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Special Issue "The Evolution of Sorbents Based on Natural Materials for Wastewater Pollution Control"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2023 | Viewed by 4787

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Natalija Velić

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Food Technology Osijek, University of Osijek, F. Kuhača 20, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
Interests: food chemistry; food analysis; food safety; innovative food production; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Marija Stjepanović

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Food Technology Osijek, University of Osijek, F. Kuhača 20, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
Interests: adsorption; pollutant removal from water and wastewater; environmental chemistry; water protection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Nataša Jović-Jovičić

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Guest Editor

Principal Research Fellow, Department for Catalysis and Chemical Engineering, University of Belgrade - Institute of Chemistry, Technology, and Metallurgy, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Njegoševa 12, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: adsorption process; biosorption process; catalysis; phylosilciates; hybrid materials; material synthesis and functionalization; characterization; wastewater treatment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Wastewater treatment involves the use of mechanical, physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove various chemical pollutants from wastewater. Biological wastewater treatment, also known as the conventional method, is a common and widely used treatment method. However, conventional wastewater treatment plants are not sufficiently efficient in removing pollutants that cannot be metabolized by microorganisms, e.g., detergents, pesticides, dyes, drug residues, personal care product residues, heavy metals, phenols, PCBs, PAHs, and trihalomethanes. Many of these substances are classified as contaminants of emerging concern, posing a significant risk to the aquatic environment or a hazard that is transmitted through them. Among the many methods for their removal, sorption appears to be one of the most promising, as it has proven to be simple, cost-effective, highly efficient, and versatile in dealing with chemically diverse compounds that require removal. To make it even more cost-effective and sustainable, sorbents based on natural materials of microbial, plant, animal, and mineral origin are being studied in detail. These materials (e.g., active or inactive microbial biomass, chitin, lignocellulosic materials, bones, feathers, eggshells, clay minerals, metal oxides) can be used in either unmodified or novel form, and more superior sorbents (e.g., biochar or composites) can be obtained through a variety of modifications or functionalization.

This Special Issue is devoted to new research and recent contributions on the synthesis, characteristics, and application of sorbents from natural materials and their use in the removal of pollutants from wastewater.

Dr. Natalija Velić
Dr. Marija Stjepanović
Dr. Nataša Jović-Jovičić
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. 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

pollutant removal
wastewater
sorbent
adsorption
biosorption
ion exchange
modification
functionalization
composite materials
biochar

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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Open AccessArticle

Optimization of the Preparation Conditions of Aluminum-Impregnated Food Waste Biochar Using RSM with an MLP and Its Application in Phosphate Removal

Jin-Kyu Kang

Khonekeo Kingkhambang

Chang-Gu Lee

and

Seong-Jik Park

Water 2023, 15(16), 2997; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15162997 - 20 Aug 2023

Viewed by 1194

Abstract

Phosphorus is an essential macroelement in plant growth and the human body, but excessive water enrichment with phosphorus is a global threat to water quality. To address this problem, the development of an efficient, affordable adsorbent for use in removing large amounts of phosphorus from eutrophic water is necessary. Food-waste-based adsorbents offer a sustainable solution because they utilize waste as a valuable resource. This study explored the use of food waste biochar as a novel adsorbent with additional aluminum impregnation (Al–FWB) to enhance its phosphate adsorption capacity. This study employed response surface methodology (RSM) to optimize the synthetic conditions of the Al–FWB with the highest phosphate adsorption capacity. To enhance the identification of the optimal conditions using RSM, this study employed quadratic equations and a multi-layer perceptron (MLP). The pyrolysis temperature and Al concentration significantly (p < 0.05) affected the adsorption capacity of the AL–FWB. The optimal conditions for the preparation of the AL–FWB were a pyrolysis temperature, duration, and Al concentration of 300 °C, 0.5 h, and 6%, respectively, based on the quadratic equation and MLP models. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that phosphate was adsorbed on the surface of the AL–FWB via the formation of AlPO4. The optimized AL–FWB (Opt-AL–FWB) removed 99.6% of the phosphate and displayed a maximum phosphate adsorption capacity of 197.8 mg/g, which is comparable to those reported in previous studies. Additionally, the phosphate adsorption capacity of the Opt-AL–FWB was independent of the pH of the solution, and the presence of 10 mM SO₄^2– decreased its adsorption capacity by 15.5%. The use of the Opt-AL–FWB as an adsorbent provides not only efficient phosphate removal but also green, economical food waste reusability. In summary, this study demonstrates the potential of AL–FWB as an effective, sustainable, and affordable adsorbent for use in phosphate removal from contaminated water. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Evolution of Sorbents Based on Natural Materials for Wastewater Pollution Control)

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Open AccessCommunication

Glyphosate Removal from Water Using Biochar Based Coffee Husk Loaded Fe₃O₄

Arestha Leo Lita

Endar Hidayat

Nur Maisarah Mohamad Sarbani

and

Water 2023, 15(16), 2945; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15162945 - 15 Aug 2023

Viewed by 624

Abstract

Glyphosate is an herbicide that is usually used by farmers and is considered harmful to the environment in excess amounts. To address these issues, coffee-husk-biochar-loaded Fe₃O₄ (CHB- Fe₃O₄) was used as an adsorbent to remove glyphosate from water. CHB-Fe₃O₄ characteristics such as pH_pzc, FTIR, and SEM were measured to understand the properties of this adsorbent. The best conditions for glyphosate removal by CHB-Fe₃O₄ were obtained at pH 2.0, where the adsorption capacity and percentage removal are 22.44 mg/g and 99.64%, respectively, after 4 h of adsorption. The Freundlich model provided the best fit for the adsorption isotherm, demonstrating multilayer sorption. The most effective model for characterizing the adsorption kinetics was the pseudo-second-order model with a chemical adsorption mechanism. The desorption studies found that the use of 0.1 M NaOH was the best concentration to effectively desorb glyphosate with a desorption percentage of 69.4%. This indicates that CHB- Fe₃O₄ is a feasible adsorbent for glyphosate removal from water. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Evolution of Sorbents Based on Natural Materials for Wastewater Pollution Control)

