Heavy Metal Detection and Recovery from Wastewater

Dear Colleagues,

Heavy metals in wastewater pose a threat to human health and the environment at large. The heavy metals have an ability to adsorb other pollutants, such as microplastics and toxic organic pollutants in wastewater. Hence, there is a high need for green technologies for monitoring and removing heavy metals in wastewater. The application of nanomaterials in adsorbents, bio-adsorbents, electro-coagulants, and membranes for wastewater treatment has shown great potential in developing versatile point-of-care diagnostic devices for mitigating heavy metal contamination in wastewater. Suitable methodologies for fabrication of (bio)adsorbents, electro-coagulants, and membranes from nanomaterials on various substrates, play a major role on the overall performance of wastewater treatment devices. Hence, there is on-going research on surface modification and incorporation of nanocomposites on (bio)adsorbents, electro-coagulants, and membranes. Therefore, development of new nanocomposite materials, fabrication of them on practical substrates to remove heavy metals in large bulks of wastewater is very crucial for the environment. 

This Special Issue will include high-quality articles by internationally recognized scholars. We are inviting short communication, research, and review articles covering (but not limited to) the following topics:

1. Co-detection of multiple heavy metals in wastewater;
2. Low-cost technologies for heavy removal in wastewater;
3. Electrocoagulation application in recovery of heavy metals from water;
4. Green materials for removing heavy metals in wastewater;
5. Development of point of care (PoU) devices removing heavy metals in wastewater from industrial effluents and rural areas;
6. Developing wastewater treatment protocols for countries that are highly affected by heavy metals;
7. Application of membranes in the recovery of heavy metals from wastewater;
8. Removal of heavy metals and other pollutants carried by heavy metals, such as organic pollutants and microplastics.

Dr. Nonhlangabezo Mabuba
Dr. Nomso C. Hintsho-Mbita
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. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 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 2500 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.