From Waste to Resource: Developing Materials for Effective Water Purification
A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental and Green Processes".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 6
Special Issue Editors
Interests: adsorption and water treatment
Interests: wastewater treatment; drinking water; adsorption; adsorbents; biomass; biodiesel; photochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: advance oxidation processes; water/wastewater treatment; adsorption; materials synthesis; bioadsorption; air and soil treatment; (photo) catalysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue aims to highlight recent scientific and technological advances that transform waste into valuable materials for efficient, sustainable, and scalable water purification. As global water scarcity intensifies and contamination profiles become increasingly complex, ranging from heavy metals and dyes to pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and PFAS, the need for affordable and eco-friendly treatment technologies is urgent. Converting waste biomass, agricultural residues, marine resources, industrial by-products, and plastic or polymer waste into functional materials is a promising pathway that aligns with circular-economy principles and low-carbon practices.
We welcome contributions covering the full development cycle of these materials, including innovative synthesis routes, green activation methods, surface functionalization, and material modification strategies that enhance adsorption, catalytic degradation, membrane separation, or sensing performance. Submissions integrating mechanistic insights, adsorption/kinetic modeling, dynamic breakthrough analysis, and mass-transfer evaluation are particularly encouraged, as they support the rational design of next-generation materials. Studies focusing on regeneration behavior, reusability, process intensification, techno-economic viability, and life-cycle assessment are also highly relevant to demonstrate practical deployment. Additionally, interdisciplinary works combining computational design, machine learning, pilot-scale systems, or hybrid treatment approaches (e.g., adsorption–photocatalysis or membrane–biomaterial integration) are welcome.
By gathering diverse perspectives from chemistry, materials science, biotechnology, environmental engineering, and process systems design, this Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive platform showcasing how waste-derived materials can evolve into robust, high-performance tools for tackling current and emerging water challenges, ultimately contributing to sustainable water security and responsible resource management.
Dr. Lázaro Adrián González-Fernández
Dr. Nahum Medellín-Castillo
Prof. Dr. Manuel Sánchez-Polo
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. Processes 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 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.
Keywords
- waste-derived materials
- water purification
- circular economy
- adsorption and biosorption
- advanced oxidation processes
- sustainable materials engineering
- biomass valorization
- emerging contaminants
- membrane technologies
- green synthesis
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