Advancing Sustainable Urban Wastewater Systems: Innovative Technologies from Sewer to Treatment Plants
A special issue of Environments (ISSN 2076-3298).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2026 | Viewed by 38
Special Issue Editors
Interests: sewer systems; resource recovery; integrated management; process optimization
Interests: biological wastewater treatment; resource recovery from wastewater and biosolids; anaerobic processes; membrane bioreactors; environmental biomaterials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Urban wastewater systems are essential components of modern cities, safeguarding public health and environmental quality. However, existing systems were designed primarily for the rapid conveyance and end-of-pipe treatment of wastewater, with limited consideration of energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions and resource recovery. As urbanization intensifies and climate pressures increase, these conventional paradigms are increasingly challenged by aging infrastructure, rising operational costs and stricter environmental regulations. Sewer systems are no longer passive conveyance structures; they host complex biogeochemical processes that influence pollutant transformation, greenhouse gas emissions, corrosion, odor generation and downstream treatment performance (e.g., COD loss). Meanwhile, wastewater treatment plants remain highly energy-intensive facilities, with aeration and sludge handling dominating energy demand and carbon footprints. The lack of integrated monitoring, modeling and control across the sewer–treatment continuum limits system-level optimization and the effective recovery of energy, nutrients and water.
This Special Issue, Advancing Sustainable Urban Wastewater Systems: Innovative Technologies from Sewer to Treatment Plants, aims to address these challenges by presenting cutting-edge technologies and integrated strategies that enhance the sustainability of integrated urban wastewater systems. The scope includes innovations in-sewer monitoring and process regulation, advanced sensing and digitalization, data-driven modeling and optimization, low-energy and low-carbon treatment processes and technologies for resource recovery at both sewer and plant scales. By fostering a holistic and system-oriented perspective, this Special Issue seeks to bridge the traditional divide between sewer systems and wastewater treatment plants and to support the transition toward resilient, energy-efficient and resource-recovering urban wastewater infrastructures.
Dr. Zhiqiang Zuo
Dr. Xiaoyuan Zhang
Dr. Xiaotong Cen
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
- sewers
- wastewater treatment
- resource recovery
- greenhouse gas
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
