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Advanced Technologies in Water and Wastewater Treatment
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Advanced Technologies in Water and Wastewater Treatment

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Wastewater Treatment and Reuse".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 February 2026) | Viewed by 21992

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Achisa Cleophas Mecha

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Interests: water and wastewater treatment; membrane separation; adsorption; advanced oxidation processes; nanotechnology; environmental impact assessment; water–energy nexus
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As global water scarcity, pollution, and environmental degradation continue to escalate, there is an urgent need for sustainable, efficient, and cost-effective methods to treat and reuse water. This Special Issue on “Advanced Technologies in Water and Wastewater Treatment” provides an opportunity to showcase the innovative solutions and emerging technologies that are reshaping the landscape of water and wastewater treatment. It covers a diverse range of cutting-edge technologies, including advanced filtration systems, membrane technologies, nanomaterials, advanced oxidation processes, electrochemical processes, catalytic processes, and biological treatments. It also welcomes submissions exploring novel approaches in resource recovery, such as nutrient and energy extraction, and the integration of smart monitoring systems for real-time performance optimization. By presenting recent advancements in these fields, it aims to foster knowledge exchange, inspire interdisciplinary collaborations, and drive the development of solutions that can meet the growing demands for safe, clean water and the protection of aquatic ecosystems.

Dr. Achisa Cleophas Mecha
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. Water 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 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

  • water and wastewater treatment
  • advanced oxidation processes
  • membrane separation
  • electrochemical processes
  • nanotechnology
  • desalination
  • water quality monitoring
  • water reuse

