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Sustainable Environmental Remediation

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2018) | Viewed by 52166

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA
Interests: environmental geochemistry; green technology development; environmental quality; environmental remediation; risk assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Biological Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, USA
Interests: plant biochemistry; molecular biology; microbiology; plant genetics; plant detoxification; environmental remediation; plant–microbe interactions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The development of remediation technologies is critical to mitigate ecological and human health impacts from environmental pollution. There is a strong demand for cost-effective and sustainable technologies for remediation, which has resulted in heightened interest to develop innovative physical, chemical, biological technologies for remediation. Moreover, there is increased interest among stakeholders to include net environmental and societal benefits as criteria for site management practices in remediation projects. This is an emerging trend, known as green or sustainable remediation. Due to the serious constraint in available resources when compared to the sheer volume of contaminated sites, the main challenge is to optimize remediation techniques along with natural processes available at the site. This often involves combining remedial solutions that are compatible with natural processes already operative at the site.

For this Special Issue, we invite authors to contribute original research as well as review articles on recent advances made on innovative and sustainable remediation technologies in water, soil, sediment, and air pollution. Potential areas include, but are not limited to:

  • Soil remediation

  • Sediment remediation

  • Phytoremediation

  • Bioremediation

  • Ecological restoration

  • Water treatment

  • Wastewater treatment

  • Stormwater management

  • Natural and constructed wetlands

  • Ambient air quality management

  • Greenhouse gases control

  • Indoor air quality management and control

Prof. Dr. Dibyendu Sarkar
Prof. Dr. Rupali Datta
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Soil remediation

