Environmental Protection and Remediation Processes

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental and Green Processes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 194

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa 36570-900, Brazil
Interests: sustainable materials; advanced analytical methods; sample preparation

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina 64049550, Brazil
Interests: advanced analytical methods; sample preparation; green technologies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are inviting submissions for this Special Issue, which aims to bring together innovative research in the field of environmental protection and remediation. The focus will be on new materials, processes and analytical methodologies that contribute to pollutant mitigation and contaminant monitoring in various environmental matrices. We encourage studies that explore everything from the development of sustainable materials and advanced technologies for pollutant removal to accurate analytical methods for the detection and quantification of toxic substances. Papers that present applicable solutions to environmental challenges, including but not limited to remediation of water, contaminated soils, control of atmospheric emissions, as well as innovative approaches to environmental monitoring are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Jemmyson Romário de Jesus
Dr. Cícero Alves Lopes Junior
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 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. Processes 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.

Keywords

  • sustainable materials
  • pollutant monitoring
  • green technologies
  • environmental chemistry
  • advanced analytical methods
  • decontamination processes
  • environmental sensors
  • effluent treatment
  • sample preparation

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 3713 KiB  
Article
Tertiary Treatment of Pulp Industry Effluents Using Activated Biochar Derived from Biological Sludge Within a Circular Economy Framework
by Antonio Machado Netto, Marília Christian Gomes Morais Nascimento, Leonardo Souza de Caux, Marcela de Oliveira Brahim Cortez, José Pedro Rodrigues Ferreira, Keivison Almeida Monteiro and Renata Pereira Lopes Moreira
Processes 2025, 13(6), 1647; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13061647 - 23 May 2025
Abstract
The application of circular economy principles to the sustainable management of waste from the pulp industry presents significant environmental challenges. In this context, using biological sludge as a raw material for producing activated biochar (BC) emerges as a promising and sustainable alternative. This [...] Read more.
The application of circular economy principles to the sustainable management of waste from the pulp industry presents significant environmental challenges. In this context, using biological sludge as a raw material for producing activated biochar (BC) emerges as a promising and sustainable alternative. This study evaluated the valorization of biological sludge through the synthesis of activated BC for the removal of color, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and conductivity from the industry’s effluent. BC was produced using chemical activation with phosphoric acid (H3PO4) and potassium hydroxide (KOH), followed by pyrolysis at 500 °C and 450 °C, respectively. A central composite rotational design (CCRD) was applied to optimize the process. The optimized BCs were characterized by proximate analysis, FTIR, BET surface area, higher heating value (HHV), and SEM. Adsorption assays showed that H3PO4-activated BC achieved removal efficiencies of 52.2% for color, 23.9% for COD, and 46.2% for conductivity at a dosage of 5 g L⁻1. Conversely, KOH-activated BC did not perform effectively. The results highlight the influence of activation and pyrolysis on BC properties and confirm the potential of this approach for the tertiary treatment of industrial effluents, contributing to waste valorization and environmental sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Protection and Remediation Processes)
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