Removal of Pollutants by Adsorption Technologies

Dear Colleagues,

The existing remediation methodologies for the removal of metals or organics are oxidation, coagulation and flocculation, precipitation, ion exchange, membrane filtration, ozone oxidation and bioremediation. Most of the methods involve the production of highly contaminated sludge and high maintenance costs or the use of a relatively expensive mineral matrix that offsets the performance and efficiency advantages. Adsorption has largely emerged as significant technology for removing harmful substances from water or soil.

Charcoal, activated carbon and biochar are three forms of carbon that have a lot of common properties, with very similar composition and method of production. Important physicochemical properties of the aforementioned forms of coal have favorable pH values, great water-holding capacity and low values of bulk density. Additionally, the presence of substantial amounts of plant nutrients renders them into potential soil amelioratives for effectively immobilizing PTEs in contaminated soils. There are two parameters for an effective in situ remediation technology: firstly, the induced changes of chemical speciation and of physicochemical state of contaminants, and secondly, the embodiment of amendments in polluted soils.

Elevated concentrations of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are known to have adverse effects on the aquatic environment due to their high toxicity and long persistence. Several treatment methods have been used to remove these pollutants from water such as ion exchange/adsorption, biodegradation, photocatalysis oxidation, chemical precipitation, membrane filtration and electrochemical techniques. Of these, adsorption is the most cost-effective, simple, flexible and efficient process. In addition, it produces minimum chemical or biological sludge and the adsorbent can be regenerated and reused which leads to a more cost-effective process.

This Special Issue is organized into three sections:

• Section 1— Advanced activated carbon preparation technology and activated carbon with strong adsorption capacity;
• Section 2—Activated carbon as potential material for heavy metal removal from wastewater or soil;
• Section 3—Activated carbon adsorption kinetics and in situ soil remediation techniques.

Dr. Hongyu Zhao
Dr. Jun Chen
Dr. Qiang Song
Dr. Lihui Gao
Dr. Jihui Li
Guest Editors

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