Adsorption/Degradation for Environmental Pollutants

A special issue of Separations (ISSN 2297-8739). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Separations".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 January 2027 | Viewed by 1397

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
College of Ecology and Environment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Interests: environmental behavior of emerging contaminants; solid waste treatment and resource recovery technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Ecology and Environment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Interests: AOP; water treatment; photocatalysis; eletrocatalysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue advances research on sorption and degradation of pollutants across water, air and soil. The scope covers conventional contaminants and new pollutants that have emerged in recent years, including heavy metals, dyes, volatile organic compounds, per and polyfluoroalkyl substances, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, micro- and nano-plastics and antibiotic resistance determinants. We seek contributions that clarify mechanisms and inform robust and scalable technologies.

Core themes include adsorption from molecular understanding to process design. We welcome studies on the creation and functional tuning of high-efficiency adsorbents, thermodynamics and kinetics of uptake, selectivity in complex matrices and strategies for regeneration and long-term durability that enable circular use. Degradation is equally central, with emphasis on catalytic and photocatalytic routes, advanced oxidation and reduction processes, enzymatic catalysis and microbial pathways that transform pollutants into benign products.

Suggested topics

  1. Sorption mechanisms and selectivity for conventional and emerging pollutants in water, air and soil
  2. Design, functionalization, regeneration and durability of high-performance adsorbents linked to capacity and kinetics
  3. Chemical and biological degradation pathways, including advanced oxidation and reduction, photocatalysis, enzymatic and microbial routes, with transformation product and toxicity analysis
  4. Integrated capture and convert systems that couple sorption with in situ degradation, including catalytic adsorbents and reactive membranes
  5. Competitive sorption, mass transfer and kinetics in realistic matrices
  6. Multi-scale characterization and modeling of sorption and degradation, including in situ and operando spectroscopy and DFT.

Dr. Xiaoying Guo
Dr. Jie Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 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

  • pollutant separation
  • sorption mechanisms
  • chemical and biological degradation
  • environmental remediation
  • environmental pollution control

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 3130 KB  
Article
Efficient Removal of Oxytetracycline by Fe/N Co-Doped Biochar Derived from Fava Bean Straw: Performance and Mechanisms
by Xinyu Dong, Yu Zhang, Xinyi Zhang, Yaping Xu, Haitao Zhao, Nan Jiang, Lijun Meng and Shengyang Zheng
Separations 2026, 13(3), 96; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations13030096 - 18 Mar 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 287
Abstract
To efficiently remove oxytetracycline (OTC) pollution from water bodies, this study utilized fava bean straw as a precursor to synthesize iron-nitrogen (Fe/N) co-doped biochar via pyrolysis. By regulating the synthesis ratio of iron and nitrogen, the material’s adsorption performance was optimized. The adsorption [...] Read more.
To efficiently remove oxytetracycline (OTC) pollution from water bodies, this study utilized fava bean straw as a precursor to synthesize iron-nitrogen (Fe/N) co-doped biochar via pyrolysis. By regulating the synthesis ratio of iron and nitrogen, the material’s adsorption performance was optimized. The adsorption characteristics and mechanisms of OTC were systematically investigated. The findings reveal that when the proportion of iron to nitrogen is set at 1:3, the adsorption efficacy reaches its peak. Moreover, this material demonstrates outstanding reusability characteristics. The outcomes of kinetic fitting suggest that the adsorption procedure adheres to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model (R2 = 0.967), primarily characterized by chemisorption. The isothermal adsorption data better fit the Langmuir model (R2 = 0.9984), with a theoretically attainable upper-limit adsorption capacity reaching 666.13 mg/g. This signifies the occurrence of monolayer adsorption, while the adsorption procedure constitutes an endothermic reaction. Based on characterization and mechanistic analysis, it can be concluded that the adsorption mechanism of Fe1N3KBC on OTC mainly involves π-π stacking interactions and chelation reactions. The Fe/N co-doped biochar prepared in this present research features readily available raw materials and a simple preparation process, combining high adsorption efficiency with excellent stability. It provides a novel technical paradigm for developing environmentally friendly adsorbents to address antibiotic pollution in water bodies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adsorption/Degradation for Environmental Pollutants)
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