Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Joseph Akunna

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Guest Editor

School of Applied Science, Division of Engineering and Food Sciences, University of Abertay, Bell Street, Dundee DD1 1HG, Scotland, UK
Interests: characteristics of a complex microbial community associated with the control of environmental pollutants; developing and improving environmental technologies for treating (and extracting useful products such as organic fertiliser, biogas and freshwater) from industrial and municipal wastes and wastewaters; anaerobic digestion processes and sustainable solutions of organic waste issues; treatment of industrial and hospital wastewaters; decentralised wastewater treatment systems (e.g., package plants and constructed wetland systems); surface water quality management; remediation of oil-contaminated land; landfill decay modelling and restoration of landfill sites; waste management and sanitation in developing countries

Dr. Kiran Tota-Maharaj

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Civil Engineering, School of Infrastructure and Sustainable Engineering, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK
Interests: sustainable drainage systems (SuDSs); green infrastructure (permeable pavements; engineered wetlands) combined with ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs) and water-sourced heat pumps (WSHPs); urban water engineering; transport phenomena of emerging contaminants (microplastics) and microbiological pollutants in urban drainage systems; water distribution networks and water demand modelling; 3D printing of critical infrastructure within water and wastewater industries
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to extend an invitation to you to submit your paper to this Special Issue on “Environmental Engineering Perspectives on Waste Management, Nature-Based Solutions (NbS), and Green Infrastructure”. This Special Issue provides an excellent platform for discussing the critical issues related to the environment and sustainability. We believe that your expertise and knowledge in this field will contribute immensely to this Special Issue’s success. The significance of waste management through nature-based solutions, green infrastructure and environmental engineering practices cannot be overstated. The need to manage waste sustainably, promote nature-based solutions (NbSs) and adopt green infrastructure has become more critical in recent times. These issues are not only critical for maintaining a healthy and sustainable environment, but also for promoting economic and social sustainability. In this Special Issue, we are particularly interested in papers that explore the various aspects of environmental engineering addressing waste management, nature-based solutions and green infrastructure. We welcome articles that discuss the recent advancements in this field, as well as the challenges and opportunities of the sustainable approaches to waste management and the adoption of nature-based solutions and green infrastructure. Authors are encouraged to submit papers on the following topics:

Best practices in waste management and its impacts on the environment;
Sustainable waste management techniques, including reduce, reuse, recycle and recover (the four Rs);
Nature-based solutions for urban water and wastewater management for circular cities;
The role of nature-based solutions, such as ecosystem restoration, in promoting environmental sustainability;
Benefits and challenges of green/blue infrastructure approaches for enhancing environmental sustainability;
Innovative technologies and solutions for waste management, recycling and resource recovery;
Public awareness and perception of waste management and nature-based solution approaches;
The cost–benefit analysis of green infrastructure in environmental remediation.

We are interested in research articles, reviews and other types of papers that fall into these categories. We welcome innovative and original research articles, including laboratory, field-based and case studies. The Special Issue is open to scholars, practitioners and professionals from all around the world. This Special Issue on “Environmental Engineering Perspectives on Waste Management, Nature-Based Solutions and Green Infrastructure” provides a platform for researchers and practitioners to publish their work. Recently, published articles have had a significant impact on environmental policy and management and have influenced decision making at various levels. We encourage you to send in your contributions and benefit from the increased visibility and readership of this journal. Ultimately, we believe in promoting research and innovation that can contribute to sustainable environmental policy and management.

We look forward to your submissions and participation in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Joseph Akunna
Dr. Kiran Tota-Maharaj
Guest Editors

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. Clean Technologies is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1600 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

ecological engineering solutions
water and wastewater treatment
nature-based solutions (NbSs)
green/blue infrastructure
urban water/wastewater management
bioremediation
sustainability
emerging waste management technologies
waste remediation
resource recovery

Published Papers (1 paper)

Research

13 pages, 921 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comprehensive Study of Energy Characteristics and Biohazard Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste from the Landfill of the City of Atyrau

by Nikolay S. Ivanov, Arlan Z. Abilmagzhanov, Oleg S. Kholkin and Iskander E. Adelbaev

Clean Technol. 2024, 6(1), 49-61; https://doi.org/10.3390/cleantechnol6010004 - 02 Jan 2024

Viewed by 2188

Abstract

This article presents the results of the study of the morphological composition of municipal solid waste (MSW) from the landfill of Atyrau city, and the waste’s energy characteristics and presence of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi and viruses. This study was carried out under a government order to determine the feasibility of recycling accumulated and incoming waste into electricity and its hazard to the environment and the workers involved in handling it. At the moment, there is no MSW recycling in Kazakhstan, which has led to the accumulation of more than 125 million tons of waste with an annual increase of 5 million tons. The research included four major cities (Almaty, Shymkent, Atyrau and Astana), which were selected not only on the basis of population, but also because the cities were located in different climatic zones. Samples were collected at the city landfills: 10 samples with an average distance of 100 m from each other were collected to provide a maximum coverage of both recently received waste and long-time stored waste. The research showed that neither climatic conditions nor the population size had a significant impact on MSW density, the values of which ranged from 120.1 kg/m³ to 145.4 kg/m³, as this indicator directly depends on the quality of life. The mass of the combustible fraction ranged from 39.41% to 54.62% and was mainly represented by plastic, textile and paper waste. The average value for the four cities was 50.30%. The higher calorific value fell in the range of 24.22–30.49 MJ/kg, with an average value of 26.71 MJ/kg. Microbiological studies showed little difference in average composition regardless of climatic conditions. Thus, no sharp differences in MSW composition, its energy characteristics and microbiological composition were found. The results of this study may be useful for optimising MSW recycling and disposal processes, as well as for developing measures to reduce their negative impact on the environment and human health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Engineering Perspectives on Waste Management, Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) and Green/Blue Infrastructure)

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