Rethinking Wastewater: Microbial Solutions for a Sustainable Future
A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Wastewater Treatment and Reuse".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 22
Special Issue Editors
Interests: bioinformatics; wastewater treatment; environmental microbiology; multiomics; antimicrobial resistance
Interests: metagenomics; metaproteomics; metabolomics; antimicrobial resistance; wastewater treatment; nitrous oxide emissions; emerging contaminants
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
It is with great pleasure that we announce a forthcoming Special Issue focused on microbial approaches to wastewater management and resource recovery. We cordially invite you to contribute your original research to this important scientific discourse.
Context and Significance
Contemporary environmental challenges—including rapid urbanization, industrial expansion, and climate change—are placing unprecedented demands on wastewater infrastructure worldwide. The limitations of conventional treatment methodologies have become increasingly apparent, necessitating innovative approaches that transcend traditional paradigms.
Microbial systems represent a frontier of remarkable potential in this domain. The metabolic versatility and adaptive capacity of microorganisms offer compelling opportunities to reconceptualize wastewater—transforming it from a management challenge into a valuable resource stream. This Special Issue aims to advance this critical transition.
Research Focus Areas
We welcome high-quality submissions addressing the following themes:
- Microbial community dynamics and adaptation mechanisms under multiple stressors in wastewater environments (chemical toxicity, nutrient fluctuations, antimicrobial compounds, etc.).
- Application of advanced omics technologies (metagenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics) to elucidate stress responses and metabolic pathways of relevance to wastewater treatment.
- Development and optimization of engineered microbial consortia for resource recovery, including bioplastics, bioenergy, and specialty chemicals.
- Translational research bridging fundamental microbial science with practical applications in circular bioeconomy contexts.
Interdisciplinary Scope
The complex challenges of sustainable wastewater management require diverse perspectives. Therefore, we encourage submissions from researchers across multiple disciplines, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Environmental engineering;
- Microbiology and microbial ecology;
- Biochemistry and biotechnology;
- Systems biology;
- Environmental policy and economics.
Contributions may encompass theoretical frameworks, experimental investigations, or applied implementations. We particularly value work that bridges disciplinary boundaries to advance holistic understanding of these systems.
Significance of Your Contribution
By participating in this Special Issue, you will contribute to a pivotal shift in wastewater management philosophy—from linear treatment processes to integrated systems where microbial capabilities simultaneously address environmental protection imperatives and resource recovery opportunities.
We invite you to join us in this scholarly dialogue that has profound implications for environmental sustainability and resource efficiency.
Dr. Bharat Manna
Prof. Dr. Naresh Singhal
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
- wastewater valorization
- environmental biotechnology
- activated sludge processes
- microbial stress response
- resource recovery
- omics technologies
- dissolved organic matter
- circular bioeconomy
- micropollutant degradation
- metabolic modelling
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