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Advanced Adsorbents for Wastewater Treatment
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Advanced Adsorbents for Wastewater Treatment

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Surface Sciences and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 5198

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Ntaote David Shooto

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Applied Chemistry and Nano Science Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology and Chemistry, Vaal University of Technology, P.O. Box X021, Vanderbijlpark 1900, South Africa
Interests: adsorption; nanofibers; nanotechnology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Clean drinking water is essential for the survival of all living organisms. In drinking water, contaminants such as metal ions, dyes, pharmaceuticals, and water-borne microbes have harmful health effects and substantial environmental concerns. Their removal from water is necessary for human health and environmental stewardship. This Special Issue aims to collect and present all breakthrough research on all wastewater treatment technologies. The scope of this Special Issue covers (but is not limited to) the following themes:

  1. Conventional and advanced water treatment technologies such as adsorption, degradation, membrane technology, etc.
  2. Microbial assays in wastewater treatment processes.

Dr. Ntaote David Shooto
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. Applied Sciences 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

  • water treatment
  • metal ion removal
  • dye removal
  • pharmaceutical product removal
  • microbial assays

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2352 KiB  
Article
Application of Iron-Modified Activated Carbon for Phosphate Removal in Aqueous Systems
by Won-Hyeong Seo, Ga-Eun Kim, Ji-Yoon Lee and Soohoon Choi
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(10), 5353; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15105353 - 10 May 2025
Viewed by 253
Abstract
Phosphate pollution in aquatic environments leads to eutrophication and harmful algal blooms, significantly impacting ecosystems and water quality. The current study evaluates the effectiveness of surface-modified activated carbon (SMAC) in suppressing phosphate release from sediments. Using soil samples from Daecheong Lake, the performance [...] Read more.
Phosphate pollution in aquatic environments leads to eutrophication and harmful algal blooms, significantly impacting ecosystems and water quality. The current study evaluates the effectiveness of surface-modified activated carbon (SMAC) in suppressing phosphate release from sediments. Using soil samples from Daecheong Lake, the performance of SMAC adsorption for phosphate was analyzed under various SMAC modification scenarios. Experiments showed that SMAC achieved approximately twice the phosphate removal efficiency compared to conventional activated carbon, with increasing effectiveness under higher flow velocities. Additionally, SMAC significantly reduced phosphate concentrations within the sediment layers, proving its effectiveness in the soil remediation process as well. The results highlight SMAC as a promising solution for mitigating pollutant release in rivers, lakes, and coastal areas, offering both short-term and cumulative long-term benefits for water quality improvement and ecosystem protection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Adsorbents for Wastewater Treatment)
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20 pages, 4021 KiB  
Article
Biochars as a Solution for Silver Removal and Antimicrobial Activity in Aqueous Systems
by Paunka Vassileva, Ivan Uzunov, Teodora Popova, Dimitrinka Voykova, Ivalina Avramova and Dimitar Mehandjiev
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(5), 2796; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15052796 - 5 Mar 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 598
Abstract
The objective of this research was to investigate silver adsorption on biochars prepared by the carbonization of desiliconized rice husks and cotton fabric, and to elucidate the adsorption mechanism. The biochars were characterized using various instrumental techniques, including thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction [...] Read more.
The objective of this research was to investigate silver adsorption on biochars prepared by the carbonization of desiliconized rice husks and cotton fabric, and to elucidate the adsorption mechanism. The biochars were characterized using various instrumental techniques, including thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and low-temperature nitrogen adsorption. The adsorption process was studied under multiple parameters affecting silver adsorption and was best described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Both the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models provided good correlations for the adsorption of silver ions onto the biochars. Thermodynamic analysis indicated that the adsorption of Ag+ ions was spontaneous and exothermic. XPS confirmed the presence of metallic silver (Ag0) in the biochars RHB and ARHB, suggesting that a reduction process occurred during silver adsorption. Additionally, in vitro studies were conducted to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of silver-loaded activated rice husk biochar against E. coli strains. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Adsorbents for Wastewater Treatment)
