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Environments
Special Issues
Sustainable Environmental Solutions: Waste Valorization, Water Protection, and Soil Management
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Sustainable Environmental Solutions: Waste Valorization, Water Protection, and Soil Management

A special issue of Environments (ISSN 2076-3298).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 July 2026) | Viewed by 3997

Editors

Prof. Dr. Victor Cavaleiro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Civil Engineering and Architecture Department, University Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal
2. GeoBioTec (GeoBioSciences, Geotechnologies, and GeoEngineering), Covilhã, Portugal
Interests: waste valorization; circular economy; soil and water protection; environmental sustainability; leaching and contaminant migration; waste-based materials; sustainable geoengineering; nature-based solutions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Wen-Tien Tsai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Graduate Institute of Bioresources, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Neipu Township, Pingtung 912, Taiwan
Interests: biomass waste reuse; biomass energy technology; porous material preparation; liquid phase adsorption and interface research; biomass energy policy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Environmental sustainability is a global priority, requiring innovative strategies to minimize ecological degradation while ensuring the responsible management of natural resources. Increasing population growth, industrialization, and urbanization have intensified the pressures on soil, water, and waste management systems, making the development of integrated and sustainable environmental solutions a critical necessity.

This Special Issue seeks to gather high-quality research and review articles addressing recent advances in waste valorization, water protection, and soil management, with a focus on environmentally friendly technologies, circular economy principles, and nature-based solutions. We welcome multidisciplinary contributions that bridge science, engineering, and policy to foster sustainable environmental practices

In this Special Issue, reviews, original research articles, case studies, and field applications are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  1. Innovative technologies for waste reuse and valorization, including industrial by-products as geomaterials.
  2. Water protection and treatment, encompassing pollutant removal, emerging contaminants, biofiltration, and low-cost or decentralized treatment solutions.
  3. Soil conservation and remediation, including contaminant immobilization, biochar and waste-based amendments, and approaches to enhance soil health, fertility, and performance.
  4. Coupled soil–water systems, regarding leaching behavior, contaminant migration, and strategies for minimizing contamination.
  5. Environmental risk assessment, monitoring, and modeling for waste disposal, water management, and soil protection.
  6. Circular economy approaches for sustainable geoenvironmental engineering, linked to life cycle assessment (LCA) and environmental impact evaluation.
  7. Governance, policy, and techno-economic dimensions of sustainable environmental resource management.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Victor Cavaleiro
Prof. Dr. Wen-Tien Tsai
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Environments is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 1800 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

  • waste valorization
  • circular economy
  • soil and water protection
  • environmental sustainability
  • leaching and contaminant migration
  • waste-based materials
  • sustainable geoengineering
  • nature-based solutions

