Innovative Strategies for Efficient Heavy Metal Removal in Water
A special issue of Separations (ISSN 2297-8739). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Separations".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 April 2026 | Viewed by 255
Special Issue Editors
Interests: heavy metal removal; wastewater treatment; resource recovery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Heavy metal contamination in wastewater poses severe threats to ecosystems and human health, driving urgent demand for advanced remediation technologies. This Special Issue of Separations invites cutting-edge research on novel materials, processes, and integrated systems that enhance the efficiency, selectivity, and sustainability of heavy metal separations. We seek contributions addressing the following:
- Next-generation adsorbents (functionalized nanomaterials, biochar hybrids, MOFs);
- High-efficiency membrane technologies (tunable selectivity, antifouling designs);
- Hybrid separation processes (electro-adsorption, capacitive deionization technology);
- Resource recovery approaches (selective extraction of critical metals);
- AI-driven process optimization for real-time control and scalability.
Emphasis will be placed on mechanistic studies, performance benchmarks (capacity/kinetics/regenerability), and techno-economic analyses. Submissions should demonstrate industrial applicability while addressing challenges like low-concentration removal, complex matrix interference, and secondary waste minimization. This Special Issue aims to bridge fundamental innovation with practical implementation, fostering cross-disciplinary dialogue among material scientists, chemical engineers, and environmental technologists.
Prof. Dr. Chengbin Liu
Dr. Huiling Liu
Guest Editor
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. Separations 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 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.
Keywords
- heavy metal removal
- next-generation adsorbents
- membrane technologies
- hybrid separation processes
- resource recovery
- AI-driven process
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