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Separations
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Advanced Functional Materials for Wastewater Treatment and Purification
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Advanced Functional Materials for Wastewater Treatment and Purification

A special issue of Separations (ISSN 2297-8739). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials in Separation Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2024) | Viewed by 12226

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Tengyao Jiang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, China
Interests: biomass-derived carbonaceous materials; solid waste thermal treatments; thermal responsive materials
Dr. Wei Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, China
Interests: heavy metal adsorption; seasonal characteristics of phosphorus sorption; sediment contamination control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The world’s water supplies have been contaminated due to large effluents containing toxic pollutants such as dyes, heavy metals, surfactants, personal care products, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals from agricultural, industrial, and municipal resources into water streams. As such, water contamination and its treatment have emerged as an escalating challenge globally. Amongst various wastewater treatment approaches, adsorption is considered as one of the most cost-effective methods, and it also has witnessed continuous development in the case of the advancements in novel materials as adsorbents. Preferably, an adsorbent should be provided with enough binding sites that can perform appropriate adsorption for pollutants, and the most commonly used conventional adsorbents for pollutants and dye elimination are silica, alumina, activated carbon, clay, metal oxides, titania, etc. However, the performances including adsorption capacity and adsorption selectivity of those materials should be improved for efficient removal of pollutants in wastewater. The breakthrough of materials science and engineering provides innovative solutions to adsorption and separation technology, and this can be addressed through material synthesis (i.e., metal-organic frameworks, low dimensional materials, hydrogels/aerogels, composite materials, etc.) and rational structure design (i.e., surface modification, elemental doping, structural functionalization, etc.).

Hence, this special issue is aiming to cover the latest research progress in the synthesis, characterizations and applications of advanced materials for adsorption and separation related to wastewater treatments and purifications. We look forward to receiving your contributions from all over the world.

Dr. Tengyao Jiang
Dr. Wei Huang
Guest Editors

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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. Separations 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 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

  • wastewater treatments
  • heavy metals
  • organic contaminants
  • porous materials
  • adsorption
  • composites