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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31 pages, 17301 KB  
Article
Geological and Hydrogeological Controls on Liquefaction Susceptibility in Deltaic Environments: Insights from the Po Delta, Northern Italy
by Dimitra Rapti, George Papathanassiou, Maria Taftsoglou and Riccardo Caputo
Environments 2026, 13(6), 343; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13060343 - 17 Jun 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 524
Abstract
Liquefaction phenomena are strongly influenced by the depositional evolution of the area, including sediment grain size, depositional age, shallow layering, and groundwater depth. This study focuses on a 560 km2 wide sector of the eastern Po River Plain (northern Italy), encompassing part [...] Read more.
Liquefaction phenomena are strongly influenced by the depositional evolution of the area, including sediment grain size, depositional age, shallow layering, and groundwater depth. This study focuses on a 560 km2 wide sector of the eastern Po River Plain (northern Italy), encompassing part of the modern Po Delta, to evaluate the susceptibility of the different geological units to liquefaction. A comprehensive dataset was compiled, integrating lithological, chronological (14C), geomorphological, hydrological, and hydrogeological information, together with satellite imagery, historical and modern maps, archaeological evidence, and subsurface data from core drilling and CPTu tests. The integrated analysis allowed us to reconstruct a liquefaction susceptibility map recognizing four classes: very high (4% of the investigated area), high (26%), moderate (20%), and non-susceptible (50%). CPTu-based statistical analyses confirm that the Liquefaction Potential Index (LPI) increases with higher susceptibility classes and decreases with increasing groundwater depth (0.5, 1.5, and 3.0 m scenarios). These results provide a scientific basis to support sustainable land management and governance strategies in the Po Delta, an area of high environmental, cultural, and economic value, a large sector of which is included in the Natura 2000 network. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Environmental Solutions: Waste Valorization, Water Protection, and Soil Management)
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17 pages, 3986 KB  
Article
Valorization of Aged Opuntia-Derived Digestate as a Sustainable Nutrient Source for Photosynthetic Microbial Consortia
by Juan Andrés Aguilar-Huesca, Carlos Alexander Lucho-Constantino, Rosa Icela Beltrán-Hernández, Mónica Ivette Sánchez-Contreras and Pablo Antonio López-Pérez
Environments 2026, 13(6), 288; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13060288 - 23 May 2026
Viewed by 453
Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of age Opuntia-derivated digestate (OpDcm) as a nutrient source for photosynthetic microbial consortia (PMC), aiming to reduce dependence on mineral media and promote the valorization of locally available biomass in arid and [...] Read more.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of age Opuntia-derivated digestate (OpDcm) as a nutrient source for photosynthetic microbial consortia (PMC), aiming to reduce dependence on mineral media and promote the valorization of locally available biomass in arid and semi-arid regions. Batch cultures were performed in bubble column photobioreactors (BCPBR) and open raceway (ORPBR) photobioreactors using different proportions of OpDcm and BG110 to assess biomass production, chlorophyll a dynamics, and physicochemical responses of a PMC dominated by Nostoc sp. Chemical characterization showed that OpDcm contained higher levels of K, Ca, Mg, and Mn than BG110, providing a robust ionic matrix for initial growth; however, potential limitations in P, Mg, and Fe were identified. In both BCPBR and ORPBR systems, OpDcm demonstrated nutrient compositions that stimulated biomass production in the PMC at levels comparable to those achieved with BG110 medium. Statistical analyses showed that specific treatments, particularly T1 (10% OpDcm in BCPBR) and T3 (10% OpDcm + 2.5% BG110 in ORPBR), produced biomass yields similar to or higher than those obtained with the conventional BG110 medium. However, chlorophyll a concentration was lower in OpDcm treatments due to limited light transmission and micronutrient constraints. The N–NH4+ dynamics in BCPBR and ORPBR exhibited pronounced variability among the evaluated culture media, spanning from negligible changes (<1 mg L−1) over the entire cultivation period to sustained ammonium production rates of 2–3 mg L−1 day−1. Morphological analysis confirmed a consortium dominated by Nostoc sp., supported by pH values within the optimal range (8–9). Overall, the use of age-Opuntia-derived digestates demonstrated it can serve as a partial or total substitute for a low-cost nutrient source for cyanobacterial cultivation, underscoring their relevance to circular bioeconomy strategies for producing photosynthetic biomass. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Environmental Solutions: Waste Valorization, Water Protection, and Soil Management)
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29 pages, 2136 KB  
Article
Integrating Water Footprint and Life Cycle Assessment for Early-Stage Evaluation of Circular Brine Treatment Systems
by Jhoreene A. Julian, Fibor J. Tan, Benyamin Khoshnevisan, Cris Edward F. Monjardin, Morten Birkved, Delia B. Senoro and Jerome G. Gacu
Environments 2026, 13(5), 259; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13050259 - 5 May 2026
Viewed by 1705
Abstract
Brine generated from seawater desalination presents significant environmental challenges due to its high salinity and pollutant content, particularly when discharged without adequate treatment. While advanced brine treatment systems offer opportunities for resource recovery and pollution reduction, they often involve increased energy and material [...] Read more.
Brine generated from seawater desalination presents significant environmental challenges due to its high salinity and pollutant content, particularly when discharged without adequate treatment. While advanced brine treatment systems offer opportunities for resource recovery and pollution reduction, they often involve increased energy and material demands, creating trade-offs between environmental benefits and resource consumption. This study integrates Water Footprint Assessment (WFA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to evaluate the freshwater sustainability of circular brine treatment systems under different process configurations. The framework is applied to four treatment scenarios, including variations in precipitation agents (NaOH and Ca(OH)2) and the inclusion of calcination processes, and compared with a reference scenario representing direct brine discharge. The results show that the blue water footprint is primarily driven by indirect water use associated with energy consumption, while pollutant loads influence the grey water footprint. Although advanced scenarios increase gross water demand, significant reductions are achieved through avoided water contributions from resource recovery and internal water reuse. Among the evaluated configurations, Scenario 2 exhibits the highest total water footprint due to elevated energy and pollutant-related impacts, whereas Scenarios 3 and 4 demonstrate improved performance through enhanced recovery efficiency. The water–carbon trade-off analysis highlights that minimizing carbon emissions does not necessarily reduce water consumption, emphasizing the importance of integrated assessment. Overall, the findings demonstrate that sustainable brine treatment design requires balancing water use, pollution control, energy demand, and resource recovery. The proposed WFA–LCA framework provides a robust decision-support tool for optimizing circular brine management systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Environmental Solutions: Waste Valorization, Water Protection, and Soil Management)
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Review

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40 pages, 4307 KB  
Review
From Waste to Resource: A Critical Review of Tyre-Derived Materials in Sustainable Applications
by Mithushi Wickramasinghe, Bre-Anne Sainsbury and Susanga Costa
Environments 2026, 13(6), 313; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13060313 - 3 Jun 2026
Viewed by 756
Abstract
End-of-life tyres present a significant waste management challenge, prompting increasing interest in the use of tyre-derived materials in engineering applications. This review critically evaluates the performance of tyre-derived materials across concrete, asphalt, geotechnical, and mining systems with emphasis on application-specific engineering trade-offs. The [...] Read more.
End-of-life tyres present a significant waste management challenge, prompting increasing interest in the use of tyre-derived materials in engineering applications. This review critically evaluates the performance of tyre-derived materials across concrete, asphalt, geotechnical, and mining systems with emphasis on application-specific engineering trade-offs. The reviewed literature shows that tyre-derived materials commonly reduce compressive strength and stiffness, particularly in cementitious systems, due to their weak interfacial bonding and increased porosity. However, these reductions are often accompanied by improvements in ductility, energy absorption, crack resistance, damping behaviour, tolerance during deformation, and post-cracking integrity. The magnitude of these responses strongly depends on rubber size, content, material origin, and interaction with the host matrix. Mining backfill applications show emerging potential, with tyre-derived inclusions improving brittle to ductile transition behaviour and residual integrity in cemented rock fill systems, although current evidence remains largely laboratory-based. Overall, the review demonstrates that tyre-derived materials should be evaluated according to application-specific performance requirements rather than strength-based criteria alone, while environmental benefits should be assessed on individual cases separately. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Environmental Solutions: Waste Valorization, Water Protection, and Soil Management)
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