Novel Wastewater Treatment Applications Using Effective Materials

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 8028

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
El-Madina Higher Institute for Engineering and Technology, Giza, Egypt
Interests: nanomaterials; adsorption; photocatalysis; polymeric nanocomposites; solid waste engineering
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Guest Editor
Center for Marine Environmental Ecology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Interests: novel energy and environmental science; advanced pollutants treatment techniques; environmental monitoring and assessment; bio-electrochemical systems; nanonaterials and their environmental applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recently, water purification and the reuse of polluted wastewater have been recognized as worldwide problems. At the same time, it is extremely difficult to avoid organic contaminants and harmful heavy metals from polluting water at present levels of industrial and urbanization growth. As a result, it is necessary to find effective technologies to properly treat water and wastewater. There are numerous nanomaterials/composites, polymers, and waste derivative materials with excellent properties, including superior stability and high surface area for rapid decontamination, as well as selectivity for the cost-effective removal of various pollutants. On the other hand, there are a variety of effective techniques capable of achieving great outcomes regarding treated water quality, treatment time, energy consumption and sustainability requirements. Some of these techniques include coagulation, flocculation, adsorption, photocatalysis, filtration and membranes, which may be accomplished through the use of effective materials. The application of a novel standalone technology is critical to successfully eliminating a variety of organic and inorganic impurities concurrently from water and wastewater. The main topic that we will focus on in the current Special Issue (SI) is practical sustainable ecofriendly solutions based on effective materials, highlighting their application in water and wastewater treatment. The assessment of the chemical, physical and morphological characteristics of these materials and their optimization using different research tools are important research directions which we encourage authors to include in their submissions to this Special Issue, in addition to discussions of the feasibility and efficiency of suggested solutions. 

Dr. Ahmed K. Badawi
Dr. Xianhua Liu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • wastewater treatment
  • eco-friendly solution
  • polymeric materials
  • flocculants
  • adsorbent
  • hybrid polymers in water treatment
  • inorganic semiconductors in water treatment