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 4911 KiB  
Article
Tannic Acid/Lysozyme-Assembled Loose Nanofiltration Membrane with Outstanding Antifouling Properties for Efficient Dye/Salt Separation
by Jianmao Yang, Xuzhao Yan, Shuai Liu, Mengchen Shi, Ying Huang, Fang Li and Xiaofeng Fang
Separations 2025, 12(5), 129; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations12050129 - 16 May 2025
Viewed by 108
Abstract
Precise separation and antifouling capabilities are critical for the application of membrane separation technology. In this work, we developed a multiplayer layer-by-layer assembly strategy to sequentially deposit tannic acid (TA) and lysozyme (Lys) onto polyethersulfone/iron (PES/Fe) ultrafiltration membrane substrates, enabling the simple and [...] Read more.
Precise separation and antifouling capabilities are critical for the application of membrane separation technology. In this work, we developed a multiplayer layer-by-layer assembly strategy to sequentially deposit tannic acid (TA) and lysozyme (Lys) onto polyethersulfone/iron (PES/Fe) ultrafiltration membrane substrates, enabling the simple and efficient fabrication of a biofouling-resistant loose nanofiltration (LNF) membrane with superior dye/salt separation performance. This approach fully leverages the multifunctionality of TA by exploiting its coordination with Fe3⁺ and non-covalent interactions with Lys. The obtained PES/Fe-TA-Lys LNF membrane exhibits a pure water flux of 57.5 L·m−2·h−1, along with exceptional dye rejection rates (98.3% for Congo Red (CR), 99.2% for Methyl Blue (MB), 98.4% for Eriochrome Black T (EBT), and 67.6% for Acid Orange 74 (AO74)) while maintaining minimal salt retention (8.2% for Na2SO4, 4.3% for MgSO4, 3.5% for NaCl, and 2.4% for MgCl2). The PES/Fe-TA-Lys LNF membrane also displays outstanding antifouling performance against bovine serum albumin (BSA), humic acid (HA), and CR, along with strong biofouling resistance against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) via synergistic anti-adhesion and biofilm inhibiting effects. This work presents a novel and scalable approach to fabricating biofouling-resistant LNF membranes, offering great potential for dye/salt separation in textile wastewater treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Functional Materials for Wastewater Treatment and Purification)
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13 pages, 3427 KiB  
Article
Preparation, Characterization, and Mechanism of SMS Titanium–Manganese Nanocomposite for Antimony Removal from Water
by Yannan Lv, Wenqing Wen, Shenrui Han, Kaixin Li, Ziyu Fu, Fansong Mu and Meng Luo
Separations 2025, 12(2), 38; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations12020038 - 6 Feb 2025
Viewed by 509
Abstract
This study investigates the synthesis of SMS-Ti-Mn (SMS-Ti-Mn stands for spent mushroom substrate activated carbon-Ti-Mn) nanocomposites and their application in removing the heavy metal antimony from water. In the process of antimony mining and smelting, the concentration of antimony in the waste residue [...] Read more.
This study investigates the synthesis of SMS-Ti-Mn (SMS-Ti-Mn stands for spent mushroom substrate activated carbon-Ti-Mn) nanocomposites and their application in removing the heavy metal antimony from water. In the process of antimony mining and smelting, the concentration of antimony in the waste residue can still reach as high as 80.5 mg/L. In addition, the soil in the electronic waste dismantling area is severely contaminated with antimony. In short, antimony enters the environment in various ways from mining, smelting, and manufacturing to the final waste process and continuously migrates in different environmental media, increasing the environmental exposure risk of antimony pollution. Single-factor experiments and response surface methodology were employed to determine the optimal conditions, including the adsorption time, pH, and solid–liquid ratio. Material characterization was performed to understand the role of nano-metals, and adsorption kinetics were analyzed using the quasi-first-order kinetic model. The research results revealed that the optimal conditions for antimony removal were an adsorption time of 40 min, a pH of 4, and a solid–liquid ratio of 2:1 (mg/mL). Under these conditions, the nanocomposites showed an adsorption capacity of 10.502 mg/g, which was 5.8 times higher than that of iron coagulants, 11 times higher than that of manganese-modified activated carbon, and 1.7 times higher than that of iron–manganese sludge adsorbents. Characterization revealed enhanced functional groups (carbonyl, Ti=O, Mn=O), contributing to improved adsorption. Kinetic analysis indicated physical adsorption as the dominant mechanism, and the regression model accurately predicted the adsorption capacity. SMS-Ti-Mn nanocomposites offer a promising strategy for treating antimony-contaminated water, with strong potential for practical applications in water treatment. They can decompose naturally after use, reduce secondary pollution, and promote ecological balance. Secondly, agricultural waste treated with heavy metal removal can be used as a fertilizer and soil amendment to improve soil quality and promote sustainable agricultural development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Functional Materials for Wastewater Treatment and Purification)
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14 pages, 2938 KiB  
Article
Study on Phosphorus Variability Characteristics and Response Mechanism of Microbial Community during Sediment Resuspension Process
by Bo Zhang, Yujia Liu, Haoran Yang, Peng Ji and Yunyan Guo