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1344 KB  
Article
Evaluating the Feasibility of Two Reduced Sulfur Compounds as Energy Sources and Electron Donors for Partial Autotrophic Denitrification: Thiocyanate and Sulfite
by Guihua Xu, Chang Cui, Yanping Zhang, Zixuan Xin and Chaoyue Li
Water 2026, 18(6), 705; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18060705 - 17 Mar 2026
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 525
Abstract
Autotrophic denitrification using sulfur compounds is considered an alternative to heterotrophic denitrification for the treatment of organic carbon-deficient wastewaters. However, the stoichiometric characteristics of denitrification using different sulfur species, particularly thiocyanate (SCN−) and sulfite (SO32−), remain poorly understood. [...] Read more.
Autotrophic denitrification using sulfur compounds is considered an alternative to heterotrophic denitrification for the treatment of organic carbon-deficient wastewaters. However, the stoichiometric characteristics of denitrification using different sulfur species, particularly thiocyanate (SCN−) and sulfite (SO32−), remain poorly understood. Here, partial autotrophic denitrification driven by thiocyanate or sulfite was studied in two batch reactors. The stoichiometry of thiocyanate-oxidizing denitrification was assessed based on valence and ultimate product analysis. No nitrate removal was observed in the sulfite-fed system, indicating that sulfite could not serve as an effective electron donor for autotrophic denitrification under the tested conditions. In contrast, simultaneous removal of SCN− and NO3− was achieved in the thiocyanate-fed system, with removal efficiencies of 100% and 92.5 ± 3.6%, respectively. After 36 h, total nitrogen removal reached 63.3%, with nitrite identified as the dominant intermediate product (26.7%). NO2− and NH4+ accumulated during the process could be further removed through anaerobic ammonium oxidation. Thiocyanate sulfur was primarily oxidized to sulfate via elemental sulfur as a transient intermediate. These findings provide a theoretical basis for applying thiocyanate-driven partial autotrophic denitrification to nitrogen removal from industrial wastewaters, particularly those generated via coal gasification and cyanide-utilizing gold mining processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies in Water and Wastewater Treatment)
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12 pages, 1645 KB  
Article
Study on Improving the Purification Function of Constructed Wetlands with Construction Waste Substrates by Acid–Base Substrate Configuration
by Ying Cai, Yumei Gu, Miao Zhang, Ying Wei, Rixiu Zhou and Dehua Zhao
Water 2026, 18(1), 69; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18010069 - 25 Dec 2025
Viewed by 792
Abstract
Construction and demolition waste, when used as the substrates of constructed wetlands, provide notable environmental benefits: purification performances and substantial economic advantages compared with conventional substrates such as gravels. However, the high effluent pH induced by waste concrete severely restricts its practical application [...] Read more.
Construction and demolition waste, when used as the substrates of constructed wetlands, provide notable environmental benefits: purification performances and substantial economic advantages compared with conventional substrates such as gravels. However, the high effluent pH induced by waste concrete severely restricts its practical application in such systems. The body of research focused on overcoming this limitation is rather limited. To address this limitation, this study proposed a strategy based on the configurations of acid alkaline substrates. A pilot-scale vertical flow constructed wetland experiment was carried out to evaluate the feasibility of this approach through three treatments: (1) waste concrete alone (Concrete), (2) waste concrete as the upper layer combined with perlite (an acidic substrate (Concrete + Perlite)), and (3) a uniform mixture of waste concrete and perlite (Mixed). The results demonstrate that the Concrete treatment exhibited a persistent high pH problem, where the effluent pH values remained above 9, even after five months of operation. In contrast, the Concrete + Perlite and Mixed treatments effectively mitigated the excessive effluent pH (<8.2). Relative to the Concrete treatment, both the Concrete + Perlite and Mixed treatments significantly enhanced the removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD) (from 43.7% to above 68.5%), total nitrogen (TN) (from 31.8% to above 86.5%), and ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) (from 96.7% to 96.9%), whereas the removal efficiency of total phosphorous (TP) showed only a slight decrease. No significant differences in pollutant removal performance were observed between the Concrete + Perlite and Mixed treatments. Moreover, the Concrete + Perlite and Mixed treatments substantially increased the bacterial diversity within the substrate biofilm compared with the Concrete treatment, although differences in the bacterial community composition between the Concrete + Perlite and Mixed were relatively minor. Overall, configuring pH-balanced substrates through the combination of acidic and alkaline matrices provided effective and sustainable integrity for promoting the resource of construction and demolition waste in constructed wetlands. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies in Water and Wastewater Treatment)
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20 pages, 2066 KB  
Article
Oxidic Substrate with Variable Charge Surface Chemically Modified for Copper Ion Adsorption from Aqueous Solutions
by José G. Prato, Fernando Millán, Iván Ríos, Marin Senila, Erika Andrea Levei, Luisa Carolina González and Enju Wang
Water 2025, 17(18), 2761; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17182761 - 18 Sep 2025
Viewed by 843
Abstract
The presence of toxic elements in drinking water poses important risks to human health. Among the diverse methodologies available to remove these elements from water, adsorption methods are among the most effective; however, many adsorbent materials are either costly, not widely available, or [...] Read more.
