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Environments
Special Issues
Emerging Technologies for Waste Treatment, Pollution Control and Resource Recovery
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Emerging Technologies for Waste Treatment, Pollution Control and Resource Recovery

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 May 2026 | Viewed by 17819

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Cheng-Han Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Resources Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
Interests: resource circulation; waste treatment and circular economy; carbon capture and utilization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Hsing Jung Ho

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Studies for Advanced Society, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579, Japan
Interests: waste recycling; metal recycling; battery recycling; CO2 capture and utilization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Fan-Wei Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Graduate Degree Program in Semiconductor and Green Technology, Academy of Circular Economy, National Chung Hsing University, Nantou 540, Taiwan
Interests: recycling and recovery of metals; green-energy materials and technologies; resourcezation of wastes

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since the Industrial Revolution, the amount of waste produced by humans has increased significantly, making our environment uninhabitable. This urgent issue requires immediate attention. For example, while some land is used for landfills, the capacity of these is gradually running out, and, when waste is stored, there is still a risk of contaminating soil and water resources, demonstrating that the current landfills are not the optimal choice.

In these situations, emerging technologies for waste treatment, pollution reduction and control, and resource recovery from waste are essential as they can help us reduce the amount of waste and gain resources without developing new primary resources.

This Environments Special Issue aims to invite Authors to submit original research and review articles focusing on this area. The potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Novel technologies and methods for waste treatment and management without secondary pollution;
  2. Innovative strategies for pollution reduction, control, and removal;
  3. Resource recovery from waste through methods including but not limited to hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy, and electrometallurgy;
  4. Emerging circular economy strategies for waste;
  5. Novel procedures to enhance the value of waste.

Dr. Cheng-Han Lee
Dr. Hsing Jung Ho
Dr. Fan-Wei Liu
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-blind 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 treatment
  • resource circulation
  • resource recovery
  • metal recovery
  • circular economy
  • high-value utilization of waste
  • pollution reduction
  • pollution control
  • pollution removal