Separations 2024, 11(10), 297; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations11100297 - 14 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1194
Abstract
Submerged plants and related disturbances can affect both the phosphorus (P) release and the microbial communities in sediments. In this study, a sediment resuspension system was constructed, and P variability characteristics influenced by Vallisneria natans (V. natans) and the response mechanism [...] Read more.
Submerged plants and related disturbances can affect both the phosphorus (P) release and the microbial communities in sediments. In this study, a sediment resuspension system was constructed, and P variability characteristics influenced by Vallisneria natans (V. natans) and the response mechanism of the microbial community were studied. The results indicated that the total phosphorus (TP) content increased from 678.875 to 1019.133 mg/kg and from 1126.017 to 1280.679 mg/kg in sediments and suspended solids (SSs) during the sediment resuspension process, respectively. Organic P (OP) increased by 127.344 mg/kg and 302.448 mg/kg in sediments and SSs after the disturbance, respectively. The microbial communities in the sediments and the leaves of V. natans had higher Chao values after the disturbance, while Shannon values decreased after the disturbance compared to the control in SSs. Proteobacteria had the highest abundance with the value of 51.1% after the disturbance in the sediments and SSs, and the abundance values of Proteobacteria in rhizomes and leaves of V. natans could reach 73.2% on average. Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria, and Firmicutes were also the main phyla in the sediment resuspension system. Sodium hydroxide extractable P (NaOH-P) in sediments could reduce the bioavailability of this P fraction under disturbance conditions. The decrease in the abundance of Bacteroidetes and Nitrospirae indicated that they were more sensitive to the disturbance, and the rotational speed changed the survival conditions for the Bacteroidetes and Nitrospirae. The response mechanism of microbial community during the sediment resuspension process could reflect the influence of the microbial community on the changing characteristics of P and could provide a theoretical foundation for P control at the micro level. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Functional Materials for Wastewater Treatment and Purification)
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17 pages, 4962 KiB  
Article
Construction of High-Activity Nano-NiTiO3/g-C3N4 Composite Catalysts for Enhanced Photodegradation Activities under Visible Light
by Da Li, Zhan Yang, Kun Wang, Lan Zhang, Linglong Shi, Abdul Qadeer, Jiao Dong and Haoyu Ren
Separations 2024, 11(3), 77; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations11030077 - 1 Mar 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2174
Abstract
Nickel titanate (NiTiO3) semiconductors and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) have attracted great attention as photocatalysts in the degradation of environmental pollutants because of their visible-light-driven activity. But the utilizations of both semiconductors are limited by their low [...] Read more.
Nickel titanate (NiTiO3) semiconductors and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) have attracted great attention as photocatalysts in the degradation of environmental pollutants because of their visible-light-driven activity. But the utilizations of both semiconductors are limited by their low specific surface area. In this study, a nano-NiTiO3/g-C3N4 photocatalyst was successfully synthesized by optimizing the preparation method of photocatalyst precursors. Compared with the bulk g-C3N4 and bulk NiTiO3/g-C3N4 composite photocatalysts, the nano-NiTiO3/g-C3N4 composite catalyst displayed a larger specific surface area, a more abundant pore size structure, and superior carrier separation capabilities. According to the pseudo-first-order, the degradation rate of MB was more than 2.5–19.7 times higher than that of previous studies. The superoxide radicals (·O2−) and holes (h+) played significant roles in the photocatalytic reaction of MB. This study provides a new idea for the synthesis of photocatalysts and the improvement in photocatalytic performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Functional Materials for Wastewater Treatment and Purification)
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18 pages, 15774 KiB  
Article
Adsorption Properties and Mechanism of Copper Ions from Wastewater by Lessonia nigrescens and Lessonia nigrescens Residue
by Haoran Chen, Rui Zhang, Xiaohan Qu, Yuan Yuan, Bo Zhu, Shichao Zhao and Tengyao Jiang
Separations 2023, 10(11), 559; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10110559 - 5 Nov 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2979
Abstract
Given the advantages of readily availability, low cost, convenient operation, and large adsorption capacity, brown seaweed has been studied extensively as a biosorbent for heavy metal remediation from aqueous media. Herein, raw Lessonia nigrescens and brown seaweed residue, a waste product from the [...] Read more.