  • Sediment remediation

  • Phytoremediation

  • Bioremediation

  • Ecological restoration

  • Water treatment

  • Wastewater treatment

  • Stormwater management

  • Natural and constructed wetlands

  • Ambient air quality management

  • Greenhouse gases control

  • Indoor air quality management and control

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 1976 KiB  
Article
Effects of Silk-Worm Excrement Biochar Combined with Different Iron-Based Materials on the Speciation of Cadmium and Lead in Soil
by Pengyang Bian, Jingjing Zhang, Chaolan Zhang, He Huang, Qun Rong, Haixia Wu, Xue Li, Mengmeng Xu, Yu Liu and Siwei Ren
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(10), 1999; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8101999 - 22 Oct 2018
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3868
Abstract
A 56d incubation experiment was conducted to explore the effects of the silk-worm excrement biochar (500 °C, BC) combined with different iron-based materials (FeCl3, FeSO4, and reduced iron powder) on the speciation of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in a [...] Read more.
A 56d incubation experiment was conducted to explore the effects of the silk-worm excrement biochar (500 °C, BC) combined with different iron-based materials (FeCl3, FeSO4, and reduced iron powder) on the speciation of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in a contaminated soil. Application rate of BC and iron-based materials is 1% (W/W) and 0.2% (W/W) of the soil, respectively. At the same time, the soil physicochemical properties, such as pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and the structure of soil, were determined in order to explore the influence mechanism of amendments to forms of Cd and Pb in soil. The results show that the stabilization effects on Cd is (BC + FeSO4) > (BC + FeCl3) > (BC + Fe) > (BC) and Pb is (BC + Fe) > (BC + FeSO4) > (BC + FeCl3) > (BC) at the end of incubation, compared with the effect of the control group. The treatment of (BC + FeSO4) is the most effective in terms of the stabilization of Cd and Pb, which makes the percentages of organic-bound and residual Cd and Pb increase by 40.90% and 23.51% respectively. In addition, with different ways of treatment, the pH value and CEC of soil see a remarkable increase by 1.65–2.01 units and 2.01–2.58 cmol·kg−1 respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns show that the soil imprisons Cd and Pb in different mineral phases. As such the treatment of (BC + FeSO4) can significantly improve soil environment, increase soil pH value & CEC and exert a relatively good stabilization effect on both Cd and Pb. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Environmental Remediation)
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12 pages, 1427 KiB  
Article
Catabolic Fingerprinting and Diversity of Bacteria in Mollic Gleysol Contaminated with Petroleum Substances
by Agnieszka Wolińska, Anna Gałązka, Agnieszka Kuźniar, Weronika Goraj, Natalia Jastrzębska, Jarosław Grządziel and Zofia Stępniewska
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(10), 1970; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8101970 - 18 Oct 2018
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4126
Abstract
This study focused on the determination of both catabolic and genetic fingerprinting of bacteria inhabiting soil contaminated with car fuels. A surface layer (0–20 cm) of Mollic Gleysol was used for the experiment and was contaminated with car fuels—unleaded 95-octane petrol and diesel [...] Read more.
This study focused on the determination of both catabolic and genetic fingerprinting of bacteria inhabiting soil contaminated with car fuels. A surface layer (0–20 cm) of Mollic Gleysol was used for the experiment and was contaminated with car fuels—unleaded 95-octane petrol and diesel at a dose of 15 g per 10 g of soil. The experiment lasted 42 days and was performed at 20 °C. The metabolic potential of soil bacterial communities was evaluated using the Biolog EcoPlate system. The results demonstrated that petroleum substances influenced the structure of the microbial populations and their catabolic activity. The Arthrobacter, Paenibacillus, and Pseudomonas genera were found in diesel-contaminated soil, whilst Bacillus and Microbacterium were found in petrol-contaminated soil. Rhodococcus species were identified in both variants of impurities, suggesting the widest capability of car fuel degradation by this bacterial genus. The contamination with unleaded 95-octane petrol caused rapid inhibition of the metabolic activity of soil bacteria in contrast to the diesel treatment, where high metabolic activity of bacteria was observed until the end of the incubation period. Higher toxicity of petrol in comparison with diesel car fuel was evidenced. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Environmental Remediation)
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14 pages, 2258 KiB  
Article
Study of the Effect of Pyrolysis Temperature on the Cd2+ Adsorption Characteristics of Biochar
by Yuehui Jia, Shengli Shi, Jie Liu, Shiming Su, Qiong Liang, Xibai Zeng and Tingshu Li
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(7), 1019; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8071019 - 22 Jun 2018
Cited by 80 | Viewed by 6364
Abstract
Rice husk and cotton straw were used to produce biochar under 300, 400, 500, 600, and 700 °C pyrolysis conditions, and the physicochemical properties of the obtained biochar samples were characterised. The effects of various adsorbent amounts, initial pH, and adsorption time on [...] Read more.
Rice husk and cotton straw were used to produce biochar under 300, 400, 500, 600, and 700 °C pyrolysis conditions, and the physicochemical properties of the obtained biochar samples were characterised. The effects of various adsorbent amounts, initial pH, and adsorption time on the Cd2+ adsorption performance were studied. The results showed that, at increasing pyrolysis temperatures, the biochar yield decreased, the ash content increased, the pH transitioned from acidic/neutral to basic/strongly basic, the biochar aromaticity gradually increased, and the biochar structure became more stable. In contrast, the hydrophilicity and polarity decreased, the specific surface area increased, and the number of oxygen-containing functional groups decreased. All these factors resulted in differences in the Cd2+ adsorption by the biochar samples. With increasing adsorbent content, the rate of Cd2+ adsorbed on the biochar gradually increased. The adsorption performance was optimal when the initial solution pH of the rice-husk and cotton-straw biochar samples was 5 and 6, respectively. The shortest time to achieve equilibrium was 30 min for rice-husk biochar, and 20 min for cotton-straw biochar. The Cd2+ adsorption data for both types of biochar were very well fitted with a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Ion exchange and cation–π interactions may be the main factors influencing the Cd2+ adsorption by biochar. At the same time, the large specific surface area of biochar also plays a role in the Cd2+ adsorption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Environmental Remediation)
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14 pages, 4388 KiB  
Article
Sequencing Batch Reactor and Bacterial Community in Aerobic Granular Sludge for Wastewater Treatment of Noodle-Manufacturing Sector
by Tang Thi Chinh, Phung Duc Hieu, Bui Van Cuong, Nguyen Nhat Linh, Nguyen Ngoc Lan, Nguyen Sy Nguyen, Nguyen Quang Hung and Le Thi Thu Hien
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(4), 509; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8040509 - 27 Mar 2018
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 7726
