Bioremediation of Persistent Organic Pollutants and Heavy Metals in Contaminated Soil and Water Media
A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical and Molecular Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2025 | Viewed by 50
Special Issue Editors
Interests: biochemical engineering; bioseparation; environmental biotechnology; chemical reaction engineering; environmental engineering; microbial biotechnology; wastewater engineering; bioremediation; activated sludge; wastewater biosorption; anaerobic cultures; biofilms; biodegradation; advanced oxidation processes
Interests: biochemical engineering; bioseparation; environmental biotechnology; chemical reaction engineering; environmental engineering; microbial biotechnology; wastewater engineering; bioremediation; activated sludge; wastewater biosorption; anaerobic culture; biofilms; biodegradation; advanced oxidation processes.
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Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Nitrogen-containing organic compounds, such as nitro-benzenes and azo compounds, are utilized for the production of pesticides, herbicides, dyes, pharmaceuticals, rubber chemicals, and other chemical intermediates. However, the improper disposal and widespread use of these chemicals cause significant environmental pollution. The presence of the nitro group in these compounds, combined with the stability of the benzene ring, makes nitroaromatic compounds recalcitrant to biodegradation. Moreover, their toxicity, mutagenicity, and potential to be converted into carcinogenic aromatic amines pose severe environmental problems.
In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on the biological remediation of nitro-aromatic-contaminated sources. Although nitroaromatic compounds and azo dyes are highly resistant to oxidative degradation due to the electron-withdrawing nature of the nitro group and the stability of the benzene ring, there have been reports of effective reductive biotransformation of nitroaromatic compounds into aromatic amines using anaerobic bacteria.
Sequential anaerobic–aerobic biological treatment is considered to be an efficient and sustainable method for the complete mineralization of nitroaromatic and azo dyes. Additionally, the use of redox mediators has been reported to be an effective method to accelerate the biotransformation of electron-accepting pollutants in contaminated water. Various redox mediators have been employed in wastewater treatment systems to facilitate the reductive biotransformation of electron-accepting pollutants such as nitro-benzenes and azo dyes. Carbon-based materials, including activated carbon, reduced graphene oxide, and black carbon, have been utilized as redox mediators to enhance the reductive transformation of these pollutants.
Hence, the focus of this Special Issue lies in the application of redox mediator-based bioremediation technology for the remediation of nitro-benzene- and azo dye-contaminated soil and water media. Thus, we invite researchers to contribute research articles, communications, or reviews to this Special Issue on bioremediation, encompassing a wide range of pollutants, including pesticides, herbicides, pharmaceuticals, dyes etc.
Dr. Fisseha A Bezza
Prof. Dr. Evans Martin Nkhalambayausi Chirwa
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- bioremediation
- persistent organic pollutants
- nitroaromatics
- azo compounds
- pesticides
- pharmaceuticals
- rubber chemicals
- herbicide redox mediators
- electrons-accepting pollutants
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