Given the advantages of readily availability, low cost, convenient operation, and large adsorption capacity, brown seaweed has been studied extensively as a biosorbent for heavy metal remediation from aqueous media. Herein, raw Lessonia nigrescens and brown seaweed residue, a waste product from the manufacturing of alginate from L. nigrescens, were employed as low-cost and renewable adsorption materials for effective copper removal in wastewater streams. The influences of temperature, sample loadings, adsorption time, initial metal ion concentrations, and pH on the efficiency of the metal ions adsorption process were investigated. The thermodynamics and kinetics of Cu (II) adsorption for both the raw seaweed and seaweed residue were studied in order to determine the maximum removal efficiency and capacity. The characterization of the seaweed and seaweed residue before and after copper adsorption with SEM, FTIR, EDS, etc., coupled with the thermodynamics study, confirmed the ion exchange mechanism involved in the adsorption process. Under optimal conditions, the removal efficiencies were 75% and 71% for L. nigrescens and seaweed residue, respectively, and the adsorption capacities can reach 12.15 mg/g and 9.09 mg/g within 10 min for L. nigrescens and seaweed residue, respectively. The slight reduction in removal efficiency was because the active ion exchange sites were partially removed during the alginate extraction. The comparable metal ion removal efficiency between raw seaweed and seaweed residue suggesting the L. nigrescens residue is viable as bio-adsorbent and potential for industrial applications in adsorption process. The results provided a novel way to upgrade seaweed biomass in a biorefinery concept. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Functional Materials for Wastewater Treatment and Purification)
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14 pages, 2710 KiB  
Article
Synthesis of Silica Gel Chelated with Alizarin and 1-Nitroso-2-Naphthol for Solid Phase Extraction of Lead in Ground Water Samples
by Sana M. Alahmadi and Salwa S. Aljuhani
Separations 2023, 10(10), 544; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10100544 - 19 Oct 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1916
Abstract
Silica gel chemically functionalized with alizarin (Si-AZ) and 1-nitroso-2-naphthol (Si-NN) was synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, N2 adsorption-desorption, SEM, and elemental analysis. The two chelators show adequate sorption properties for Pb (II) and are hence used as SPE sorbents prior to their [...] Read more.
Silica gel chemically functionalized with alizarin (Si-AZ) and 1-nitroso-2-naphthol (Si-NN) was synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, N2 adsorption-desorption, SEM, and elemental analysis. The two chelators show adequate sorption properties for Pb (II) and are hence used as SPE sorbents prior to their determination with ICP-MS. Both chelators showed high sorption efficiency for the Pb (II) ion at pH 8. Batch experiments demonstrate that the synthesized resins could remove more than 95% Pb (II) out of solutions containing 100 μg/mL of the ion. At optimum conditions, the maximum adsorption capacities for S-TDI-AZ and S-TDI-NN for Pb (II) were 9.56 and 9.43 mg/g, respectively. Method development was performed to investigate the applicability of the chelating resins as packing materials for SPE using model solutions and real groundwater samples. The method detection limits of SPE were 0.0025 and 0.0026 μg/L with high precision (R.S.D. < 3%). The recoveries of spiked Pb (II) with ground water were 104.70 and 102.62%. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of Pb (II) in the groundwater by ICP-MS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Functional Materials for Wastewater Treatment and Purification)
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17 pages, 5101 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Status Quo of Research on Heavy Metals in Rivers and Lakes Based on Bibliometrics
by Shuhang Wang, Yaran Zhang, Zhenghui Fu, Dong Shi, Yuanyi Wang, Dianhai Yang and Feifei Che
Separations 2023, 10(9), 490; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10090490 - 7 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2252
Abstract
Heavy metal pollution in rivers and lakes arising due to rapid economic development has been extensively studied by various countries due to its direct impact on ecological health and human well-being. However, there is a lack of comprehensive and systematic reviews addressing the [...] Read more.
Heavy metal pollution in rivers and lakes arising due to rapid economic development has been extensively studied by various countries due to its direct impact on ecological health and human well-being. However, there is a lack of comprehensive and systematic reviews addressing the current research status of this subject. In this study, we conducted a visual metrological analysis of the literature from 2001 to 2021 using the Web of Science (WoS) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) citation databases. The results show that studies conducted in other countries initially outnumbered those in China; after 2010, China emerged as the foremost contributor. Furthermore, both the WoS and CNKI databases indicate active engagement of Chinese researchers through a significant proportion of published papers on metal research, with prominent contributions coming from institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and University CAS. Nevertheless, Chinese research institutions still have relatively low total paper citation numbers and have yet to establish themselves as key players in international scientific research efforts. Additionally, core authors from different countries share substantial similarities in their research directions and focuses. Consistent research hotspots regarding heavy metals in rivers and lakes were identified across both databases, including heavy metal pollution, adsorption, human activities, water quality, and sediment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Functional Materials for Wastewater Treatment and Purification)
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