaction kinetics and the second-order rate constants ranged from 7.5 × 10³ to 17 M⁻¹ s⁻¹ under the reaction conditions of this study, suggesting that the Mn(III)/HSO₃⁻ process is an effective process for producing SO₄^•⁻. The pH and PP:Mn(III) ratio affect the reactivity of Mn(III) towards HSO₃⁻. The water background constituents, such as Cl⁻ and dissolved organic matter, induce considerable loss of the treatment efficiency in different ways. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality and Purification)

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11 pages, 2155 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Feasibility of Maintaining Biological Phosphorus Removal in A-Stage via the Short Sludge Retention Time Approach: System Performance, Functional Genus Abundance, and Methanogenic Potential

by Haichao Luo, Wanqian Guo, Chuanming Xing, Bo Yan, Qi Zhao and Nanqi Ren

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5494; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095494 - 1 May 2022

Viewed by 1820

Abstract

The increasing concerns on resource and energy recovery call for the modification of the current wastewater treatment strategy. This study synthetically evaluates the feasibility of the short sludge retention time approach to improve the energy recovery potential, but keeping steady biological phosphorus removal and system stability simultaneously. SBR_S-SRT and SBR_control that simulated the short sludge retention time and conventional biological phosphorus removal processes, respectively, were set up to treat real domestic sewage for 120 d. SBR_S-SRT achieved an efficient COD (91.5 ± 3.5%),

{PO}_{4}^{3 -}

-P (95.4 ± 3.8%), and TP (93.5 ± 3.7%) removal and maintained the settling volume index around 50 mL/gSS when the sludge retention time was 3 d, indicating steady operational stability. The poor ammonia removal performance (15.7 ± 7.7%) and a few sequences detected in samples collected in SBR_S-SRT indicated the washout of nitrifiers. The dominant phosphorus accumulating organisms Tetrasphaera and Hydrogenophaga, which were enriched with the shortened sludge retention time, was in line with the excellent phosphorus performance of SBR_S-SRT. The calculated methanogenic efficiency of SBR_S-SRT increased significantly, which was in line with the higher sludge yield. This study proved that the short sludge retention time is a promising and practical approach to integrate biological phosphorus removal in A-stage when re-engineering a biological nutrient removal process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality and Purification)

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14 pages, 2239 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Applications of Sponge Iron and Effects of Organic Carbon Source on Sulfate-Reducing Ammonium Oxidation Process

by Yanjun Zhu, Shidong Yang, Weizhuo Wang, Lingwei Meng and Jingbo Guo

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(4), 2283; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042283 - 17 Feb 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2142

Abstract

The typical characteristics of wastewater produced from seafood, chemical, textile, and paper industries are that it contains ammonia, sulfate, and a certain amount of chemical oxygen demand (COD). The sulfate-reducing ammonium oxidation process is a biochemical reaction that allows both ammonia and sulfate removal, but its low growth rate and harsh reaction conditions limit its practical application. Due to the adsorption properties of the iron sponge and its robust structure, it provides a suitable living environment for microorganisms. To reduce the negative impact on the environment, we employed 4.8 kg of sponge iron in a 2.0 dm³ anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR). We investigated the effects of the type and concentration of carbon sources on the performance of the sulfate-reducing ammonium oxidation (SRAO) process. The results demonstrated that during a start-up period of 90 days, the average ammonium removal efficiency and the sulfate conversion efficiency of the reactor containing the sponge iron were 4.42% and 8.37% higher than those of the reactor without the sponge iron. The addition of the sponge iron shortens the start-up time of this greenhouse gas-free denitrification process and reduces future costs in practical applications. The removal of total nitrogen (TN) significantly increased after adding organic carbon sources and then declined sharply, while the most considerable reduction of ammonium removal efficiency from 98.4% to 30.5% was observed with adding phenol. The performance of the group employing glucose as the carbon source was recovered on the 28th day, with the average ammonium removal efficiency increasing from 49.03% to 83.5%. The results of this simulation study will help the rapid start-up of SRAO in the water treatment industry and can precisely guide the application of the SRAO process for wastewater containing different organic carbon sources. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality and Purification)

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Review

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16 pages, 1560 KiB

Open AccessReview

Microcystins in Water: Detection, Microbial Degradation Strategies, and Mechanisms

by Qianqian He, Weijun Wang, Qianqian Xu, Zhimin Liu, Junhui Teng, Hai Yan and Xiaolu Liu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(20), 13175; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013175 - 13 Oct 2022

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2712

Abstract

Microcystins are secondary metabolites produced by some cyanobacteria, a class of cyclic heptapeptide toxins that are stable in the environment. Microcystins can create a variety of adverse health effects in humans, animals, and plants through contaminated water. Effective methods to degrade them are required. Microorganisms are considered to be a promising method to degrade microcystins due to their high efficiency, low cost, and environmental friendliness. This review focuses on perspectives on the frontiers of microcystin biodegradation. It has been reported that bacteria and fungi play an important contribution to degradation. Analysis of the biodegradation mechanism and pathway is an important part of the research. Microcystin biodegradation has been extensively studied in the existing research. This review provides an overview of (1) pollution assessment strategies and hazards of microcystins in water bodies and (2) the important contributions of various bacteria and fungi in the biodegradation of microcystins and their degradation mechanisms, including mlr gene-induced (gene cluster expressing microcystinase) degradation. The application of biodegradable technology still needs development. Further, a robust regulatory oversight is required to monitor and minimize MC contamination. This review aims to provide more references regarding the detection and removal of microcystins in aqueous environments and to promote the application of biodegradation techniques for the purification of microcystin-contaminated water. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality and Purification)

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