Natural Low-Cost Adsorbents in Water Purification 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 October 2025 | Viewed by 621

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, State University of Maringá, Parana 87020-900, Brazil
Interests: Adsorption; emerging contaminants; sustainability; water quality; membrane processes.

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, State University of Maringá, Parana 87020-900, Brazil
Interests: adsorption; emerging contaminants; sustainability; water quality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, State University of Maringá, Parana 87020-900, Brazil
Interests: adsorption; emerging contaminants; sustainability; water quality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Chemical Engineering, State University of Maringá, Parana 87020-900, Brazil
Interests: adsorption; emerging contaminants; sustainability; water quality

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water treatment is essential to ensure its quality and potability. Among the various techniques employed, adsorption has stood out as an efficient and economical alternative, especially when low-cost natural adsorbents are used. These materials, often derived from agro-industrial waste, biomass and abundant minerals, have a high capacity to remove contaminants, such as heavy metals, dyes and organic compounds. Among the most studied natural adsorbents are banana peels, sugarcane bagasse, sawdust, natural clays and coconut shells. These materials can be used in their natural state or can be modified to increase their adsorptive efficiency. Chemical or thermal modification can improve characteristics such as surface area and the presence of active functional groups, optimizing pollutant removal. The application of these adsorbents is a sustainable solution since, in addition to reducing water treatment costs, it promotes the reuse of waste and minimizes environmental impacts. Studies show that natural adsorbents are as effective as commercial materials and are a promising alternative for resource-poor regions. Ongoing research in this area seeks to improve the performance of these materials and expand their applicability on a large scale. 

We would like to invite all dear colleagues to join us in this special issue and we are looking forward to original research articles to compound this issue.

Dr. Leticia Nishi
Dr. Luis Fernando Cusioli
Dr. Rosângela Bergamasco
Guest Editors

Dr. Carolina Moser Paraíso
Guest Editor Assistant

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Keywords

  • adsorption
  • natural adsorbents
  • water treatment
  • low cost
  • sustainability
  • biomass
  • agro-industrial waste
  • alternative materials
  • heavy metals
  • organic pollutants
  • contaminant removal
  • natural clays
  • activated carbon
  • chemical modification
  • industrial effluents
  • waste reuse
  • filtration
  • water purification
  • porous materials
  • environmental impact

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

24 pages, 6924 KiB  
Article
Application of Ulva intestinalis Linnaeus Biomass-Derived Biosorbents for Eco-Friendly Removal of Metal Contaminants from Water
by Alaa M. Younis and Ghada M. Almutairi
Processes 2025, 13(6), 1928; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13061928 - 18 Jun 2025
Viewed by 471
Abstract
The study examines the biosorption potential of Ulva intestinalis (UI) and calcium oxide-modified Ulva intestinalis (CaO-UI) for the environmentally favorable removal of cadmium (Cd2+), nickel (Ni2+), and lead (Pb2+) from aqueous solutions. This research addresses the critical [...] Read more.
The study examines the biosorption potential of Ulva intestinalis (UI) and calcium oxide-modified Ulva intestinalis (CaO-UI) for the environmentally favorable removal of cadmium (Cd2+), nickel (Ni2+), and lead (Pb2+) from aqueous solutions. This research addresses the critical need for sustainable water treatment solutions by developing a green-synthesized biosorbent that combines renewable biomass with enhanced adsorption properties. The adsorption properties of the biomass were improved by preparing calcium oxide (CaO) using Ulva intestinalis extract by green synthesis. Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin isotherms were employed to model the results of adsorption experiments that were conducted under a variety of conditions, such as contact time, biosorbent dose, and initial metal ion concentration. Langmuir (R2 = 0.999) and Freundlich (R2 = 0.999) models both provided an exceptionally well-fitted model for the adsorption isotherms, suggesting a hybrid mechanism that integrates monolayer chemisorption at CaO-active sites and multilayer adsorption on the heterogeneous algal matrix. Key findings demonstrate that the maximum adsorption capacity (qm) of CaO-UI was substantially higher than that of UI, with values of 571.21 mg/g for Cd2+, 665.51 mg/g for Ni2+, and 577.87 mg/g for Pb2+, respectively, in comparison to 432.47 mg/g, 335.75 mg/g, and 446.65 mg/g for UI. The adsorption process was dominated by pseudo-second-order (PSO) chemisorption, as evidenced by kinetic studies (R2 = 0.949–0.993). CaO-UI exhibited substantially higher rate constants (k2 = 9.00–10.15 mg/mg·min) than raw UI (k2 = 4.72–5.71 mg/mg·min). The green synthesis of calcium oxide has resulted in an increase in surface area, porosity, and functional group density, which is responsible for the enhanced performance of CaO-UI. The adsorption efficacy of Pb2+ was the highest, followed by Cd2+ and Ni2+, which was indicative of the differences in metal ion affinity and hydration energy. These results underscore the potential of CaO-UI as a biosorbent that is both cost-effective and sustainable for the removal of heavy metals in wastewater treatment applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Low-Cost Adsorbents in Water Purification Processes)
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