The presence of toxic elements in drinking water poses important risks to human health. Among the diverse methodologies available to remove these elements from water, adsorption methods are among the most effective; however, many adsorbent materials are either costly, not widely available, or difficult to handle. This work focuses on the application of a new natural geologic material, named “V” material, to prepare an adsorbent substrate applied to water treatment, using its adsorption properties to remove metallic species from aqueous media. The geologic material is a thermally and mechanically resistant material, composed basically of quartz, iron and aluminum oxides, with amphoteric properties. A granular medium or substrate was prepared via thermal treatment using three granulometric fractions of the material: the smaller fraction, less than 250 μm, named the fine fraction, VFF; from 250 μm to 425 μm, named the medium fraction, VMF; and from 425 μm to 1200 μm, named the gross fraction, VGF. The experiments were carried out on both alkaline-treated and non-treated substrates, named activated and non-activated substrates, respectively. The BET and external surface, as well as the pore volume, increased significantly after the calcination process. The adsorption isotherms pointed to a strong interaction between metallic ions and activated substrates, in contrast to the non-activated substrate, which showed much less affinity. This type of isotherm is associated with specific adsorption, where the adsorption occurs chemically between Cu2+ ions and the substrate surface, basically composed of amphoteric metallic oxides. The adsorption data fit fairly well to the Freundlich and Langmuir models, where the K values are higher for activated substrates. According to the Freundlich K values, the copper adsorptions on the activated substrates were higher: 5.0395, 3.9814 and 4.2165 mg/g, compared with 0.3622, 1.8843 and 0.4544 mg/g on non-activated substrates. The pH measurements showed the production of 0.56 and 0.10 μmol H+ during the adsorption reaction on the activated substrate, following the theoretical model for the chemisorption of transitional metals on amphoteric oxides. These results show the potential applicability of this kind of substrate in retaining transitional metals from polluted drinkable water at low cost. It is environmentally friendly, non-toxic, and available for rural media and mining-impacted regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies in Water and Wastewater Treatment)
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18 pages, 1259 KB  
Article
Artificial Neural Network-Based Prediction of Clogging Duration to Support Backwashing Requirement in a Horizontal Roughing Filter: Enhancing Maintenance Efficiency
by Sphesihle Mtsweni, Babatunde Femi Bakare and Sudesh Rathilal
Water 2025, 17(15), 2319; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17152319 - 4 Aug 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1351
Abstract
While horizontal roughing filters (HRFs) remain widely acclaimed for their exceptional efficiency in water treatment, especially in developing countries, they are inherently susceptible to clogging, which necessitates timely maintenance interventions. Conventional methods for managing clogging in HRFs typically involve evaluating filter head loss [...] Read more.
While horizontal roughing filters (HRFs) remain widely acclaimed for their exceptional efficiency in water treatment, especially in developing countries, they are inherently susceptible to clogging, which necessitates timely maintenance interventions. Conventional methods for managing clogging in HRFs typically involve evaluating filter head loss coefficients against established water quality standards. This study utilizes artificial neural network (ANN) for the prediction of clogging duration and effluent turbidity in HRF equipment. The ANN was configured with two outputs, the clogging duration and effluent turbidity, which were predicted concurrently. Effluent turbidity was modeled to enhance the network’s learning process and improve the accuracy of clogging prediction. The network steps of the iterative training process of ANN used different types of input parameters, such as influent turbidity, filtration rate, pH, conductivity, and effluent turbidity. The training, in addition, optimized network parameters such as learning rate, momentum, and calibration of neurons in the hidden layer. The quantities of the dataset accounted for up to 70% for training and 30% for testing and validation. The optimized structure of ANN configured in a 4-8-2 topology and trained using the Levenberg–Marquardt (LM) algorithm achieved a mean square error (MSE) of less than 0.001 and R-coefficients exceeding 0.999 across training, validation, testing, and the entire dataset. This ANN surpassed models of scaled conjugate gradient (SCG) and obtained a percentage of average absolute deviation (%AAD) of 9.5. This optimal structure of ANN proved to be a robust tool for tracking the filter clogging duration in HRF equipment. This approach supports proactive maintenance and operational planning in HRFs, including data-driven scheduling of backwashing based on predicted clogging trends. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies in Water and Wastewater Treatment)
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11 pages, 873 KB  
Article
Valorization of Golden Mussel Shells for Sustainable Phosphorus Recovery in Wastewater Treatment
by Danielle Andrade de Souza, Juliano Curi de Siqueira, Rodolfo Appoloni Crippa, Andre Luiz Watanabe, Paulo dos Santos Pompeu, Jéssica Cristina Teodoro, Ivan Célio Andrade Ribeiro and Mateus Pimentel de Matos
Water 2025, 17(10), 1528; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17101528 - 19 May 2025
Viewed by 1707
Abstract
The golden mussel (Limnoperna fortunei) poses environmental and infrastructural challenges due to its ability to attach to various substrates and form dense colonies. These colonies are difficult to remove and threaten hydroelectric power stations, water treatment plants and fishing activities. However, [...] Read more.
The golden mussel (Limnoperna fortunei) poses environmental and infrastructural challenges due to its ability to attach to various substrates and form dense colonies. These colonies are difficult to remove and threaten hydroelectric power stations, water treatment plants and fishing activities. However, the high calcium carbonate content of golden mussel shells (GMSs) presents an opportunity for phosphorus (P) recovery from wastewater, addressing both waste management and resource scarcity. This study evaluated the effectiveness of GS for P recovery from synthetic and real wastewater. Batch experiments were conducted to assess P recovery capacity under varying adsorbent dosages, pH levels, contact times and isotherm conditions (Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin). Also, the chemical and physical analyses of GMSs were performed to elucidate the mechanisms of P recovery. The Freundlich isotherm model best describes the process, while the Langmuir model suggests a maximum recovery potential of approximately 59.9 mg P g−1 of GMS, demonstrating a P recovery efficiency of up to 60.7% at a P concentration of 40–50 g L−1 and a contact time of 3 h. Due to the predominance of negative charges, it was concluded that the precipitation was the major mechanism for P recovery by GS. This study highlights the potential of GMSs as a sustainable and low-cost material for phosphorus recovery in wastewater treatment, offering a promising solution for both waste valorization and environmental management contributing to a circular economy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies in Water and Wastewater Treatment)
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Review

