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Polymers
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Wastewater Treatment Systems: Theory and Operation
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Wastewater Treatment Systems: Theory and Operation

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 October 2023) | Viewed by 7337

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ming Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Interests: membrane-based separation processes; wastewater treatment and resource recovery; synthesis and appli-cation of water treatment materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Xiaoqiang Cao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Safety and Environmental Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
Interests: purification of industrial wastewater; development and application of environmental advanced oxidation catalytic materials and high-performance adsorption materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water is indispensable to the functioning of most known lifeforms, and good water quality is essential to human health, social and economic development, and ecosystem functioning. The careful management of water and wastewater is a big challenge and “hot” trend in recent research. Some indicative/typical methods are biological treatments, adsorption, flocculation, oxidation, membranes, and filtration. The application of polymers and polymeric materials in wastewater treatment is a research field that has seen significant development in recent. Conventional and novel approaches have been carried out by researchers from different areas, who have demonstrated that polymers and polymeric materials may have an important role in the removal of pollutants of different origin and nature from wastewater, in the disposal of sludge, in the recycling of materials, in the improved efficiency and economy of wastewater, etc.

In view of the relevant contributions that polymers and polymeric materials may make in the conservation of the aquatic environment, namely, by their application in wastewater treatment, this Special Issue aims at the publication of original research or review papers within this area. Scientific contributions on any aspect related to the utilization of polymers and polymeric materials—either synthetic or natural—on the treatment or purification of wastewater are welcomed.

Dr. Ming Chen
Dr. Xiaoqiang Cao
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. Polymers 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 2700 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 treatment
  • organic contaminants
  • inorganic contaminants
  • pollutant removal
  • polymer applications

