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Sustainability
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Geopolymers and Composite Geopolymeric Materials for Environmental Pollution
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Geopolymers and Composite Geopolymeric Materials for Environmental Pollution

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Pollution Prevention, Mitigation and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 995

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Alessio Occhicone

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Research Council, Institute of Sciences and Technologies for Sustainable Energy and Mobility, CNR-STEMS, Via Marconi 4, 80125 Napoli, Italy
Interests: nanomaterials; sorbent materials; polymers; hybrid materials; green chemistry; life cycle assessment; geopolymers; alkali-activated materials; inorganic chemistry; carbonaceous nanoparticles; chemical processes
Dr. Assunta Campanile

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical, Materials and Production Engineering (DICMaPI), University of Naples Federico II, Piazzale V. Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy
Interests: zeolite; geopolymers; environmental application; geopolymer–zeolite composites; ceramic foams; inorganic pigments; plaster; autoclaved aerated concrete; gypsum; lightweight aggregates
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Focus:
Across the globe, industrialization and urbanization have greatly increased environmental pollution; hence, the need for sustainable and efficient materials that can combat pollutants is greater than ever. In this Special Issue, geopolymers and composite geopolymeric materials have been explored for the adsorption of pollutants from environmental media as one of their greatest applications. This Special Issue aims to identify new directions and revise the existing technologies for more effective pollution control based on alkali-activated materials and their derivatives.

Scope:
This Special Issue will investigate the use of geopolymer-based materials for air and water pollution control, covering the development of a new class of alkali-activated materials, studies on their adsorption properties, and their optimization for real-world applications. It also seeks to attract comparative studies and environmental impact assessments (LCAs) of other adsorbents while suggesting innovative strategies for the regeneration and reuse of such materials. The scope goes beyond traditional boundaries and encompasses interdisciplinary research areas that intersect material science, environmental engineering, and sustainability studies, offering a holistic assessment of the role played by geopolymers in mitigating pollution.

Topics covered include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Development and characterization of geopolymer and alkali-activated materials.
  • Adsorption mechanisms and pollutant removal efficiency of geopolymer-based adsorbents.
  • Application of geopolymers in air and water purification systems.
  • Surface modification and functionalization of geopolymer materials for enhanced performance.
  • Regeneration, reuse, and lifecycle analysis (LCA) of geopolymer adsorbents.
  • Comparative studies of geopolymers versus conventional adsorbents (e.g., activated carbon or zeolites).
  • Industrial-scale implementation and process optimization of geopolymer-based pollution control systems.
  • Environmental, economic, and sustainability assessments of geopolymer technologies.
  • Novel analytical methods and modeling approaches for geopolymer performance evaluation.
  • Integration of geopolymer materials in circular economy and waste valorization strategies.

Purpose:
In recent years, several studies have been conducted on various aspects related to the field of environmental pollution control. One of the objectives is to inform the public about new findings concerning geopolymers' adsorption. Another aim is to identify potential uses of geopolymer-based materials in different environmental contexts to contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development goals. High-quality papers will also help readers understand better ways for society to adopt sustainable approaches aimed at reducing pollution.

Dr. Alessio Occhicone
Dr. Assunta Campanile
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 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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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

  • geopolymers
  • alkali-activated materials
  • geopolymer-based composites
  • adsorption
  • environmental pollution
  • sustainable materials
  • water treatment
  • air purification
  • soil remediation
  • hybrid adsorbents
  • multi-adsorbent process