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57 pages, 11196 KB  
Review
Continuous Electrocoagulation Processes for Industrial Inorganic Pollutants Removal: A Critical Review of Performance and Applications
by Zakaria Al-Qodah, Maha Mohammad AL-Rajabi, Enshirah Da’na, Mohammad Al-Shannag, Khalid Bani-Melhem and Eman Assirey
Water 2025, 17(17), 2639; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17172639 - 6 Sep 2025
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4560
Abstract
This review provides a critical and technically grounded assessment of continuous electrocoagulation processes (CEPs) for the treatment of industrial inorganic pollutants, emphasizing recent innovations, methodological developments, and practical outcomes. A comprehensive literature survey indicates that 53 studies published over the past 25 years [...] Read more.
This review provides a critical and technically grounded assessment of continuous electrocoagulation processes (CEPs) for the treatment of industrial inorganic pollutants, emphasizing recent innovations, methodological developments, and practical outcomes. A comprehensive literature survey indicates that 53 studies published over the past 25 years have investigated CEPs for inorganic contaminant removal, with 36 focusing on standalone electrocoagulation systems and 17 exploring integrated CEPs approaches. Recent advancements in reactor design, such as enhanced internal mixing, optimized electrode geometry, and modular configurations, have significantly improved treatment efficiency, scalability, and operational stability. Evidence indicates that CEPs can achieve high removal efficiencies for a wide range of inorganic contaminants, including fluoride, arsenic, heavy metals (e.g., chromium, lead, nickel, iron), nitrates, and phosphates, particularly under optimized operating conditions. Compared to conventional treatment methods, CEPs offer several advantages, such as simplified operation, reduced chemical consumption, lower sludge generation, and compatibility with renewable energy sources and complementary processes like membrane filtration, flotation, and advanced oxidation. Despite these promising outcomes, industrial-scale implementation remains constrained by non-standardized reactor designs, variable operational parameters, electrode passivation, high energy requirements, and limited long-term field data. Furthermore, few studies have addressed the modeling and optimization of integrated CEPs systems, highlighting critical research gaps for process enhancement and reliable scale-up. In conclusion, CEPs emerge as a novel, adaptable, and potentially sustainable approach to industrial inorganic wastewater treatment. Its future deployment will rely on continued technological refinement, standardization, validation under real-world conditions, and alignment with regulatory and economic frameworks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies in Water and Wastewater Treatment)
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20 pages, 4612 KB  
Review
A Review of Low-Cost Point-of-Use Water Treatment Solutions Addressing Water Access and Quality in Resource-Limited Settings
by Dorcas Cheptoo Sombei, Cleophas Achisa Mecha and Martha N. Chollom
Water 2025, 17(12), 1827; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17121827 - 19 Jun 2025
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 10967
Abstract
Access to safe, clean drinking water is a critical challenge across many resource-constrained settings, especially in developing economies. Large-scale water treatment technologies are often available in urban areas, whereas such centralized systems are unavailable in rural and remote areas due to high infrastructure [...] Read more.
Access to safe, clean drinking water is a critical challenge across many resource-constrained settings, especially in developing economies. Large-scale water treatment technologies are often available in urban areas, whereas such centralized systems are unavailable in rural and remote areas due to high infrastructure costs, rugged terrains, and maintenance challenges. To address this challenge, point-of-use (PoU) water treatment systems can fill this critical gap. This study critically evaluates the role low-cost PoU water treatment solutions play as a promising alternative to address water access and quality aspects in remote rural areas. The study explores the present state of global water sources, the challenges of water scarcity and pollution, and the limitations of existing large-scale treatment technologies. It highlights the motivation behind PoU systems and provides an in-depth analysis of various low-cost technologies, including operational principles, performance efficiency, and economic viability. Embedded in this study is a concise evaluation of the sustainability of these solutions in addressing water access and quality challenges in resource-limited regions. Finally, the study proposes solutions and perspectives on improving PoU systems and scale-up of the systems for large-scale applications to facilitate increased access to clean and safe water. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies in Water and Wastewater Treatment)
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