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2038 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Solubilization and Biodegradation of HMW-PAHs in Water with a Pseudomonas mosselii-Released Biosurfactant
by Mingqian Xia, Shibin Wang, Bo Chen, Rongpeng Qiu and Gongduan Fan
Polymers 2023, 15(23), 4571; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15234571 - 29 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 922
Abstract
The treatment and reuse of wastewater are crucial for the effective utilization and protection of global water resources. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), as one of the most common organic pollutants in industrial wastewater, are difficult to remove due to their relatively low solubility [...] Read more.
The treatment and reuse of wastewater are crucial for the effective utilization and protection of global water resources. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), as one of the most common organic pollutants in industrial wastewater, are difficult to remove due to their relatively low solubility and bioavailability in the water environment. However, biosurfactants with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups are effective in overcoming these difficulties. Therefore, a biosurfactant-producing strain Pseudomonas mosselii MP-6 was isolated in this study to enhance the bioavailability and biodegradation of PAHs, especially high-molecular-weight PAHs (HMW-PAHs). FTIR and LC-MS analysis showed that the MP-6 surfactant belongs to rhamnolipids, a type of biopolymer, which can reduce the water surface tension from 73.20 mN/m to 30.61 mN/m at a critical micelle concentration (CMC = 93.17 mg/L). The enhanced solubilization and biodegradation of PAHs, particularly HMW-PAHs (when MP-6 was introduced), were also demonstrated in experiments. Furthermore, comprehensive environmental stress tolerance tests were conducted to confirm the robustness of the MP-6 biosurfactant, which signifies the potential adaptability and applicability of this biosurfactant in diverse environmental remediation scenarios. The results of this study, therefore, have significant implications for future applications in the treatment of wastewater containing HMW-PAHs, such as coking wastewater. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Treatment Systems: Theory and Operation)
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11 pages, 2616 KiB  
Article
Removal of Algae and Algal Toxins from a Drinking Water Source Using a Two-Stage Polymeric Ultrafiltration Membrane Process
by Fan Zhang, Jianglei Xiong, Cong Zhang, Xue Wu and Yuming Tian
Polymers 2023, 15(23), 4495; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15234495 - 23 Nov 2023
Viewed by 889
Abstract
The release of algal toxins in algae-containing water sources poses a serious threat to drinking water safety and human health. The conventional water treatment processes of water plants have a limited ability to remove algae and algal toxins, especially algal toxins with a [...] Read more.
The release of algal toxins in algae-containing water sources poses a serious threat to drinking water safety and human health. The conventional water treatment processes of water plants have a limited ability to remove algae and algal toxins, especially algal toxins with a molecular weight (MW) of less than 1000 Da. To eliminate algal pollution from a water source, a two-stage ultrafiltration (UF) process with a large polysulfone hollow fiber membrane with a MW cut-off of 200 kDa and a small aromatic polyamide roll membrane with a MW cut-off of 1 kDa were applied after a traditional sand filter in a water treatment plant. UF operation conditions, including the operating time, pressure, and membrane flux, were investigated. With an operating pressure of 0.05–0.08 MPa, the polysulfone hollow fiber membrane removed algae effectively, as the influent algal cell concentration ranged from 1–30 cells/mL but exhibited a limited removal of algal toxins. With an operating pressure of 0.3–0.4 MPa, the elimination of microcystins (MCs) reached 96.3% with the aromatic polyamide roll membrane. The operating pressure, membrane flux, and operating time were selected as the experimental factors, and the effects on the UF efficiency to remove algal toxins and biodegradable dissolved organic carbon were investigated by the response surface methodology. The model showed that the order of influence on the membrane operating efficiency was operating pressure > membrane flux > running time. The optimal UF operating conditions were an operating pressure of 0.3 MPa, a membrane flux of 17.5 L/(m2·h), and a running time of 80 min. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Treatment Systems: Theory and Operation)
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19 pages, 5878 KiB  
Article
Polypyrrole- and Polyaniline-Coated Cotton Fabrics as Efficient Adsorbents for the Pharmaceutical Water Contaminants Diclofenac and Salicylic Acid
by Hebatullah H. Farghal, Samar H. Tawakey, Wael A. Amer, Mohamad M. Ayad, Tarek M. Madkour and Mayyada M. H. El-Sayed
Polymers 2023, 15(17), 3563; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15173563 - 28 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1171
Abstract
The emerging pharmaceutical contaminants diclofenac (DCF) and salicylic acid (SA) pose potential hazards to humans and living organisms due to their persistence in water environments. In this work, the conductive polymers polypyrrole (PPY) and polyaniline (PANI) were successfully coated on cotton fabrics, as [...] Read more.
