Minerals-Enabled Water Innovation: Materials, Processes, and Resource Recovery

Dear Colleagues,

Growing pressures on global water resources are driving wastewater treatment toward solutions that are not only efficient but also resource-aware, mineral-informed, and compatible with circular economy principles. In this context, minerals and mineralogical concepts play a central role—not only as functional materials for pollutant removal, but also as active components governing reaction pathways, separation efficiency, and resource recovery from aqueous streams.

This Special Issue focuses on mineral-enabled water innovation, emphasizing the application of mineral materials, mineral processing principles, and mineralogical characterization to wastewater treatment and resource recovery. Contributions are invited that explore how mineral structure, surface chemistry, phase composition, and textural properties influence adsorption, catalysis, flotation, membrane separation, and selective precipitation processes. Attention is given to the translation of established mineral processing techniques—such as flotation, solid–liquid separation, and selective extraction—into advanced water treatment technologies.

In addition, the Special Issue welcomes studies on the recovery of valuable resources, including critical metals and nutrients, from industrial effluents, mine-influenced waters, and treatment residues. The characterization, transformation, and valorization of mineral-rich sludges, tailings, and by-products are also within scope, especially where they contribute to low-carbon operation, waste minimization, and circular material flows.

By integrating mineral science with water engineering, this Special Issue aims to provide a platform for interdisciplinary research that advances sustainable, mineral-informed solutions for water purification, resource recovery, and environmental protection.

Scope of the Special Issue

This Special Issue focuses on research at the intersection of mineral science, mineral processing, and water treatment, with particular emphasis on mineral-enabled approaches to wastewater purification and resource recovery. Contributions should demonstrate a clear link to minerals, mineralogical properties, or mineral-processing concepts, rather than purely chemical or biological treatment methods.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Mineral-based materials for water and wastewater treatment (adsorption, catalysis, membranes, and composite systems);
• Clay minerals, layered materials, and engineered mineral structures for contaminant removal;
• Application of mineral processing principles (e.g., flotation, solid–liquid separation, selective extraction) to aqueous systems;
• Recovery of critical metals, nutrients, and valuable resources from industrial effluents and mine-influenced waters;
• Mineralogical characterization and transformation during treatment processes;
• Valorization and reuse of mineral-rich treatment residues, sludges, tailings, and by-products;
• Integration of mineral-enabled technologies into circular and low-carbon water systems.

Studies that combine experimental investigation, mechanistic insight, and process-oriented analysis are particularly encouraged.

Dr. Vitaly Gitis
Dr. Yuan Gao
Dr. Peng Huang
Dr. Xiangning Bu
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. Minerals 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 2400 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.