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16 pages, 5859 KiB  
Article
A Novel Nanogold Composite Fabrication, Its Characterization, and Its Application in the Removal of Methylene Blue Dye from an Aqueous Solution
by Einas A. Abood, Wafa K. Essa, Ali Alsuraifi and Suhad A. Yasin
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(12), 5229; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14125229 - 17 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1572
Abstract
A unique aspect of this research lies in the combination of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nanofibers with Auo@PPh2-PIILP to create a nanogold composite (NGC). This NGC has proven to be highly efficient in removing methylene blue (MB) from wastewater. The [...] Read more.
A unique aspect of this research lies in the combination of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nanofibers with Auo@PPh2-PIILP to create a nanogold composite (NGC). This NGC has proven to be highly efficient in removing methylene blue (MB) from wastewater. The prepared nanogold composite NGC was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDAX), and Elements Distribution Mapping (EDM). Several factors were examined in batch adsorption experiments to determine their impact on dye adsorption. These factors included the initial pH range of four to eight, the dosage of NGC adsorbent ranging from 0.001 to 0.008 g, the initial concentration of MB dye ranging from 10 to 50 mg L−1, and the contact period ranging from 10 to 80 min. It has been observed that NGC is more efficient in removing MB from polluted water. The results of the pseudo-second-order model show good agreement between the calculated adsorption capacity (qe)cal. (4.3840 mg g−1) and the experimental adsorption capacity (qe)exp. (4.6838 mg g−1) values. Experimental findings suggest a monolayer capping of MB dye on the NGC surface with a maximum adsorption capacity Qm of 18.622 mg g−1 at 20 °C, indicating that it is well-fitted to the Langmuir isotherm. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Adsorbents for Wastewater Treatment)
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15 pages, 7229 KiB  
Article
Activated Carbon from Paper Waste as Potential Adsorbents for Methylene Blue and Hexavalent Chromium
by Koketso Mabalane, Patience Mapule Thabede and Ntaote David Shooto
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(11), 4585; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14114585 - 27 May 2024
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1834
Abstract
Environmental pollution is a significant problem and is increasing gradually as more and more harmful pollutants are being released into water bodies and the environment. Water pollutants are dangerous and pose a threat to all living organisms and the ecosystem. Paper waste is [...] Read more.
Environmental pollution is a significant problem and is increasing gradually as more and more harmful pollutants are being released into water bodies and the environment. Water pollutants are dangerous and pose a threat to all living organisms and the ecosystem. Paper waste is one of the most widespread and largest wastes in the world. This research aims to address two important problems simultaneously: the reduction in solid waste in the environment using activated carbon from paper waste as potential adsorbents and the removal of harmful contaminants from water. Carbon from paper waste was activated with H2O2, HNO3, and KMnO4 for the adsorption of Cr(VI) and MB. SEM, EDX, FTIR, Raman, and BET were used to determine the properties of the materials. The surface morphology of the materials consisted of amorphous particles. EDX shows that all activated samples have a higher content of (O) than carbon paper waste. Adsorption studies showed that there was a stronger interaction between the pollutants and the adsorbent at a higher initial concentration (200 mg/L) than at the lower initial concentrations. The contact time data show that uptake increases when the interaction time between the contaminant and the adsorbent is increased. The tests for the pH of the solution show that the adsorption of Cr(VI) decreases when the pH is gradually increased, whereas the adsorption of MB increases when the pH of the solution is increased. The results fit better with the Freundlich isotherm and PSO models. The temperature studies show that the enthalpy was positive, indicating that the uptake process is endothermic. The Gibbs free energy values were all negative, indicating that adsorption between the adsorbents and the pollutants was favored. After four consecutive cycles, all the samples retained more than 60% of their uptake capability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Adsorbents for Wastewater Treatment)
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