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Wastewater Resourceization: Pioneering the Future of Sustainable Water
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Wastewater Resourceization: Pioneering the Future of Sustainable Water

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 July 2026 | Viewed by 2979

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Lei Qin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Center for Membrane Separation and Water Science & Technology, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
2. Eco-Industrial Innovation Institute, Zhejiang University of Technology, Quzhou 324400, China
3. Moganshan Institute, Zhejiang University of Technology, Deqing 313200, China
Interests: advanced oxidation; nanomaterials; adsorption; membrane bioreactor; membrane fouling control; membrane modification; wastewater resource utilization; immobilized microorganisms/enzymes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue provides a comprehensive overview of cutting-edge developments in wastewater treatment and resource recovery, with a particular emphasis on innovative material-microorganism integration strategies. We focus on novel functional materials including modified hydrogels, porous carbons, and mesoporous oxides for advanced oxidation processes; metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) for heavy metal adsorption and enzyme immobilization; modified biochar and organic fibers for microbial immobilization; and next-generation anti-fouling membrane bioreactors.

The issue highlights synergistic approaches that combine functional materials with specialized microorganisms to achieve enhanced treatment efficiency while recovering valuable resources. We seek to showcase transformative technologies that address key challenges in pollutant removal, water reuse, and resource recovery. Of particular interest are studies demonstrating scalable solutions that bridge fundamental material science with practical wastewater treatment applications.

We invite original research articles and comprehensive reviews that advance the scientific understanding and technological implementation of sustainable wastewater management systems. Contributions should present innovative approaches with clear potential for real-world application in achieving circular water economy objectives. The issue aims to provide a platform for disseminating breakthrough technologies and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations in this critical field.

Dr. Lei Qin
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

  • advanced oxidation
  • nanomaterials
  • adsorption
  • membrane bioreactor
  • membrane fouling control
  • membrane modification
  • wastewater resource utilization
  • immobilized microorganisms/enzymes

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 2221 KB  
Article
AI-Assisted Operating Window Screening for Microwave Thin-Layer Drying of Dewatered Municipal Sewage Sludge: Drying Kinetics, Hygienisation, and an Energy-Use Proxy
by Mhamed Belkacem-Filali, Farid Dahmoune, Mohamed Hentabli and Katarzyna Kubiak-Wójcicka
Water 2026, 18(7), 808; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18070808 - 28 Mar 2026
Viewed by 600
Abstract
Municipal sewage sludge is an environmental liability but also an energy-rich biomass that can support circular economy resource recovery. Here, we benchmark thin-layer drying of dewatered municipal sewage sludge (sludge cake) (40 g; layer thickness ≤ 5 mm) under open-air, convective hot air [...] Read more.
Municipal sewage sludge is an environmental liability but also an energy-rich biomass that can support circular economy resource recovery. Here, we benchmark thin-layer drying of dewatered municipal sewage sludge (sludge cake) (40 g; layer thickness ≤ 5 mm) under open-air, convective hot air (40–150 °C), and microwave (70–1200 W) conditions to quantify drying kinetics, hygienisation indicators, and a screening-level energy-use proxy. High-power microwave drying reduced the time to constant mass from 32 h (open air) and 25 h 05 min (40 °C convection) to 20 min (900 W) and 14 min 05 s (1200 W). Faecal indicators (total/thermotolerant coliforms and presumptive Escherichia coli) were below detection after ≥100 °C convection or ≥300 W microwave treatment, while mesophilic aerobes and sulfite-reducing Clostridium spp. decreased by ~3–4 log10 with increasing exposure. A dragonfly-optimised ε-support vector regression model (DA–SVR) predicted drying trajectories across modes (overall RMSE ≈ 0.79 percentage points; held-out RMSE ≈ 1.47; R2 ≥ 0.99). Overall, microwave thin-layer drying coupled with DA–SVR decision support enables constraint-based screening of sewage–sludge conditioning windows for logistics and thermal valorisation pathways; the framework can be extended to incorporate additional analytical endpoints where available. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Resourceization: Pioneering the Future of Sustainable Water)
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12 pages, 5080 KB  
Article
Advanced Treatment of High-Concentration Ammonia–Nitrogen Wastewater by Pantothenic Acid-Enhanced Photosynthetic Bacteria
by Zhisong Bao, Haorui Li, Huajun Bao, Zhihe Chen, Yingyu Tan, Lei Qin and Tiejun Li
Water 2025, 17(14), 2166; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17142166 - 21 Jul 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1903
Abstract
To address the slow growth rate of photosynthetic bacteria (PSB), this study introduces pantothenic acid as a biological enhancing factor. The effects of pantothenic acid on PSB proliferation and its effectiveness in treating high-concentration ammonia–nitrogen wastewater were systematically evaluated. Additionally, the effects of [...] Read more.
To address the slow growth rate of photosynthetic bacteria (PSB), this study introduces pantothenic acid as a biological enhancing factor. The effects of pantothenic acid on PSB proliferation and its effectiveness in treating high-concentration ammonia–nitrogen wastewater were systematically evaluated. Additionally, the effects of different culture conditions, including dark aeration, darkness, light exposure, and light aeration, on PSB growth were investigated. The results show that optimal PSB growth was achieved with 20 mg/L of pantothenic acid; however, higher concentrations of pantothenic acid inhibited bacterial growth. The addition of pantothenic acid also significantly enhanced the performance of PSB in treating high-concentration organic wastewater, increasing the removal rates of COD, ammonia nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total nitrogen to 43.0%, 94.0%, 49.7%, and 51.0%, respectively. Furthermore, a synergistic effect between dark aeration and light exposure was observed. When the time of light and dark aeration was set at 1:1, the highest PSB yield was recorded, and the removal efficiencies of COD, ammonia nitrogen, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus increased to 71.4%, 95.3%, 57.1%, and 74.7%, respectively. Through the introduction of pantothenic acid and optimization of culture mode, the rapid growth of PSB and highly efficient treatment of organic wastewater were achieved, providing a new approach for advanced wastewater treatment and resource utilization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Resourceization: Pioneering the Future of Sustainable Water)
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