Sustainable Solutions for Wastewater Treatment: Innovations and Applications
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Chemical Engineering and Technology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 26 November 2025 | Viewed by 79
Special Issue Editors
Interests: wastewater treatment and sustainable water management; water-energy nexus; resource recovery and utilization; membrane technology
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
With growing global concerns over water scarcity, environmental pollution, and the sustainable management of natural resources, the development of efficient and eco-friendly wastewater treatment technologies has become a critical area of research. Conventional treatment processes, while widely adopted, often face limitations in terms of energy consumption, secondary pollution, and limited adaptability to emerging contaminants such as microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and antibiotic resistance genes. As a result, there is an urgent need for innovative, cost-effective, and sustainable solutions to enhance the treatment and reuse of wastewater in various sectors.
This Special Issue aims to provide a platform for researchers, engineers, and practitioners to share recent advances, practical applications, and theoretical insights into sustainable wastewater treatment. In alignment with the journal’s mission to promote environmental, social, and economic sustainability, this Issue emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches that integrate technological innovation, environmental assessment, and resource optimization. By fostering dialogs between academia, industry, and policy-makers, this Special Issue seeks to promote holistic and actionable strategies that address current wastewater treatment challenges and support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals—particularly Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and Goal 13 (Climate Action).
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Emerging low-carbon treatment technologies, such as solar interfacial evaporation, bioelectrochemical systems, and algae-based treatment;
- Advanced materials and hybrid processes for enhanced pollutant removal;
- Life cycle assessment (LCA) and carbon footprint analysis of treatment processes;
- Resource recovery approaches, including nutrient reclamation, energy recovery, and rare element extraction;
- Nature-based and decentralized systems tailored for under-served or rural regions;
- Engineering applications such as pilot-scale studies, field demonstrations, and techno-economic evaluations.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Peng Tang
Dr. Wancen Xie
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. 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
- sustainable wastewater treatment
- low-carbon treatment technologies
- solar interfacial evaporation
- resource recovery
- life cycle assessment (LCA)
- carbon footprint analysis
- advanced materials for water treatment
- decentralized water treatment systems
- pilot-scale and field applications
- circular economy in water management
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
