Dear Colleagues,

The continuous widespread technological progress and industrial expansion over the last several decades has been accompanied with the serious environmental problem of water pollution. The pollution of water is related to the uncontrollable contamination of water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater by a plethora of substances/pollutants that can be harmful for humans, as well as for flora and fauna, even at very low concentration. For example, heavy metals/metalloids can accumulate in living organisms, causing permanent cell damage and disorders leading to disease and even death. The unmanageable disposal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) to water bodies can cause serious ecotoxicological problems and pose extraordinary threats to ecosystems or organisms. Microplastics are a class of emerging pollutants that generate severe environmental issues because of their small size, unique morphology, and enhanced chemical heterogeneity, but above all due to their stability and ability to act as pollutant carriers.

Environmental protection is regarded as key in the design and development of a sustainable future, and hence the attention of researchers and the public is concentrated on novel remediation approaches. Intense emphasis is placed on the removal of heavy metals, PPCPs, MPs, and other pollutants from water and wastewater. The diverse composition of the polluted water bodies, and of industrial wastewater, requires a variety of treatment methods. Heavy metal ions are most often removed by the precipitation of their hardly soluble compounds. Ion exchange and sorption methods are also widely used. Sorption is an effective method for the removal of emerging contaminants and heavy metals from water and wastewater. Sorbents derived from discarded biomass, wastes and other feedstocks are widely studied for the treatment of contaminated water, since this material development strategy is within the framework of sustainable (bio)economy. Additionally, biodegradation and catalytic degradation methods are receiving attention for the removal of PPCPs and MPs. Therefore, the research and development of novel and efficient materials for environmental remediation applications, and especially for the removal of pollutants from water bodies, remains an active field of research.  

This Special Issue aims to contribute both towards the search for new methods beyond sorption, biodegradation and catalytic degradation, and to present new materials for effective (waste)water treatment and purification.

We especially welcome works which address emerging pollutants or compounds which are not broadly studied. We encourage the publication of scientific articles, critical reviews, and case studies relevant to the context above, and which generally fall within the field of modern environmental remediation applications.

Dr. Yongchang Sun
Dr. Dimitrios Giannakoudakis
Guest Editors

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• wastewater
• adsorption
• biodegradation
• catalytic degradation
• photocatalysis
• heavy metal
• emerging contaminant
• biosorbent
• mechanism

• Wastewater Treatments Based on Adsorption, Catalysis, Biodegradation, and Beyond II in Molecules (4 articles)