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2079 KiB  
Article
Chitosan-Bead-Encapsulated Polystyrene Sulfonate for Adsorption of Methylene Blue and Regeneration Studies: Batch and Continuous Approaches
by Kam Sheng Lau, Nur Alia Sahira Azmi, Siew Xian Chin, Sarani Zakaria and Chin Hua Chia
Polymers 2023, 15(5), 1269; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15051269 - 2 Mar 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1806
Abstract
Textile industrialization causes water pollution due to the discharge of industrial effluents into the environment. To reduce the impact of industrial effluent, it must be treated in wastewater treatment plants before discharge into rivers. Among all wastewater treatment approaches, the adsorption process is [...] Read more.
Textile industrialization causes water pollution due to the discharge of industrial effluents into the environment. To reduce the impact of industrial effluent, it must be treated in wastewater treatment plants before discharge into rivers. Among all wastewater treatment approaches, the adsorption process is one method to remove pollutants from wastewater, but it has some limitations in term of reusability and ionic selective adsorption properties. In this study, we prepared cationic poly (styrene sulfonate) (PSS)-incorporated anionic chitosan beads synthesized using the oil–water emulsion coagulation method. The produced beads were characterized using FESEM and FTIR analysis. In batch adsorption studies, the PSS-incorporated chitosan beads exhibited monolayer adsorption processes, that is, exothermic processes that occur spontaneously at low temperatures, which were analyzed based on the adsorption isotherms, adsorption kinetics, and thermodynamics model fittings. The presence of PSS enables cationic methylene blue dye to adsorb to the anionic chitosan structure via electrostatic interaction between the sulfonic group and the dye molecule. The maximum adsorption capacity of PSS-incorporated chitosan beads achieved 42.21 mg/g, as calculated from the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Finally, the PSS-incorporated chitosan beads demonstrated good regeneration with different types of reagents, especially using sodium hydroxide as a regeneration reagent. With the use of sodium hydroxide regeneration of this adsorbent material, a continuous adsorption setup also demonstrated that PSS-incorporated chitosan beads can be reused for methylene blue adsorption for up to three cycle processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Wastewater Treatment Applications Using Effective Materials)
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19 pages, 4573 KiB  
Article
Olive Industry Solid Waste-Based Biosorbent: Synthesis and Application in Wastewater Purification
by Angham Salahat, Othman Hamed, Abdalhadi Deghles, Khalil Azzaoui, Hisham Qrareya, Mohyeddin Assali, Waseem Mansour, Shehdeh Jodeh, Gül Gülenay Hacıosmanoğlu, Zehra Semra Can, Belkheir Hammouti, Asep Bayu Dani Nandiyanto, Alicia Ayerdi-Gotor and Larbi Rhazi
Polymers 2023, 15(4), 797; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15040797 - 4 Feb 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1916
Abstract
In this work, we present a process for converting olive industry solid waste (OISW) into a value-added material with ionic receptors for use in the removal of toxic metal ions from wastewater. This 3D polymer is a promising adsorbent for large-scale application, since [...] Read more.
In this work, we present a process for converting olive industry solid waste (OISW) into a value-added material with ionic receptors for use in the removal of toxic metal ions from wastewater. This 3D polymer is a promising adsorbent for large-scale application, since it is a low-cost material made from agricultural waste and showed exceptional performance. The synthesis of the network polymer involved the carboxymethylation of OISW and curing of the carboxymethylated OISW at an elevated temperature to promote the formation of ester linkages between OISW’s components. FT-IR, atomic force microscopy, and thermal analysis were performed on the crosslinked product. The adsorption efficiency of the crosslinked carboxymethylated OISW toward Pb(II), Cu(II), and other toxic metal ions present in sewage was evaluated as a function of adsorbent dose, temperature, pH, time, and initial metal ion. The percentage removal of about 20 metal ions present in a sewage sample collected from a sewer plant located in the Palestinian Territories was determined. The adsorption efficiency did not drop even after six cycles of use. The kinetic study showed that the adsorption process follows the Langmuir isotherm model and the second-order adsorption rate. The experimental Qe values of 13.91 and 13.71 mg/g were obtained for Pb(II) and Cu(II) removal, respectively. The thermodynamic results confirm the spontaneous metal bonding to the receptor sites of the crosslinked carboxymethylated OISW. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Wastewater Treatment Applications Using Effective Materials)
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15 pages, 4873 KiB  
Article
Radiation-Grafting on Polypropylene Copolymer Membranes for Using in Cadmium Adsorption
by Rania F. Khedr
Polymers 2023, 15(3), 686; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15030686 - 29 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1714
Abstract
Graft copolymerization has been a popular technique in recent years for adding different functional groups to polymers. In our research, polypropylene (PP) films are grafted with acrylonitrile (An) and acrylic acid (AAc) monomers to make them hydrophilic while retaining their mechanical qualities. Gamma [...] Read more.
Graft copolymerization has been a popular technique in recent years for adding different functional groups to polymers. In our research, polypropylene (PP) films are grafted with acrylonitrile (An) and acrylic acid (AAc) monomers to make them hydrophilic while retaining their mechanical qualities. Gamma radiation is used in this approach to establish active spots on an inert polymer that are appropriate for adding monomers radicals to form grafts, a procedure that is extremely difficult to perform using normal chemical processes. The graft parameters are investigated in order to acquire the highest percentage of graft. FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) spectra are used to analyze the grafting of AAc and An. SEM (scanning electron microscopy) and XRD (X-ray diffraction) micrographs are used to validate them. The specimens’ tensile strength and hardness are measured and contrasted with blank PP films. Measurements are made of the effects of grafting on the tensile strength and elongation of the films, and a crucial grafting degree is established in order to preserve these properties. Water uptake is measured to adapt the copolymer to water treatment, and thermal behavior TGA (thermal gravimetric analysis) and DSC (diffraction scanning calorimeter) of the produced copolymer were performed. The elimination of cadmium was verified by an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) under different conditions of pH, time, and degree of grafting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Wastewater Treatment Applications Using Effective Materials)
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12 pages, 2401 KiB  
Article
Self-Assembled Nanofibrous Membranes by Electrospinning as Efficient Dye Photocatalysts for Wastewater Treatment
by Wafa Shamsan Al-Arjan
Polymers 2023, 15(2), 340; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15020340 - 9 Jan 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1955
Abstract
Water pollution has become a leading problem due to industrial development and the resulting waste, which causes water contamination. Different materials and techniques have been developed to treat wastewater. Due to their self-assembly and photocatalytic behavior, membranes based on graphene oxide (GO) are [...] Read more.
Water pollution has become a leading problem due to industrial development and the resulting waste, which causes water contamination. Different materials and techniques have been developed to treat wastewater. Due to their self-assembly and photocatalytic behavior, membranes based on graphene oxide (GO) are ideal composite materials for wastewater treatment. We fabricated composite membranes from polylactic acid (PLA) and carboxylic methyl cellulose (CMC)/carboxyl-functionalized graphene oxide (GO-f-COOH) using the electrospinning technique and the thermal method. Then, a nanofibrous membrane (PLA/CMC/GO-f-COOH@Ag) was produced by loading with silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) to study its photocatalytic behavior. These membranes were characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in order to investigate the behavior of the fabricated membranes. The degradation kinetics studies were conducted using mathematical models, such as the pseudo first- and second-order models, by calculating their regression coefficients (R2). These membranes exhibited exceptional dye degradation kinetics. The R2 values for pseudo first order were PCGC = 0.983581, PCGC@Ag = 0.992917, and the R2 values for pseudo second order were PCGC = 0.978329, PCGC@Ag = 0.989839 for methylene blue. The degradation kinetics of Rh-B showed R2 values of PCGC = 0.973594, PCGC@Ag = 0.989832 for pseudo first order and R2 values of PCGC = 0.994392, PCGC@Ag = 0.998738 for pseudo second order. The fabricated nanofibrous membranes exhibited a strong π-π electrostatic interaction, thus providing a large surface area, and demonstrated efficient photocatalytic behavior for treating organic dyes present in wastewater. The fabricated PLA/CMC/GO-f-COOH@Ag membrane presents exceptional photocatalytic properties for the catalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye. Hence, the fabricated nanofibrous membrane would be an eco-friendly system for wastewater treatment under catalytic reaction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Wastewater Treatment Applications Using Effective Materials)
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