Applications of Environmental Functional Materials in Emerging Contaminants Monitoring and Control

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Quality and Contamination".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 February 2024) | Viewed by 4713

Special Issue Editors

School of Environment and Energy Engineering, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
Interests: emerging contaminants; advanced oxidation process; photocatalysis; piezocatalysis; metal–organic frameworks; bismuth-based semiconductors; pilot-scale application

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Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistent Pollutants Control and Resources Recycle, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang 330063, China
Interests: functional material; photocatalysts with reconstructed surface and interface; energy conversion; wastewater treatment; environmental remediation

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Guest Editor
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
Interests: environmental chemistry; wastewater treatment; advanced oxidation processes; materials science and engineering; nanomaterials synthesis; porous materials; two-dimensional materials; safer-by-design

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the detection frequency and types of emerging contaminants (ECs) in water environments have gradually increased. At present, the most prominent types of ECs are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), microplastics, etc. They pose a great threat to water ecological environments and human health due to their wide sources (point and non-point sources), trace concentration, strong environmental resistance and ecotoxicity. As global water resources are being reduced day by day, the challenges associated with ECs have received greater consideration due to their particularly adverse effects. Therefore, it is imperative to develop technology emphasizing the safe and effective monitoring and/or control of ECs in different water environments to reduce the corresponding environmental and health issues. Environmental functional materials (EFMs) have been widely applied in the fields of sensing and treatment technologies for ECs due to their high affinity, activity and selectivity for specific target contaminants. Hence, EFMs have become a hot research topic at both domestic and international levels. This Special Issue of Water aims to focus on applications of environmental functional materials in emerging contaminants monitoring and control. The sub-topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Control and removal of ECs through various advanced treatment systems;
  • Current advances in monitoring technologies of ECs in water environments;
  • Removal of ECs from water using novel environmental functional materials;
  • Applications of EFMs for the analysis and detection of different types of ECs;
  • Ecological and toxicological risk assessment using novel EFMs for removal of ECs;
  • Mechanism analysis of EC removal through theoretical calculation methods;
  • Deep learning-enabled the precision design of EFMs.

Dr. Chen Zhao
Dr. Shuqu Zhang
Dr. Yue Jiang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • emerging contaminants
  • environmental functional materials
  • monitoring methods
  • removal technologies
  • advanced treatment processes
  • wastewater treatment
  • environmental catalysis
  • absorbent materials
  • migration and transformation
  • theoretical calculation