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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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14 pages, 1232 KB  
Article
Vegetation-Associated Enhancement of Azo Dye Removal in Constructed Wetlands Without External Carbon Addition
by Satoshi Soda, Shimpei Goto, Hiroki Eguchi and Abd Aziz Amin
Environments 2026, 13(5), 237; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13050237 - 22 Apr 2026
Viewed by 1538
Abstract
Constructed wetlands (CWs) are a low-energy alternative for treating dye-containing wastewater; however, the mechanisms enabling azo dye removal without external carbon supplementation remain unclear. This study demonstrates that azo dye reduction can proceed under oxic bulk conditions in CWs through vegetation-induced microscale redox [...] Read more.
Constructed wetlands (CWs) are a low-energy alternative for treating dye-containing wastewater; however, the mechanisms enabling azo dye removal without external carbon supplementation remain unclear. This study demonstrates that azo dye reduction can proceed under oxic bulk conditions in CWs through vegetation-induced microscale redox heterogeneity. Lab-scale CWs planted with cattail and papyrus were evaluated for the removal of Reactive Orange 16 (RO16, monoazo) and Reactive Black 5 (RB5, diazo) at influent concentrations of 10–50 mg/L under varying ambient temperature (2–36 °C) and hydraulic retention time (1–15 days). Vegetated CWs consistently outperformed the unplanted system, achieving 60–95% removal for RO16 and up to 98% removal for RB5, whereas the unplanted CW showed substantially inferior performance, with removal efficiencies below 54% for RO16 and below 37% for RB5. Dye-decolorizing bacteria, including Priestia megaterium and Clostridium spp., were isolated exclusively under anaerobic conditions from vegetated CWs despite oxic bulk dissolved oxygen levels. The isolates did not decolorize dyes under aerobic conditions or when dyes were provided as sole carbon sources, indicating that azo dyes functioned as electron acceptors and required additional electron donors. These results suggest that vegetation promotes localized reductive microenvironments and supplies endogenous organic carbon, enabling anaerobic azo bond reduction within otherwise oxic systems. The findings indicate a mechanistic basis for plant–microbe interactions in CWs and support the design of sustainable treatment systems for dye-containing wastewater without external carbon input, particularly in warm regions. This study resolves a long-standing question of how azo dye reduction proceeds in CWs without external carbon input. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Technologies for Waste Treatment, Pollution Control and Resource Recovery)
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35 pages, 14359 KB  
Article
Fishbone-Derived Hydroxyapatite from Distinct Species: Effect of Calcination and pH on Heavy Metal Adsorption from Water
by María Moreno Carpinteyro, Francisco J. Peñas Esteban and Adrián Durán Benito
Environments 2026, 13(2), 102; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13020102 - 12 Feb 2026
Viewed by 1165
Abstract
In this study, hydroxyapatite (HAp) was obtained from fishbones of four species: gilt-head bream (Sparus aurata), salmon (Salmo salar), hake (Merluccius merluccius), and megrim (Lepidorhombus boscii). Batch adsorption experiments were performed with Cr3+, [...] Read more.
In this study, hydroxyapatite (HAp) was obtained from fishbones of four species: gilt-head bream (Sparus aurata), salmon (Salmo salar), hake (Merluccius merluccius), and megrim (Lepidorhombus boscii). Batch adsorption experiments were performed with Cr3+, Ni2+, and Zn2+ ions under different pH conditions (natural, 3, and 11) and contact times (6 and 72 h), which is innovative in this study and allows a unified comparison across species and thermal treatment (non-calcined vs. calcined). Results indicated that non-calcinated materials were particularly effective for Ni2+ and Zn2+ removal at natural and acidic pH, whereas calcinated samples were more suitable for Cr3+ adsorption under alkaline conditions. Given the precipitation of its insoluble hydroxide under alkaline conditions, zinc removal was limited to natural and acidic pH. Among the tested precursors, megrim and hake-derived (non-calcined) HAp exhibited the highest performance, achieving up to 99.99% removal efficiency at 6 h of contact time and 20 °C. The analysis of the used adsorbents confirmed metal incorporation into the HAp lattice with minimal crystallographic disruption. These findings demonstrate the potential of fishbone-derived HAp as an efficient and low-cost adsorbent for heavy metal removal from aqueous systems, while simultaneously contributing to the valorization of fishery waste. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Technologies for Waste Treatment, Pollution Control and Resource Recovery)
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21 pages, 2101 KB  
Article
Life Cycle Assessment of PFAS Removal from Landfill Leachate at the Laboratory Scale
by Federico Bedogni, Francesco Arfelli, Matteo Picchietti, Massimo Facchini, Luca Ciacci, Daniele Cespi and Fabrizio Passarini
Environments 2026, 13(1), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13010035 - 4 Jan 2026
Viewed by 1599
Abstract
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of emerging organic contaminants receiving rising attention due to the threat they may pose to human health and their strong persistence in the environment, determined by their widespread use in the market as additives, reactants, [...] Read more.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of emerging organic contaminants receiving rising attention due to the threat they may pose to human health and their strong persistence in the environment, determined by their widespread use in the market as additives, reactants, or coverings. Since the most common end-of-life of products is landfill, countless case studies have confirmed the presence of PFAS in leachates. This work aims to evaluate and compare the environmental impacts of four different PFAS removal techniques from landfill leachate through a life cycle assessment performed on laboratory tests. Global warming, particulate matter formation, and human toxicity were examined and discussed in detail, since they represent most of the final single-score impact. The toxicity contribution of the residual PFAS in the matrix was investigated, resulting almost negligible. The results highlight activated carbon, sludge disposal, and sulfuric acid as major environmental hotspots for all categories. The clariflocculation followed by activated carbon adsorption results in the least impactful technique with promising PFAS removal efficiencies, between 44.3% and 82.2% depending on carbon dosage. Very precise correlations in the trends of the impact categories and the use of different functional units were also analysed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Technologies for Waste Treatment, Pollution Control and Resource Recovery)
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Review

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21 pages, 1762 KB  
Review
Sustainability-Oriented Innovation in the Textile Manufacturing Industry: Pre-Consumer Waste Recovery and Circular Patterns
by Maria Angela Butturi, Alessandro Neri, Francesco Mercalli and Rita Gamberini
Environments 2025, 12(3), 82; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments12030082 - 5 Mar 2025
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 12338
Abstract
The textile manufacturing industry is energy- and water-intensive, and has a great impact on the environment. Sustainability-oriented innovation can support the transition of the textile sector towards a circular economy. This review investigates how the textile manufacturing chain can benefit from sustainability-driven innovation [...] Read more.
The textile manufacturing industry is energy- and water-intensive, and has a great impact on the environment. Sustainability-oriented innovation can support the transition of the textile sector towards a circular economy. This review investigates how the textile manufacturing chain can benefit from sustainability-driven innovation strategies to achieve the main circular economy goals. The review was conducted using the Scopus and Web of Science scientific databases, and it addresses material, process, and organizational innovations and covers the 2015–2024 time window. Five main areas of innovation emerged from the retrieved papers, including digitalization, the need for innovative product and process design and sustainable raw materials, the use of textile waste as new raw material outside the textile value chain, waste recovery within the value chain and environmental remediation, and organizational innovation. The innovative solutions analyzed improve the sustainability of the textile manufacturing industry and enable the achievement of circular economy goals. Finally, we discuss some concerns about the introduction of the suggested innovations, including the need to apply design principles for recyclability and durability while studying the feasibility of adopting novel materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Technologies for Waste Treatment, Pollution Control and Resource Recovery)
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