Sustainable Adsorbent Materials for Wastewater Treatment

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Processes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 May 2025 | Viewed by 2281

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Technology, University of Niš, 16000 Leskovac, Serbia
Interests: chemical technology; composites; polymers, biosorption; water treatment;

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Niš, Serbia
Interests: applied chemistry; environmental chemistry and engineering; material science; water treatment; remediation; sorption; AOPs; electrochemistry; corrosion; metal protection

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Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Technological Art Studies, Academy Southern Serbia, 16000 Leskovac, Serbia
Interests: applied chemistry; water treatment; sustainable adsorbents; environmental indicators

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As long as the problem of water pollution exists, the challenge of wastewater treatment will be a global imperative. Given that conventional high-tech approaches are losing popularity in large-scale implementations due to various limitations, sustainable adsorbents are becoming a vital tool in water treatment processes. In this regard, the global adsorbent market size is predicted to reach USD 5–6 billion by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of around 6%.

Wastewater treatment technology with adsorbents is one of the rapidly developing concepts in order to promote sustainability and a greener environment. In addition to nano-adsorbents, the concept of using non-conventional adsorbent materials (agricultural or industrial waste) as a component of the circular economy (while conserving energy) is the main driver of adsorbent sustainability. This concept is currently limited to the laboratory level and is looking for its more valuable place. Thus, let us together raise awareness about sustainable adsorbent materials in water treatment. We invite you to submit your manuscript in this Special Issue of the journal Processes and contribute to the recognition of the importance of adsorbents/biosorbents industrial applications.

This Special Issue, through the Materials Processes Section, aims to summarize sustainable materials as potential adsorbents, their approach for the simultaneous removal of various pollutants from wastewater, and their conversion processes that transform them into value-added products after utilization. This Special Issue provides a platform to researchers and industry experts to present innovative research in the field through original scientific, professional or review papers, and contributions reporting on case studies. Studies covering trends and the limitations of conventional adsorbents as well as adsorbents to address the additional threat of micro- and nanoplastics in waters are also welcome.

We believe that the submitted manuscripts will report interesting advances in the field of development and application of more efficient and sustainable adsorbents in overcoming the challenges of polluted waters. Contributions may include (but are not limited) the following: the direct application of potential adsorbent materials or adsorbents/biosorbents with improved efficiency, such as conventional materials, non-conventional organic, or inorganic sources, agricultural residues, industrial by-products, municipal waste, microalgae, and other biomass types.

Prof. Dr. Goran S. Nikolić
Prof. Dr. Aleksandar A. Bojić
Guest Editors

Dr. Dragana Z. Marković Nikolić
Guest Editor Assistant

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Keywords

  • wastewater treatment
  • sustainable materials
  • adsorbents
  • biosorbents
  • agricultural waste
  • industrial waste
  • pollutants

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 6449 KiB  
Article
The Application of Wood Biowaste Chemically Modified by Bi2O3 as a Sorbent Material for Wastewater Treatment
by Nena Velinov, Miljana Radović Vučić, Ivan Jerman, Dragana Marković Nikolić, Goran Nikolić, Danijela Bojić and Aleksandar Bojić
Processes 2024, 12(9), 2025; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12092025 - 20 Sep 2024
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Abstract
Textile dyes discharged into aquatic systems can have significant environmental impacts, causing water pollution and toxicity to aquatic life, and constituting a human health risk. To manage these effects, the sorption ability of wood biowaste chemically modified by Bi2O3 for [...] Read more.
Textile dyes discharged into aquatic systems can have significant environmental impacts, causing water pollution and toxicity to aquatic life, and constituting a human health risk. To manage these effects, the sorption ability of wood biowaste chemically modified by Bi2O3 for textile dye removal was investigated. Sorbent characterization was performed using scanning electron microscopy, and elemental analysis by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method for the specific surface area, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy–attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR). The optimization of the sorption process was carried out, and optimal parameters, such as contact time, pH, the dose of sorbent, the concentration of dye, and temperature, were defined. Also, desorption studies were conducted. Kinetics and isotherms studies were carried out, and the data fits to a pseudo-second order model (r2 ≥ 0.99) and Langmuir model (r2 ≥ 0.99), indicating that the process occurs in the monolayer form and the dye sorption depends on the active sites of the sorbent surface. The maximal sorption capacity of the sorbent was 434.75 mg/g. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Adsorbent Materials for Wastewater Treatment)
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21 pages, 7497 KiB  
Article
Behavior of a Mixture of Metals for Competiting Adsorption Sites of Untreated and Alkali-Treated Rice Husk
by Ana Karen Ivanna Flores-Trujillo, Asunción Guadalupe Morales-Mendoza and Refugio Rodríguez-Vázquez
Processes 2024, 12(7), 1299; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12071299 - 22 Jun 2024
Viewed by 911
Abstract
Elements are released into water bodies, affecting the environment and human health. To address this problem, the adsorption-desorption capacity of untreated rice husk (URH) and rice husk treated with alkali (RHTA) for Cu(II), Pb(II), Fe(II), Cd(II), and Zn(II) was investigated. Analyses during the [...] Read more.
Elements are released into water bodies, affecting the environment and human health. To address this problem, the adsorption-desorption capacity of untreated rice husk (URH) and rice husk treated with alkali (RHTA) for Cu(II), Pb(II), Fe(II), Cd(II), and Zn(II) was investigated. Analyses during the process were performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, and elemental analysis by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), as well as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Adsorption-desorption kinetics and isotherms were carried out. The FTIR analysis of RHTA revealed a lowering of intensity of the bonding signals (OH, C-O, CH2, CH3, SiO2, Si-OH) and loss of some signals due to the adsorbent-elements interaction. The adsorption on RHTA presented higher adsorption of Fe, followed by Pb, Zn, Cu, and Cd. Meanwhile, in URH, the adsorption was Fe > Pb > Cu > Zn and Cd. On the other hand, the desorption values for RHTA were Zn > Cd > Pb > Cu > and Fe and Zn > Cd > Cu > Pb and Fe for URH. The adsorption kinetics showed that data fit (R2 ≥ 0.89) to pseudo-second-order kinetics and Freundlich isotherms (R2 ≥ 0.84) for both ATRH and URH, indicating that the process occurs in the multilayer form and is controlled by chemisorption, where the adsorption depends on the active sites of the adsorbent surface. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Adsorbent Materials for Wastewater Treatment)
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