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 5180 KiB  
Article
Adsorption Mechanism of Methylene Blue on Purified Red Phosphorus and Effects of Different Temperatures on Methylene Blue Desorption
by Tiantian Chen, Jiayu Sun, Ruixue Jiang, Tongfei Zhang, Yulei Zhang and Xiaochen Li
Water 2024, 16(1), 167; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16010167 - 31 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1299
Abstract
Purified red phosphorus (RP) can be used as an adsorbent. However, the adsorption mechanism and reuse ability of purified RP have not been reported. This study utilized X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy techniques (a statistical physics model and [...] Read more.
Purified red phosphorus (RP) can be used as an adsorbent. However, the adsorption mechanism and reuse ability of purified RP have not been reported. This study utilized X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy techniques (a statistical physics model and the standard molar free energy of formation) to investigate the adsorption mechanism of methylene blue (MB) by purified RP. Purification did not change commercial RP structure according to X-ray diffraction. The results showed that the adsorption process only included physical adsorption according to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and UV–vis diffuse reflection absorption spectra. The specific areas of commercial RP and purified RP were 0.02 cm3/g and 5.27 cm3/g, respectively. Thus, purified RP has a higher adsorption capacity compared with commercial RP. A statistical physics model showed that, as the temperature increased from 288 to 308 K, the qe, Dm and qsat of purified RP for MB increased from 179.87, 0.824 and 0.824 to 303.26 mg/g, 1.497 mol/kg and 1.497 mol/kg, respectively. The fitted values of ΔrSmθ, ΔrHmθ and ΔrGmθ were 104.38 J·mol−1·K−1, −2.7 × 103 J·mol−1 and negative, respectively. Thus, according to adsorption energy, the adsorption of MB by purified RP was a spontaneous process, which was mainly driven by entropy increasing. Compared with neutral dye, the purified RP had higher adsorption ability for the cationic dye and anionic dye. As the purified RP dose increased from 30 to 150 mg, the adsorption capacity of purified RP increased. However, as the MB concentration and pH increased, the adsorption capacity of purified RP decreased. The purified RP had excellent reuse ability and high temperature desorption can be applied to obtain its reuse ability. Full article
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12 pages, 2621 KiB  
Article
A Multi-Functional Fluorescence Sensing Platform Based on a Defective UiO-66 for Tetracycline and Moxifloxacin
by Yanqiu Zhang, Yang Lu, Minrui Sun and Dechang Zeng
Water 2024, 16(1), 145; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16010145 - 29 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 926
Abstract
In recent years, the excessive use and disordered discharge of antibiotics have had sustained adverse effects on ecological balance and human health. The convenient and effective detection of these “emerging pollutants” has become one of the research hotspots in the environmental field. In [...] Read more.
In recent years, the excessive use and disordered discharge of antibiotics have had sustained adverse effects on ecological balance and human health. The convenient and effective detection of these “emerging pollutants” has become one of the research hotspots in the environmental field. In this study, a defective UiO-66 material, namely UiO-66-D, was constructed for the sensitive and selective sensing of tetracycline (TC) and moxifloxacin (MXF) in water. By utilizing a modulated synthesis approach with concentrated HCl, stable blue fluorescence at 400 nm was achieved for UiO-66-D. The as-prepared UiO-66-D could conduct the inner filter effect (IFE) within a short time (10 s) when sensing TC and MXF, and the fluorescence of the UiO-66-D was quenched. In particular, when sensing MXF, a ratiometric signal response was generated due to the combined effect of the IFE and the fluorescence of MXF itself. The sensitive and selective detection of TC and MXF using UiO-66-D was free from the interference of common anions and cations in water samples. The detection limit (LOD) for TC was determined to be 70.9 nM (0–115 μM), while for MXF, it was found to be 33.1 nM (0–24 μM). Additionally, UiO-66-D was successfully used to recognize TC and MXF in lake water with good recoveries, demonstrating that UiO-66-D exhibits substantial potential in the recognition of pollutants in environmental waters. Full article
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Review

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21 pages, 3106 KiB  
Review
Review on Research and Application of Enhanced In-Situ Bioremediation Agents for Organic Pollution Remediation in Groundwater
by Mingyu Xie, Xiaoran Zhang, Yuanyuan Jing, Xinyue Du, Ziyang Zhang and Chaohong Tan
Water 2024, 16(3), 456; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16030456 - 31 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1864
Abstract
Groundwater is an important part of the water resources, crucial for human production and life. With the rapid development of industry and agriculture, organic pollution of groundwater has attracted great attention. Enhanced in-situ bioremediation of groundwater technology has gradually gained attention because of [...] Read more.
Groundwater is an important part of the water resources, crucial for human production and life. With the rapid development of industry and agriculture, organic pollution of groundwater has attracted great attention. Enhanced in-situ bioremediation of groundwater technology has gradually gained attention because of its high efficiency and low environmental impact. Bioremediation agents are crucial for bioremediation technology. In this review, bioremediation agents were classified into three categories: biological nutrition agents, slow-release agents, and microbial agents. Biological nutrition agents are a specific mixture of mineral salt and carbon source; slow-release agents may contain mineral salt, carbon source, pH buffers, and oxygen-releasing material and microbial agents with specific microbial culture. By adding bioremediation agents to the polluted sites, they can improve population density and degradation efficiency for microbial degradation of pollutants. To assist future development and application of bioremediation agents, the development of different agents in laboratory and commercial to date was retrieved online via publisher sites and cooperation case studies. The data collected were analyzed and reviewed, as well as application and remediation effects of enhanced in-situ bioremediation agents were summarized. Current studies mainly focus on laboratory development and experiments, while field tests and remediation effects between different agents are of less concern. Further study may focus on developing new materials, especially coating or loading materials, and systematic evaluation of different agents, considering both laboratory research and on-site experiments, in order to improve the efficiency of in situ organically contaminated groundwater bioremediation. Full article
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