Advanced Research on the Removal of Emerging Pollutants

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 886

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Agronomía, Universidad de Las Américas, Sede Concepción, Chile
Interests: environmental chemistry; nanotechnology; pollutans; water tretments; microplastics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación, Ñuñoa, Chile
Interests: analytical environmental chemistry; adsorption kinetic modeling; adsorption-desorption modeling; transport modeling; soil chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Centro de Nanotecnología Aplicada, Universidad Mayor, Santiago, Chile
Interests: nanotechnology; nanomaterials; organic and inorganic pollutants; water contamination; adsorption; advanced oxidation processes

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Environments journal, published by MDPI, is excited to announce an upcoming Special Issue titled "Advanced Research on the Removal of Emerging Pollutants". This Issue will compile pioneering research focused on detecting, treating, and removing emerging pollutants, including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, micro(nano)plastics, endocrine disruptors, and industrial chemicals. We welcome contributions that advance innovative technologies and materials—such as advanced oxidation processes, functionalized biochar, engineered nanomaterials, high-performance membrane filtration, and bioremediation strategies—to maximize removal efficiency across aqueous, terrestrial, and atmospheric compartments. Contributions may also include mechanistic insights (adsorption/desorption kinetics; degradation, transport, and transformation pathways), environmental fate, risk assessment, and the scalability of treatment systems. This Special Issue aims to bridge laboratory advances and practical applications, integrating interdisciplinary approaches to address the growing concern of emerging contaminants in the environment. 

This Special Issue invites contributions that address a wide range of topics related to the following:

  1. Development of innovative materials and technologies for efficiently removing emerging pollutants (e.g., nanomaterials, biochar, and membranes).
  2. Mechanistic studies on the interaction between pollutants and removal agents, including adsorption, degradation, and transformation pathways.
  3. Environmental fate, transport, and behavior of emerging contaminants in aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric systems.
  4. Biological and hybrid treatment approaches, including bioremediation, microbial consortia, and enzyme-based degradation.
  5. Assessment of toxicity, risks, and regulatory challenges associated with emerging pollutants and their by-products.
  6. Scaling up and real-world applications of removal technologies, including techno-economic analysis and life-cycle assessments.

This Special Issue aims to unite research across the detection, understanding, and removal of emerging pollutants from environmental systems to advance sustainable and effective solutions for mitigating their ecological and human health impacts. Chemistry, biogeochemistry, and ecotoxicology promote a deeper understanding of the diverse roles of pollutants within ecosystems.

We look forward to receiving your contributions to this impactful collection.

Dr. Jonathan Suazo-Hernández
Prof. Dr. Lizethly Cáceres Jensen
Dr. Pamela Sepúlveda Ortiz
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. 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

  • emerging contaminants
  • adsorption technologies
  • advanced oxidation processes (AOPs)
  • wastewater treatment
  • nanomaterials
  • environmental remediation

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 3652 KB  
Article
Preliminary Study of Cellulose and Polycaprolactone-Based Materials for Enhancing Bacteriological and Physicochemical Quality of Contaminated Water
by Belkis Sulbarán-Rangel, Hasbleidy Palacios-Hinestroza, Anahí Arreaga-Cancino, Edgar Mauricio Santos-Ventura, Orlando Hernández-Cristóbal and Florentina Zurita
Environments 2025, 12(10), 355; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments12100355 - 1 Oct 2025
Viewed by 588
Abstract
As water scarcity and pollution increase in rural communities in some parts of developing countries, there is a need to find simple ways to improve the quality of contaminated water. In this research, bagasse-based cellulose membranes were prepared and evaluated in a simple [...] Read more.
As water scarcity and pollution increase in rural communities in some parts of developing countries, there is a need to find simple ways to improve the quality of contaminated water. In this research, bagasse-based cellulose membranes were prepared and evaluated in a simple filtration system and compared with polycaprolactone membranes (PCL) and bagasse-based cellulose/PCL membranes for the removal of total coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli and other physical and chemical contaminants from contaminated water. Cellulose offers many opportunities in filtration technology due to its physical and chemical characteristics that allow its use in the design of membranes with flexible capabilities and specific applications. The membranes were characterized physically, chemically and mechanically, finding similarity in mechanical properties and differences in porosity. The membranes were tested in a filtration system and PCL membranes were more effective in removing turbidity (94.5%), color removal (70%) and phosphorus removal (50%), while cellulose membranes were better at retaining fecal coliforms (84.5%) and E. coli (90.8%). Statistical analysis (one-way ANOVA, p < 0.05) confirmed significant differences among the three membrane types for turbidity, apparent color, and nitrate, while no significant differences were observed for pH, conductivity, and phosphorus. These results suggest that the use of the membranes could help to improve the quality of polluted water and more studies are needed in order to improve their efficiencies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Research on the Removal of Emerging Pollutants)
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