Application of Hydrogels in Adsorption of Pollutants in Water and Wastewater Treatment

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 920

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Ingram School of Engineering, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
Interests: hydrogels; environmental remediations; polymers and nanocomposites; water treatment; biomedical applications; super capacitors and advanced materials

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Ingram School of Engineering, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
Interests: water treatment; solid and hazardous waste management; low impact development; soil and groundwater remediation; material engineering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue on the “Application of Hydrogels in Adsorption of Pollutants in Water and Wastewater Treatment” focuses on recent advancements in the application of advanced hydrogels within water and wastewater treatment. Hydrogels have become a vital component in the field of water and wastewater treatment due to their unique structure and properties that facilitate the effective adsorption of a wide range of pollutants. These three-dimensional polymer networks possess high water retention capability, allowing them to interact efficiently with contaminants such as heavy metals, organic dyes, and pharmaceuticals. The incorporation of functional groups into the hydrogel matrix enhances their adsorption capacity by promoting specific interactions with target pollutants.

Moreover, hydrogels can be modified with nanomaterials to further improve their performance. Nanomaterials increase the surface area and provide additional active sites for adsorption, leading to enhanced efficiency in pollutant removal. This combination not only boosts the kinetics of adsorption but also allows for greater selectivity, enabling the targeted removal of specific contaminants.

As research continues to optimize hydrogel formulations and explore innovative applications, they are poised to play a significant role in addressing the global challenges of water pollution, ultimately contributing to cleaner and safer water resources. We are thrilled to invite you, as renowned experts in the field, to hopefully contribute to this Special Issue and the development of scientific study for water and wastewater treatment.

Dr. Sujata Mandal
Dr. Sangchul S. Hwang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • water and wastewater treatment
  • effective adsorption
  • pollutant removal
  • nanomaterials
  • three-dimensional polymer networks
  • heavy metals, organic dyes, and pharmaceuticals
  • specific contaminants

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 6312 KiB  
Article
Environmentally Friendly Nanoporous Polymeric Gels for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment
by Tarek M. Madkour, Rasha E. Elsayed and Rasha A. Azzam
Gels 2024, 10(12), 756; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10120756 - 22 Nov 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 712
Abstract
Environmentally friendly nanoporous gels are tailor-designed and employed in the adsorption of toxic organic pollutants in wastewater. To ensure the maximum adsorption of the contaminant molecules by the gels, molecular modeling techniques were used to evaluate the binding affinity between the toxic organic [...] Read more.
Environmentally friendly nanoporous gels are tailor-designed and employed in the adsorption of toxic organic pollutants in wastewater. To ensure the maximum adsorption of the contaminant molecules by the gels, molecular modeling techniques were used to evaluate the binding affinity between the toxic organic contaminants such as methylene blue (MB) and Congo red (CR) and various biopolymers. To generate nanopores in the matrix of the polymeric gels, salt crystals were used as porogen. The pores were then used to accommodate catalytic nickel (Ni0) nanoparticles. Under UV irradiation, the nanoparticles demonstrated the effective adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of both the methylene blue and Congo red dyes, achieving removal efficiencies of up to 90% for MB and 80% for CR. The thermodynamic analysis suggested a spontaneous endothermic dissociative adsorption mechanism, which implies the oxidative catalytic degradation of the dyes. The kinetic modeling suggested a pseudo-second-order model, while the model for intra-particle diffusion revealed that Congo red diffuses faster than methylene blue. MB adsorption followed a Langmuir isotherm, while CR adsorption followed a linear isotherm. The results confirm that dye molecules initially undergo physisorption and subsequent dissociative adsorption. The products of the catalytic degradation of methylene blue continue to be absorbed on the surface of the nanoparticles, while those of Congo red switch to preferential desorption. Full article
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