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Sustainability
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Low-Carbon/Novel Water-Treatment Technologies and Resource Recovery from Sludge
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Low-Carbon/Novel Water-Treatment Technologies and Resource Recovery from Sludge

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Pollution Prevention, Mitigation and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 1346

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Shuai Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Interests: theory and technology of biological phosphorus and nitrogen removal from wastewater; migration of pollutants in soil and groundwater environments; environmental microorganisms and soil microecology
Dr. Qiulai He

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
Interests: new theories and technologies for low-carbon water treatment; biological wastewater treatment and resource recovery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Shaogang Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Resources and Environmental Science, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
Interests: treatment, disposal and resource utilization of environmental waste; preparation and utilization of environmentally functional materials; research and development of low-carbon electrochemical water treatment technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Fuyang Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environment and Energy, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518071, China
Interests: water disinfection and organic pollutant degradation; utilization of natural mineral materials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Urban water infrastructure is at a tipping point: four billion people currently live in cities, and another two billion will arrive by 2030. Conventional wastewater treatment—characterized by high energy consumption, heavy chemical use, and a linear design—now consumes 1–3% of national electricity and generates up to 5% of urban greenhouse gas emissions. The challenge, therefore, is how to treat wastewater with drastically lower carbon and chemical inputs, while converting “waste” streams into circular water–energy–material factories compact enough to account for the density, land scarcity, and carbon-neutral pledges of future megacities.

In this Special Issue, both original research articles and reviews are welcome. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Process intensification: Mainstream anammox, partial denitrification/anammox, aerobic granules, advanced oxidation, and electrochemical techniques or membrane processes.
  • Resource recovery: Struvite, alginate-like exopolymers, cellulose, dissolved methane, hydrogen, or metals from sludge.
  • Disinfection and organic micropollutant degradation with minimal carbon collateral: UV-LED/free chlorine, peracetic acid, or green oxidants.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Shuai Wang
Dr. Qiulai He
Dr. Shaogang Hu
Dr. Fuyang Liu
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Sustainability 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 2400 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

  • biological wastewater treatment
  • treatment and resource recovery of environmental waste
  • advanced oxidation process
  • electrochemical water treatment

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2378 KB  
Article
Sustainable Disinfection of Horticulture Industry Water Using UV-C Light-Emitting Diodes
by Nicole Ferreira, Ana Paula Marques, Márcia de Castro Silva, Maria Teresa Barreto Crespo and Vanessa Jorge Pereira
Sustainability 2026, 18(8), 3995; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18083995 - 17 Apr 2026
Viewed by 548
Abstract
The development of effective water disinfection treatment processes will be crucial to help food producers save water and cope with the inevitable challenges resulting from increases in human population and climate change, while promoting sustainable agriculture. The inactivation efficiency of UV-C light emitting [...] Read more.
The development of effective water disinfection treatment processes will be crucial to help food producers save water and cope with the inevitable challenges resulting from increases in human population and climate change, while promoting sustainable agriculture. The inactivation efficiency of UV-C light emitting diodes (LEDs) that emit light at 280 nm was tested as a disinfection method. Water samples from a horticulture industry were collected and characterized in terms of total microorganisms, total coliforms, Escherichia coli and enterococci as well as parameters that influence photolysis such as the percent transmittance of the irrigation water (that, due to the nutrients added for plant growth, was extremely low and varied between 40 and 55%). Nevertheless, laboratory scale results showed that three single small UV LEDs that emit light at 280 nm were extremely efficient for the inactivation of microorganisms present at occurrence levels in the irrigation water samples, as well as Phytophthora capsici and Escherichia coli spiked in sterile distilled water and filtered irrigation water samples. Overall, the findings demonstrate that UV-C LEDs operating at 280 nm represent a promising sustainable disinfection strategy for modern food production systems facing tightening environmental and public-health pressures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Carbon/Novel Water-Treatment Technologies and Resource Recovery from Sludge)
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13 pages, 2134 KB  
Article
Efficiency and Mechanism of Naproxen Degradation in the Mo/Fe3+/H2O2 System
by Guodong Wan, Jiaqi Ding, Ruixin Zeng, Zhenbin Chen, Hua Li, Yujie Cheng, Zongping Wang, Pengchao Xie and Hongwei Zhang
Sustainability 2026, 18(4), 1870; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18041870 - 12 Feb 2026
Viewed by 373
Abstract
Naproxen (NPX) is a widely occurring, refractory organic contaminant that cannot be removed by conventional water treatment processes. In response to the growing environmental pollution caused by NPX, an innovative and highly efficient green degradation method has been developed, designed on the principles [...] Read more.
Naproxen (NPX) is a widely occurring, refractory organic contaminant that cannot be removed by conventional water treatment processes. In response to the growing environmental pollution caused by NPX, an innovative and highly efficient green degradation method has been developed, designed on the principles of sustainability to promote long-term ecosystem health and advance a circular economy. In this study, using zero-valent molybdenum as a catalyst in combination with trivalent iron (Fe3+) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), we constructed a Mo/Fe3+/H2O2 system to treat NPX-contaminated water. The effects of solution pH, H2O2 concentration, Fe3+ concentration, Mo dosage, and co-existing water-matrix constituents (Cl−, HCO3−, PO43−, NO3−, and humic acid (HA)) on NPX removal were investigated; reactive species were identified; and the reusability of Mo as well as its performance under the continuous-flow condition were evaluated. The results showed that the optimal pH was 3 and the appropriate Fe3+ dosage is 100 µM. With 500 µM H2O2, 87.9% of NPX was removed within 7 min, and a moderate increase in Fe3+ concentration, together with a suitable H2O2 level, enhanced the removal efficiency. HCO3−, Cl−, and HA exerted slight inhibition, whereas PO43− markedly suppressed NPX degradation. Recycling tests and the 6 h continuous-flow treatment demonstrated excellent reusability and stability of Mo. Quenching experiments revealed that HO• and Fe(IV) were the dominant reactive species responsible for NPX degradation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Carbon/Novel Water-Treatment Technologies and Resource Recovery from Sludge)
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