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Wastewater Treatment, Water Pollution and Sustainable Water Resources

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 3167

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 712000, China
Interests: water and wastewater treatment; AOPs; biological processes; membrane processes; resource recovery for circular economy and carbon neutrality; metallic catalysts and materials; micro-electrolysis
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water security is a defining challenge of the 21st century. Moving beyond conventional treatment goals, contemporary wastewater treatment approaches emphasize holistic solutions that address the entire water cycle. We seek contributions that explore innovative approaches to mitigating water pollution from diverse sources (including industrial discharge, agricultural runoff, municipal wastewater, and emerging contaminants) through effective treatment. Crucially, we aim to highlight strategies for transforming wastewater from a pollutant into a valuable resource, thereby reducing environmental burdens and enhancing water resource resilience. This includes advancements in resource recovery (water, energy, nutrients, materials), pollution prevention, and sustainable water management practices that minimize water consumption and its environmental footprint. This Special Issue, titled "Wastewater Treatment, Water Pollution and Sustainable Water Resources," focuses on the critical nexus between managing pollution sources, advancing treatment technologies, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of our water resources.

It welcomes Original Research, Reviews, Mini Reviews, and Perspectives on innovative technologies and strategies for wastewater treatment and sustainable water resource control. Potential themes include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Advanced and Sustainable Treatment Technologies: Innovations in physical, chemical, biological, and hybrid processes for removing conventional and emerging pollutants.
  • Pollution Source Control and Mitigation: Strategies for preventing or minimizing contamination at the source, including industrial pretreatment, agricultural best practices, and stormwater management.
  • Water Reuse and Resource Recovery: Technologies and frameworks for safe and efficient water reclamation, nutrient (N, P) recovery, energy harvesting (e.g., biogas, microbial fuel cells), and valorization of other recoverable materials.
  • Sustainable Water Resource Management: Integrated approaches for water conservation, aquifer recharge, nature-based solutions (e.g., constructed wetlands), and the adoption of circular economy principles in water management.
  • Monitoring, Risk Assessment, and Policy: Novel methods for detecting pollutants, assessing ecological and human health risks, and developing effective regulatory/policy frameworks for sustainable water governance.
  • Case Studies and Implementation Challenges: Real-world applications, performance evaluations, and analyses of barriers to/facilitators of the deployment of sustainable solutions across a diverse range of contexts (urban, industrial, agricultural).

Prof. Dr. Shihai Deng
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-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

  • wastewater treatment
  • water pollution
  • water reuse
  • resource recovery
  • consumption reduction
  • sustainable water resources
  • green technologies and processes
  • wastewater management