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Open AccessArticle

Ciprofloxacin Adsorption onto a Smectite–Chitosan-Derived Nanocomposite Obtained by Hydrothermal Synthesis

and

Water 2023, 15(14), 2608; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15142608 - 18 Jul 2023

Viewed by 482

Abstract

The employment of compounds obtained from natural sources to produce adsorbents and their application in the elimination of antibiotics from industrial effluents have gained significant attention because of their low production cost and sustainability. Herein, chitosan (biopolymer) and smectite (abundant clay mineral) were used for the low-cost and eco-friendly synthesis of a new type of adsorbent. A low-energy-consumption hydrothermal process was applied to the synthesis of the chitosan-derived carbon–smectite nanocomposite with cobalt (H_Co/C-S). The produced nanocomposite was characterized using elemental analysis, ICP-OES, XRPD, low-temperature N₂ adsorption–desorption isotherms, FTIR analysis, and point of zero charge. H_Co/C-S (S_BET = 0.73 m² g⁻¹, d₀₀₁ = 1.40 nm, pH_PZC = 5.3) was evaluated as a ciprofloxacin adsorbent in aqueous solution. Experimental data were fitted with different kinetic models and interpreted by selected adsorption isotherms. The pseudo-second-order model was found to be the most appropriate, while ciprofloxacin adsorption onto H_Co/C-S was best described by the Redlich–Peterson isotherm (R² = 0.985). The maximum adsorption capacity of H_Co/C-S, according to the Langmuir isotherm (R² = 0.977), was 72.3 mg g⁻¹. Desorption and thermodynamic studies were performed. The obtained results indicated that the new hierarchically designed H_Co/C-S has promising potential to be further tested for application in real wastewater treatment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Evolution of Sorbents Based on Natural Materials for Wastewater Pollution Control)

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Open AccessArticle

The Removal of Phosphate from Aqueous Solutions by Sepiolite/ZrO₂ Composites: Adsorption Behavior and Mechanism

Željka Milovanović

Slavica Lazarević

Ivona Janković-Častvan

and

Water 2023, 15(13), 2376; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15132376 - 27 Jun 2023

Viewed by 653

Abstract

The sepiolite/ZrO₂ composites were prepared by sepiolite (Sep) modification with zirconium propoxide in toluene at room temperature for 24 h (Sep–ZrI) or 95 °C for 4 h (sample Sep–ZrII). The efficiency of the obtained composites for the removal of phosphate from aqueous solutions at initial pH = 4 and pH = 8 was investigated. Characterization of the samples shows that synthesis at a higher temperature for a shorter time provides a slightly higher content of amorphous Zr phase, which is deposited on the sepiolite fibers as a thin layer and agglomerated nanoparticles. Compared to Sep, the composites have a lower point of zero charge and higher specific surface area and pore volume. The adsorption kinetics follow the pseudo second-order model. The adsorption capacities of the composites are approximately the same at both initial pH and higher at initial pH = 4 than at pH = 8. The XPS and ATR-FTIR of Sep–ZrI before and after adsorption identifies the formation of inner-sphere complexes as the mechanism of phosphate adsorption. The slow release during desorption with NaOH solution confirms the strong bonds of the phosphates with the surface of the composites. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Evolution of Sorbents Based on Natural Materials for Wastewater Pollution Control)

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Review

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Open AccessReview

Lignocellulose-Based Biosorbents for the Removal of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) from Water: A Review

Vesna Vasić

Dragana Kukić

Marina Šćiban

Nataša Đurišić-Mladenović

and

Water 2023, 15(10), 1853; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15101853 - 13 May 2023

Viewed by 1397

Abstract

Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) are chemicals or materials that are not under current regulation but there are increasing concerns about their possible occurrence in the environment because of their potential threat to human and environmental health, with wastewater perceived as their primary source. Although various techniques for their removal from water have been studied, it should be emphasized that the choice should also consider the use of resources and energy within the removal processes, which must be minimized to avoid additional carbon footprints and environmental impact. In this context, the use of biomass-based sorbents might represent a cost-effective and environmentally friendly approach for the removal of CECs from water because they are based on preferably local renewable resources with lower negative impacts on the global carbon cycle through greenhouse gas emissions than the conventional nonrenewable ones. This paper provides an overview of the studies dealing with the application of such so-called biosorbents for the removal of CECs from water and discusses the use of their different forms: sorbents after a minimal pretreatment of the original lignocellulosic biomass; sorbents extracted from lignocellulosic biomass and/or modified; and biochar-based sorbents obtained after thermochemical conversion of biomass. It explains possible modifications of biosorbents and discusses the efficiency of various biosorbents for the removal of selected emerging compounds that belong to the classes of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and pesticides and compares the adsorption capacities, kinetic models, and mechanisms reported in the relevant literature. Biochar-based sorption has been studied more often if compared to other considered biosorbents. In some cases, removal efficiencies of contaminants greater than 90% were achieved, but nonetheless a wide range of efficiencies for different CECs indicates that for successful simultaneous multicompound removal, a combination of different processes seems to be a more appropriate approach than the stand-alone use of biosorbents. Finally, this review discusses the reasons behind the limited commercial application of the considered biosorbents and provides directions for possible further research, in particular the use of spent biosorbents from a perspective of circular systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Evolution of Sorbents Based on Natural Materials for Wastewater Pollution Control)

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