The emerging pharmaceutical contaminants diclofenac (DCF) and salicylic acid (SA) pose potential hazards to humans and living organisms due to their persistence in water environments. In this work, the conductive polymers polypyrrole (PPY) and polyaniline (PANI) were successfully coated on cotton fabrics, as confirmed by FTIR and SEM measurements. The coated fabrics efficiently removed DCF at pH 5.3 and SA at pH 4, with removal efficiencies that exceeded 90% and 70%, respectively. Adsorption was rapid for most of the tested contaminant–fabric systems and reached equilibrium within 20–30 min. The best adsorption performance for both contaminants was shown on the PPY-coated fabrics, which yielded adsorption capacities of about 65 and 21 mg/g for DCF and SA, respectively. This could be explained by molecular modeling simulations, which mostly estimated higher total cohesive energy densities for adsorption on the PPY-coated fabrics than on the PANI-coated ones. The adsorption mechanism involved both coulombic electrostatic attractions and non-coulombic van der Waals and π-π stacking. The fabrics could be reused for three adsorption–desorption cycles. Immobilization of the conductive polymers on cotton fabrics provides a facile method for their handling and collection during adsorption and regeneration cycles while maintaining their multi-functionality in adsorbing different contaminants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Treatment Systems: Theory and Operation)
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19 pages, 5859 KiB  
Article
Template-Free Synthesis of Magnetic La-Mn-Fe Tri-Metal Oxide Nanofibers for Efficient Fluoride Remediation: Kinetics, Isotherms, Thermodynamics and Reusability
by Shaoju Jian, Yuhuang Chen, Fengshuo Shi, Yifei Liu, Wenlong Jiang, Jiapeng Hu, Xiaoshuai Han, Shaohua Jiang and Weisen Yang
Polymers 2022, 14(24), 5417; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14245417 - 11 Dec 2022
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 1732
Abstract
The occurrence of fluoride contamination in drinking water has gained substantial concern owing to its serious threat to human health. Traditional adsorbents have shortcomings such as low adsorption capacity and poor selectivity, so it is urgent to develop new adsorbents with high adsorption [...] Read more.
The occurrence of fluoride contamination in drinking water has gained substantial concern owing to its serious threat to human health. Traditional adsorbents have shortcomings such as low adsorption capacity and poor selectivity, so it is urgent to develop new adsorbents with high adsorption capacity, renewable and no secondary pollution. In this work, magnetic electrospun La-Mn-Fe tri-metal oxide nanofibers (LMF NFs) for fluoride recovery were developed via electrospinning and heat treatment, and its defluoridation property was evaluated in batch trials. Modern analytical tools (SEM, BET, XRD, FTIR) were adopted to characterize the properties of the optimized adsorbent, i.e., LMF11 NFs with a La:Mn molar ratio of 1:1. The surface area calculated via BET method and pHpzc assessed using pH drift method of LMF11 NFs were 55.81 m2 g−1 and 6.47, respectively. The results indicated that the adsorption amount was highly dependent on the pH of the solution, and reached the highest value at pH = 3. The kinetic behavior of defluoridation on LMF11 NFs was dominated by the PSO model with the highest fitted determination coefficients of 0.9999. Compared with the other three isotherm models, the Langmuir model described defluoridation characteristics well with larger correlation coefficients of 0.9997, 0.9990, 0.9987 and 0.9976 at 15 °C, 25 °C, 35 °C and 45 °C, respectively. The optimized LMF11 NFs exhibited superior monolayer defluoridation capacities for 173.30–199.60 mg F−/g at pH 3 at 15–45 °C according to the Langmuir isotherm model. A thermodynamic study proved that the defluoridation by LMF11 NFs is a spontaneous, endothermic along with entropy increase process. In addition, the LMF11 NFs still showed high defluoridation performance after three reused cycles. These findings unveil that the synthesized LMF11 NFs adsorbent is a good adsorbent for fluoride remediation from wastewater owing to its low cost, high defluoridation performance and easy operation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Treatment Systems: Theory and Operation)
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13 pages, 1490 KiB  
Article
Biodegradable Dissolved Organic Carbon (BDOC) Removal from Micro-Polluted Water Source Using Ultrafiltration: Comparison with Conventional Processes, Operation Conditions and Membrane Fouling Control
by Ming Chen, Shuhuai Shen, Fan Zhang, Cong Zhang and Jianglei Xiong
Polymers 2022, 14(21), 4689; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14214689 - 3 Nov 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1607
Abstract
The biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) in micro-polluted water sources affects the drinking water quality and safety in the urban water supply. The conventional technology of “coagulation-sedimentation-filtration” in a water plant located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River removed dissolved organic [...] Read more.
The biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) in micro-polluted water sources affects the drinking water quality and safety in the urban water supply. The conventional technology of “coagulation-sedimentation-filtration” in a water plant located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River removed dissolved organic carbon (DOC) with a molecular weight (MW) > 30 kDa effectively, but the BDOC elimination only ranged 27.4–58.1%, due to their predominant smaller MW (<1 kDa), leading to a high residual BDOC of 0.22–0.33 mg/L. To ensure the biological stability of drinking water, i.e., the inability to support microbial growth (BDOC < 0.2 mg/L), a pilot-scale ultrafiltration process (UF, made of aromatic polyamide with MW cut-off of 1 kDa) was operated to remove BDOC as an advanced treatment after sand-filtration. Results showed the membrane flux decreased with the increase in the influent BDOC concentration and decrease in operating pressure. With an operating pressure of 0.25 MPa, the BDOC removal by UF reached 80.7%, leading to a biologically stable BDOC concentration of 0.08 mg/L. The fouling of the membrane was mainly caused by organic pollution. The H2O2–HCl immersion washing method effectively cleaned the membrane surface fouling, with a recovery of membrane flux of 98%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Treatment Systems: Theory and Operation)
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