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 3162 KB  
Article
Towards Robust Partial Nitritation-Anammox in Hybrid MBBR-MBR: The Role of Aeration Control
by Kelin Li, Jiede Luo, Hao Su, Hua Lian, Yun Zhang, Zexiang Liu, Jian Zhang and Hongxiang Yin
Sustainability 2026, 18(8), 3963; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18083963 - 16 Apr 2026
Viewed by 381
Abstract
The stable application of Partial Nitritation-Anammox (PN-A) in municipal wastewater treatment is primarily hindered by the ineffective suppression of Nitrite-Oxidizing Bacteria (NOB). This study systematically evaluated PN-A stability by comparing a Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) with two distinct Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) configurations. Results [...] Read more.
The stable application of Partial Nitritation-Anammox (PN-A) in municipal wastewater treatment is primarily hindered by the ineffective suppression of Nitrite-Oxidizing Bacteria (NOB). This study systematically evaluated PN-A stability by comparing a Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) with two distinct Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) configurations. Results indicated that the SBR achieved superior performance through natural hydraulic selective washout, which efficiently eliminated NOB and fostered a robust AOB-AnAOB symbiotic biofilm. In contrast, MBRs were inherently susceptible to NOB proliferation due to their non-selective membrane retention. However, this study demonstrates that an intermittently aerated MBR (MBR-I) can effectively mitigate these disadvantages. By tailoring aeration control, the MBR-I successfully optimized the competitive kinetics for nitrite, suppressing NOB activity and achieving a robust total nitrogen removal rate (TNRR) of 76.38%. This work highlights that tailored aeration serves as a crucial synergistic strategy to bridge the inherent gap between membrane-based systems and conventional washout-driven reactors, providing a potential pathway for implementing PN-A within hybrid MBBR-MBR systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Treatment, Water Pollution and Sustainable Water Resources)
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14 pages, 3099 KB  
Article
Removal of Microplastics from Wastewater Treatment Plants by Coagulation
by Cheng Chen, Chaoyue Li, Zixuan Xin, Chang Cui and Guihua Xu
Sustainability 2026, 18(3), 1381; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18031381 - 30 Jan 2026
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 787
Abstract
Wastewater treatment plants represent an important point source of microplastics (MPs) entering aquatic environments, raising increasing concerns regarding ecosystem integrity and potential risks to human health. Improving the removal efficiency of MPs during wastewater treatment is therefore of both environmental and technological significance. [...] Read more.
Wastewater treatment plants represent an important point source of microplastics (MPs) entering aquatic environments, raising increasing concerns regarding ecosystem integrity and potential risks to human health. Improving the removal efficiency of MPs during wastewater treatment is therefore of both environmental and technological significance. Polyaluminum chloride (PAC), polyferric sulfate (PFS), and polyacrylamide (PAM) were applied to remove MPs by coagulation, with particular emphasis on the effects of PAM type (cationic, anionic, and non-ionic). The optimal removal efficiency achieved by PAC alone for polystyrene was 55.00 ± 3.54% at a dosage of 300 mg L−1, which increased significantly to 87.50 ± 1.87% with the addition of cationic PAM. Similarly, MPs removal by PFS increased from 33.75 ± 1.77% at 160 mg L−1 to 62.50 ± 3.53% when combined with cationic PAM. Overall, PAC-based coagulation exhibited higher MPs removal efficiency than PFS, and cationic PAM outperformed anionic and non-ionic PAM, likely attributable to electrostatic interactions with negatively charged MPs in wastewater systems. In addition, PAC/PAM coagulation enabled effective removal of multiple MPs types while simultaneously enhancing phosphate removal, highlighting its potential for the integrated control of MPs and phosphate pollution in wastewater systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Treatment, Water Pollution and Sustainable Water Resources)
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Review

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25 pages, 2281 KB  
Review
Material Design and Operation Strategy of the Electro-Fenton System for the Treatment of High Pollutant Load Wastewater
by Hong Ding, Qiqi Ma, Xiaoke Zhang, Chaoqi Wang, Na You and Shihai Deng
Sustainability 2025, 17(23), 10501; https://doi.org/10.3390/su172310501 - 24 Nov 2025
Viewed by 1687
Abstract
Electro-Fenton (EF) technology holds significant promise for degrading recalcitrant organic pollutants. Still, it faces distinct challenges in high-pollutant-load wastewater, including insufficient radical generation, electrode passivation, and mass transfer limitations. This review systematically organizes recent advances in material design and operational strategies to address [...] Read more.
Electro-Fenton (EF) technology holds significant promise for degrading recalcitrant organic pollutants. Still, it faces distinct challenges in high-pollutant-load wastewater, including insufficient radical generation, electrode passivation, and mass transfer limitations. This review systematically organizes recent advances in material design and operational strategies to address these issues. We highlight innovative cathode materials (e.g., graphene-based structures, carbon nanotubes, and metal–organic frameworks), stable anodes such as boron-doped diamond, and catalysts tailored for harsh conditions. Key operational improvements are discussed, including pH adaptability, current density optimization, and oxygen supply enhancement. The integration of hybrid systems, such as bio-electro-Fenton and photo-electro-Fenton, is also examined. Looking forward, future research for treating high-pollutant load wastewater should focus on: (1) Developing electrodes and catalysts with superior antifouling properties and long-term stability in high-strength, complex wastewaters; (2) Constructing intelligent control systems capable of real-time response to water quality fluctuations for adaptive parameter optimization; (3) Exploring energy-efficient, self-sustaining EF systems coupled with renewable energy sources or incorporating energy recovery units. This review aims to provide a comprehensive reference for subsequent research endeavors and practical applications related to the treatment technology of EF systems in high-pollutant-load wastewater contexts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Treatment, Water Pollution and Sustainable Water Resources)
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