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Polymers
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Challenges and Opportunities in Natural and Synthetic Polymers for Wastewater...
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Challenges and Opportunities in Natural and Synthetic Polymers for Wastewater Treatment

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2025) | Viewed by 2332

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Daniela Suteu

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Organic, Biochemical and Food Engineering, ‘Cristofor Simionescu’ Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Environment Protection, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, 73 D. Mangeron Blvd., 700050 Iasi, Romania
Interests: adsorption; biosorption; natural/synthetic adsorbents; wastewater treatment; chemical pollutants; organic dyes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Wastewater treatment is one solution to water scarcity. Natural and synthetic polymers have been extensively applied in wastewater management due to their non-toxicity, economic viability, widespread availability, renewability, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Researchers across various disciplines are developing advanced materials by enhancing the functionality, combination, or modification of polymers to remove contaminants from water, including heavy metals, organic pollutants, dyes, and pharmaceutical residues. These materials also play a crucial role in facilitating the recycling of materials and improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the treatment process.

This Special Issue aims to discuss the application of polymeric materials in wastewater treatment, highlighting the challenges and opportunities present in current research.

Prof. Dr. Daniela Suteu
Guest Editor

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. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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

  • natural polymeric (nano)materials
  • synthetic polymeric (nano)materials
  • polymeric blends, hybrids or (nano)composites
  • molecularly imprinted polymers
  • membrane filtration
  • adsorption
  • coagulation
  • flocculation
  • ion exchange
  • pollutant removal
  • wastewater management

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3426 KiB  
Article
Eco-Friendly Biosorbents from Biopolymers and Food Waste for Efficient Dye Removal from Wastewater
by Alexandra Cristina Blaga, Ramona Cimpoesu, Ramona-Elena Tataru-Farmus and Daniela Suteu
Polymers 2025, 17(3), 291; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17030291 - 23 Jan 2025
Viewed by 915
Abstract
Chitosan-based biosorbents are particularly valuable in environmental applications, such as wastewater treatment for contaminant removal. However, several challenges remain in optimizing their production and performance related to improving adsorption efficiency, stability, scalability, cost, and sustainable sourcing for large-scale applications. The removal of Methylene [...] Read more.
Chitosan-based biosorbents are particularly valuable in environmental applications, such as wastewater treatment for contaminant removal. However, several challenges remain in optimizing their production and performance related to improving adsorption efficiency, stability, scalability, cost, and sustainable sourcing for large-scale applications. The removal of Methylene Blue (MB) and Orange 16 (O16) from aqueous solutions was studied using a biosorbent derived from the waste biomass of the brewing industry, specifically Saccharomyces pastorianus immobilized into chitosan. The biosorbent (obtained by a straightforward entrapment technique) was characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDAX) to evaluate its structural properties. The biosorption behavior toward organic contaminants, specifically a cationic and an anionic dye, was investigated. Key operational factors that influenced the biosorbent’s efficiency were examined, including the initial dye concentration, dye type, pH of the aqueous solution, and the amount of biosorbent used. These factors were evaluated during the initial stage of the biosorption studies to assess their impact on the overall performance and effectiveness of the biosorbent in removing the dyes from aqueous solutions. Using this eco-friendly biosorbent, the biosorption capacities obtained using the Langmuir isotherm model were 212.77 mg/g in the case of MB dye and 285.71 mg/g in the case of O16 mg/g, and the results confirmed that the biosorption process is based on a physical mechanism as suggested by the energy values of the process, E, obtained using the DR model: the obtained values of 6.09 kJ/mol (MB dye) and 7.07 kJ/mol (O16 dye) suggest a process based on electrostatic interaction bonds. These results indicate that residual biomass of Saccharomyces pastorianus, as a byproduct of a biotechnological process, can be exploited as a biosorbent by immobilization in an organic matrix (chitosan) for the retention of polluting organic species from the aqueous environment present in aqueous solutions in moderate concentrations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges and Opportunities in Natural and Synthetic Polymers for Wastewater Treatment)
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15 pages, 5319 KiB  
Article
Hydrophobic Ti3C2Tx/TEMPO Oxidized Cellulose Nanofibers Composite Aerogel for Efficient Oil-Water Separation
by Yaqing Guo, Juncheng Zhang, Siyuan Wang, Xiyue Li, Yuanyuan Miao, Jing Zhou and Zhenbo Liu
Polymers 2025, 17(3), 273; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17030273 - 22 Jan 2025
Viewed by 903
Abstract
To address the pollution issues of industrial oily wastewater and catering industry wastewater, a series of Ti3C2Tx/TEMPO oxidized cellulose nanofibers composite aerogels with varying Ti3C2Tx content were successfully prepared using liquid nitrogen [...] Read more.
To address the pollution issues of industrial oily wastewater and catering industry wastewater, a series of Ti3C2Tx/TEMPO oxidized cellulose nanofibers composite aerogels with varying Ti3C2Tx content were successfully prepared using liquid nitrogen non-directional and directional freezing methods, with Ti3C2Tx and TEMPO oxidized cellulose nanofibers (TOCNF) as the main raw materials. The prepared samples were then hydrophobically modified using methyltrichlorosilane (MTCS) via chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The results showed that the directional Ti3C2Tx/TOCNF composite aerogel had the most orderly SEM morphology. The hydrophobic Ti3C2Tx/TOCNF composite aerogels exhibited efficient adsorption separation capabilities, with an adsorption capacity ranging from 21.5 to 78.2 times their own mass. Notably, the oil absorption performance was optimal when the mass fraction of Ti3C2Tx was 33.3%. After five adsorption cycles, the adsorption capacity of M5C10 (with a mass ratio of Ti3C2Tx to TOCNF of 5:10) only decreased by around 11%. M5C10 exhibits highly efficient oil absorption performance, which is of considerable significance for the research on oil-water separation treatment of industrial wastewater, domestic wastewater, and sewage from the catering industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges and Opportunities in Natural and Synthetic Polymers for Wastewater Treatment)
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