Advances in Biological Organisms for Emerging Contaminant Removal and Clean Energy Generation

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2024) | Viewed by 1753

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Department of Chemistry and Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON, Canada
2. Department of Biological Sciences, M.Y. University, Islamabad, Pakistan
Interests: MFCs; environmental dimension of antimicrobial resistance; amplification assay development; microfluidics; clean energy; wastewater based epidemiology

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry and Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON, Canada
Interests: water and wastewater treatment technologies; emerging contaminant removal; bioremediation; antimicrobial resistance; viral epidemiology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The demand to tackle issues such as water scarcity, wastewater treatment, reuse, and energy production has driven intensive research efforts in this domain. Consequently, in recent years, there has been a growing interest in harnessing the capabilities of biological organisms for the dual purpose of contaminant removal and clean energy generation. This emerging field combines biotechnology, environmental science, microbiology, and energy engineering to develop innovative solutions for addressing environmental challenges while simultaneously producing sustainable energy resources.

Biological organisms, including microorganisms, algae, and higher plants, possess unique biochemical pathways and metabolic capabilities that can be harnessed for the degradation and removal of emerging contaminants from diverse environmental matrices. Simultaneously, these organisms have the potential to generate clean energy through processes such as photosynthesis, microbial fuel cells, and enzymatic reactions.

This Special Issue on "Advances in Biological Organisms for Emerging Contaminant Removal and Clean Energy Generation" invites contributions showcasing cutting-edge research in this interdisciplinary field. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Novel biological organisms for the degradation and removal of emerging contaminants from wastewater and other matrices;
  • Integration of biological organisms in wastewater treatment and environmental remediation;
  • Bioenergy generation through photosynthetic and microbial processes;
  • Enzymatic and metabolic pathways for emerging contaminant transformation;
  • Technological advancements in harnessing biological organisms for clean energy production including the latest BES configurations.

We encourage submissions that combine experimental investigations with theoretical models, as well as studies demonstrating the scalability and practical applicability of these innovative approaches. We would also welcome in-depth critical reviews, meta-analyses, and bibliometric studies on the relevant topics. This Special Issue aims to provide a platform for researchers and practitioners to exchange knowledge and foster collaborations in the pursuit of sustainable environmental and energy solutions.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Hassan Waseem
Prof. Dr. Kimberley Gilbride
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

  • bioremediation
  • microbial fuel cells
  • water and wastewater treatment
  • bioenergy production
  • sustainable environmental solutions
  • antibiotics
  • antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs)
  • microplastics

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 1376 KiB  
Article
Mitigation of Sugar Industry Wastewater Pollution: Efficiency of Lab-Scale Horizontal Subsurface Flow Wetlands
by Talmeez Ur Rehman, Hassan Waseem, Babar Ali, Abdul Haleem, Rameesha Abid, Safia Ahmed, Kimberley A. Gilbride and Mahwish Ali
Processes 2024, 12(7), 1400; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12071400 - 4 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1069
Abstract
Sugarcane accounts for around 80% of global sugar production. However, the sugar industry is known for producing significant amounts of organic wastewater with a high COD (5000–8000 mg/L) that severely pollutes the environment. A lab-scale trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of [...] Read more.
Sugarcane accounts for around 80% of global sugar production. However, the sugar industry is known for producing significant amounts of organic wastewater with a high COD (5000–8000 mg/L) that severely pollutes the environment. A lab-scale trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a horizontal subsurface flow wetland planted with Typha latifolia and Phragmites australis in removing pollutants from sugar industry wastewater. The wetland system was subjected to rigorous testing, operating at a high flow rate of 2.166 gallons per day and exposed to a high organic loading rate (3800 mg/L COD and 2470 mg/L BOD), as well as elevated levels of inorganic nitrogen, sulfate, and phosphate (100 mg/L, 80 mg/L, and 10 mg/L, respectively). Our findings indicate significant removal efficiencies, with the wetland system achieving removal rates of 88% for COD, 97% for BOD, 96% for total nitrogen, and 95% for sulfate. Remarkably, the system exhibited enhanced removal efficiency when exposed to domestic wastewater compared to tap water, owing to the abundance of microbial populations. Moreover, toxicity assessments conducted on the treated water revealed no adverse effects on the germination of wheat seeds and on the survival of fish over a week-long observation period. In conclusion, our study underscores the promising potential of horizontal subsurface flow wetlands as an effective and sustainable approach for mitigating the adverse environmental impacts associated with sugar industry wastewater. The findings offer valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders in devising strategies to promote environmental sustainability and safeguard vital ecosystems in the Sindh region of Pakistan and beyond. Full article
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