Remediation Technologies for Metal-Contaminated Soil and Wastewater

Dear Colleagues,

The international journal Sci is pleased to announce a Special Issue on Remediation Technologies for Metal-Contaminated Soil and Wastewater. It is widely recognized that intensive economic development aimed at enhancing human well-being leads to negative consequences for ecosystems. The ever-increasing demand for valuable metal-based raw materials causes the intensification of mining, processing, production and use, and ultimately leads to the often inappropriate disposal of end-of-life metal-containing products. In addition, inadequate wastewater treatment and discharge, as well as excessive use of fertilizers, further contribute to ecosystem degradation. Consequently, rainfall promotes the transfer of heavy metals into water bodies, soils and sediments. Besides the well-known highly toxic heavy metals, such as mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, chromium and nickel, attention is increasingly shifting toward emergent heavy metals, including lithium, cobalt, indium, gallium, thallium and antimony, due to their widespread use in electronic devices. Therefore, the development and implementation of environmentally sustainable in situ and ex situ physical, chemical, electrochemical, thermal and biological technologies is critical for contemporary environmental management. Environmental remediation requires interdisciplinary knowledge of environmental chemistry, environmental engineering, water, soil and sediment science and microbiology. Thus, addressing polluted ecosystems poses significant challenges, making the development of innovative remediation techniques a priority for the scientific community. Ultimately, appropriate strategic remediation measures aim to contribute to at least one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), highlighting the critical importance of water as a natural resource for all.

This Special Issue, "Remediation Technologies for Metal-Contaminated Soil and Wastewater", aims to provide a comprehensive platform for the latest advances in remediation technologies targeting metal-contaminated soil and wastewater. It focuses on innovative, sustainable and cost-effective treatment strategies, as well as fundamental studies that improve the understanding of metal behavior, transport and transformation in environmental media.

We welcome original experimental research articles, review papers and case studies that address both conventional and emerging remediation approaches. Contributions that integrate laboratory experiments, field applications, modeling and life cycle or risk assessments are particularly encouraged.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Physicochemical remediation technologies (e.g., adsorption, ion exchange, precipitation, membrane processes)
• Electrochemical remediation technologies
• Biological and nature-based solutions (e.g., phytoremediation, bioremediation, microbial processes)
• Soil washing, stabilization/solidification and immobilization techniques
• Integrated and hybrid remediation systems
• Advances in green sustainable remediation technologies
• Remediation of mining-impacted soils and industrial wastewater
• Nanomaterials and advanced functional materials for metal removal
• Use of green sustainable sorbents (zeolites, clays, waste-derived sorbents) for wastewater and soil treatment
• Treatment technologies for wastewater and groundwater
• Recovery and reuse of metals from contaminated matrices
• Field-scale applications, pilot studies and performance evaluation
• Environmental risk assessment and sustainability analysis of remediation technologies

This Special Issue seeks to bridge the gap between fundamental research and practical implementation, contributing to the development of effective strategies for mitigating metal contamination and protecting environmental and public health.

Dr. Marin Ugrina
Guest Editor

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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sci 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 1400 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.