Abstract
The sequencing batch reactor (SBR) has been increasingly applied in the control of high organic wastewater. In this study, SBR with aerobic granular sludge was used for wastewater treatment in a noodle-manufacturing village in Vietnam. The results showed that after two months of [...] Read more.
The sequencing batch reactor (SBR) has been increasingly applied in the control of high organic wastewater. In this study, SBR with aerobic granular sludge was used for wastewater treatment in a noodle-manufacturing village in Vietnam. The results showed that after two months of operation, the chemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen and total phosphorous removal efficiency of aerobic granular SBR reached 92%, 83% and 75%, respectively. Bacterial diversity and bacterial community in wastewater treatment were examined using Illumina Miseq sequencing to amplify the V3-V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene. A high diversity of bacteria was observed in the activated sludge, with more than 400 bacterial genera and 700 species. The predominant genus was Lactococcus (21.35%) mainly containing Lactococcus chungangensis species. Predicted functional analysis showed a high representation of genes involved in membrane transport (12.217%), amino acid metabolism (10.067%), and carbohydrate metabolism (9.597%). Genes responsible for starch and sucrose metabolism accounted for 0.57% of the total reads and the composition of starch hydrolytic enzymes including α-amylase, starch phosphorylase, glucoamylase, pullulanase, α-galactosidase, β-galactosidase, α-glucosidase, β-glucosidase, and 1,4-α-glucan branching enzyme. The presence of these enzymes in the SBR system may improve the removal of starch pollutants in wastewater. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Environmental Remediation)
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15 pages, 3329 KiB  
Article
Effects of Post-Synthesis Activation and Relative Humidity on Adsorption Performance of ZIF-8 for Capturing Toluene from a Gas Phase in a Continuous Mode
by Saeed Jafari, Farshid Ghorbani-Shahna, Abdulrahman Bahrami and Hossein Kazemian
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(2), 310; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8020310 - 22 Feb 2018
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 8281
Abstract
Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) was used as an adsorbent for the removal of toluene in its gas phase at different relative humidity (RH). High-purity ZIF-8 with an average particle size of 0.64 µm synthesized from an aqueous solution at room temperature, and then [...] Read more.
Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) was used as an adsorbent for the removal of toluene in its gas phase at different relative humidity (RH). High-purity ZIF-8 with an average particle size of 0.64 µm synthesized from an aqueous solution at room temperature, and then characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. Dynamic adsorption (continuous mode) experiments of toluene on ZIF-8 were studied using breakthrough curves. The effects of thermal pretreatment (activation) under dry air and N2 atmospheres on the adsorbent performances was studied. ZIF-8 activated at 300 °C for 3 h under dry air showed the highest adsorption capacity of 562.17 mg∙g−1. Furthermore, it was observed that the adsorption of toluene on ZIF-8 was significantly decreased at 80% RH. The experimental data of dynamic adsorption well fitted into the Thomas and Yan mathematical models. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Environmental Remediation)
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18 pages, 3755 KiB  
Article
A Comparison of Palladium Sorption Using Polyethylenimine Impregnated Alginate-Based and Carrageenan-Based Algal Beads
by Shengye Wang, Thierry Vincent, Catherine Faur and Eric Guibal
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(2), 264; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8020264 - 10 Feb 2018
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 5437
Abstract
Two kinds of algal beads were prepared using a carrageenan-based alga (Chrondrus crispus) and an alginate-based alga (Laminara digitata) ionotropically gelled with K(I) and Ca(II), respectively: the process consists of biopolymer partial extraction followed by hydrogel formation. The beads [...] Read more.
Two kinds of algal beads were prepared using a carrageenan-based alga (Chrondrus crispus) and an alginate-based alga (Laminara digitata) ionotropically gelled with K(I) and Ca(II), respectively: the process consists of biopolymer partial extraction followed by hydrogel formation. The beads were modified with branched polyethylenimine (bPEI) and glutaraldehyde (GA) using the impregnation method to improve their sorption capacity for Pd(II) in acid solution. SEM-EDX and FTIR techniques were used for characterizing the beads. The impacts of pH and presence of anions, cations, and Pt(IV) were studied in batch experiments. The beads were also applied for Pd(II) recovery from synthesized leaching liquors of a spent catalyst and a car catalytic converter via the sorption-desorption process. Results show that Pd is concentrated in the outer layer of L. digitata-bPEI-GA composite (LD/PEI) beads, while in the case of the C. crispus-bPEI-GA composite (CC/PEI), it is homogenously distributed in the whole mass of the sorbents. The difference is attributed to the repulsive force of the outer Ca(II)-alginate barrier of LD/PEI beads that makes it difficult for the branched polymer PEI to penetrate through the layer and be immobilized in the inner compartment. As a result, LD/PEI beads possess a lower maximum sorption capacity, but a slightly faster uptake at pH 1 than CC/PEI beads. In addition, CC/PEI beads present a better recovery performance compared to LD/PEI beads when applied for the treatment of synthesized leaching liquors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Environmental Remediation)
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Review

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17 pages, 814 KiB  
Review
Effects and Mechanisms of Microbial Remediation of Heavy Metals in Soil: A Critical Review
by Yuyao Jin, Yaning Luan, Yangcui Ning and Lingyan Wang
Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(8), 1336; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8081336 - 10 Aug 2018
Cited by 198 | Viewed by 14218
Abstract
The use of microbes to change the concentration of heavy metals in soil and improve the ability of plants to deal with elevated metals concentrations has significant economic and ecological benefits. This paper reviews the origins and toxic effects of heavy metal pollution [...] Read more.
The use of microbes to change the concentration of heavy metals in soil and improve the ability of plants to deal with elevated metals concentrations has significant economic and ecological benefits. This paper reviews the origins and toxic effects of heavy metal pollution in soil, and describes the heavy metal accumulation mechanisms of microbes, and compares their different bioconcentration abilities. Biosorption, which depends on the special structure of the cell wall, is found to be the primary mechanism. Furthermore, Escherichia coli are found to adsorb more heavy metals than other species. Factors influencing microbial treatment of wastewater and soil containing heavy metals include temperature, pH, and different substrates. Finally, problems in the application of microbial treatment of heavy metal contamination are considered, and possible directions for future research are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Environmental Remediation)
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