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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26 pages, 7487 KB  
Article
Is Landfill Waste Compatible with Geopolymer Matrix in Extreme Environments?
by Zahedul Islam, Wahid Ferdous and Allan Manalo
Sustainability 2026, 18(5), 2576; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18052576 - 6 Mar 2026
Viewed by 403
Abstract
The implementation of Australia’s 2024 waste export ban has increased pressure on domestic recycling systems, resulting in an additional 650,000 tonnes of waste annually. This emphasises the urgent need for high volume landfill waste material recovery, especially in sustainable construction materials such as [...] Read more.
The implementation of Australia’s 2024 waste export ban has increased pressure on domestic recycling systems, resulting in an additional 650,000 tonnes of waste annually. This emphasises the urgent need for high volume landfill waste material recovery, especially in sustainable construction materials such as geopolymer concrete (GPC). Geopolymer concrete is recognised as a sustainable construction material; however, the scientific understanding of the compatibility between landfill waste and the geopolymer matrix, particularly under harsh environments, remains unknown. This paper presents an experimental investigation on five types of geopolymer concrete (GPC) mixes. The study included a control mix with natural stone chips and four additional mixes in which stone chips were 100% replaced with waste materials including shredded plastic, cardboard, crushed glass, and granular crumb rubber as fine aggregates. The mechanical performance, durability behaviour and stress-strain characteristics of these mixes were evaluated. Concrete samples were exposed to normal air, a saline environment with 10% salinity, and a hygrothermal environment at 60 °C and 98% humidity for four months to assess durability performance. The results demonstrate that GPC is compatible with landfill waste aggregates and enables the production of a workable mixture. As a result of saline environments, waste aggregate-based geopolymer concrete reduces compressive strength by 15%, while natural stone chips-based geopolymer concrete decreases strength by 45% during the same period, indicating that waste aggregates are more appropriate than natural aggregates in marine environments. Although the inclusion of waste aggregates reduces the strength and stiffness of the GPC, the materials continue to meet the mechanical property requirements for non-structural applications. A theoretical model considering the elastic modulus, ultimate strength and corresponding strain has been developed to predict compressive stress–strain behaviour of waste-based GPC. High modulus aggregates, typically ranging from approximately 10.0 GPa to 85.0 GPa such as stone chips and glass sand demonstrate parabolic stress–strain behaviour. In contrast low modulus aggregates, generally ranging from 1.0 GPa to 5.0 GPa including plastic, cardboard, and crumb rubber, exhibit a bilinear stress–strain response. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geopolymers and Composite Geopolymeric Materials for Environmental Pollution)
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Review

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39 pages, 13703 KB  
Review
Geopolymers as Multifunctional Adsorbents for Wastewater Treatment: Advances in Functionalization Strategies
by Alessio Occhicone and Assunta Campanile
Sustainability 2026, 18(11), 5570; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18115570 - 1 Jun 2026
Viewed by 340
Abstract
Geopolymers, alkali-activated aluminosilicate materials, have gained increasing attention as sustainable adsorbents for wastewater treatment due to their low-temperature synthesis, cost-effectiveness, and ease of shaping into mechanically robust structures. Their intrinsic negatively charged framework promotes the adsorption of cationic species; however, pristine geopolymers typically [...] Read more.
Geopolymers, alkali-activated aluminosilicate materials, have gained increasing attention as sustainable adsorbents for wastewater treatment due to their low-temperature synthesis, cost-effectiveness, and ease of shaping into mechanically robust structures. Their intrinsic negatively charged framework promotes the adsorption of cationic species; however, pristine geopolymers typically exhibit moderate performance, with adsorption capacities generally below ~70 mg g−1 for dyes such as methylene blue (MB) and in the range of 20–100 mg g−1 for divalent metal ions. To overcome these limitations, different strategies have been developed to tailor their pore structure and surface chemistry. In particular, foaming approaches enable the production of highly porous materials with tunable pore architecture, improving mass transfer and accessibility of active sites. Moreover, functionalization with carbon-based materials (e.g., activated carbon, graphene derivatives, biochar) or zeolitic phases significantly enhances adsorption performance, with reported capacities exceeding 500 mg g−1 for Pb2+ and up to 450 mg g−1 for organic dyes in optimized systems. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in geopolymer synthesis, pore engineering, and functionalization strategies, highlighting the relationships between composition, structure, and adsorption performance. Particular attention is devoted to the comparison between carbon-based and zeolitic modifications, as well as to the role of material shaping in enabling practical applications. Overall, the combination of tunable porosity, chemical versatility, and structural integrity positions functionalized geopolymers as promising candidates for the development of scalable and multifunctional adsorbents for wastewater remediation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geopolymers and Composite Geopolymeric Materials for Environmental Pollution)
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