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Adsorption Technology in Water and Wastewater Treatment
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Adsorption Technology 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: 25 October 2026 | Viewed by 1809

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Marija Stjepanović

E-Mail Website
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. Natalija Velić

E-Mail Website
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

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Adsorption has emerged as a versatile and effective technology for the removal of a wide range of contaminants from water and wastewater, including heavy metals, nutrients, dyes, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and emerging pollutants. Owing to their operational simplicity, high removal efficiency, and adaptability to diverse water matrices, adsorption-based processes play a critical role in advancing sustainable water treatment and resource recovery strategies.

This Special Issue aims to present recent advances in adsorption materials, mechanisms, and applications relevant to water and wastewater treatment. Contributions focus on the development and characterization of novel adsorbents—such as bio-based materials, nanostructured adsorbents, hybrid composites, and waste-derived sorbents—as well as improvements to conventional materials such as activated carbon and ion exchange resins. Particular emphasis is placed on adsorption kinetics, equilibrium modeling, regeneration and reuse, and the influence of water chemistry on adsorption performance.

This Special Issue also highlights the integration of adsorption technologies with other treatment processes, including membrane filtration, advanced oxidation, and biological treatment, to enhance overall system efficiency and cost effectiveness. Studies addressing scale-up challenges, life cycle assessment, and real-water or pilot-scale applications are particularly encouraged to bridge the gap between laboratory research and practical implementation.

By bringing together fundamental and applied research, this Special Issue seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of current trends and future perspectives in adsorption technology, supporting the development of resilient and sustainable solutions for water and wastewater treatment.

Dr. Marija Stjepanović
Dr. Natalija Velić
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 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

  • adsorption
  • sustainable water treatment
  • novel adsorbents
  • removal of contaminants (heavy metals, nutrients, emerging pollutants)
  • resource recovery
  • membrane filtration
  • advanced oxidation
  • biological treatment

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 7375 KB  
Article
Avocado Seed-Derived Magnetic Biochar for Efficient Cr(VI) Removal: Influence of Magnetite Synthesis Route, Characterization and Kinetic Mechanism
by Sofía Sanipatín, Diego Barzallo, Paúl Palmay and Carlos Medina
Water 2026, 18(9), 1074; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18091074 - 30 Apr 2026
Viewed by 569
Abstract
This study investigates the synthesis and kinetic behavior of a magnetic biochar derived from avocado seed biomass for the removal of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) from aqueous solutions. Magnetite (Fe3O4) was synthesized through different routes, including nitrogen-assisted coprecipitation, redox-controlled coprecipitation, [...] Read more.
This study investigates the synthesis and kinetic behavior of a magnetic biochar derived from avocado seed biomass for the removal of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) from aqueous solutions. Magnetite (Fe3O4) was synthesized through different routes, including nitrogen-assisted coprecipitation, redox-controlled coprecipitation, polyol, sol–gel, and sonochemical methods, to evaluate their structural properties and iron incorporation efficiency. Based on compositional and crystallographic analyses, the coprecipitation under an inert atmosphere exhibited improved phase purity and higher Fe3O4 content, which was selected for in situ incorporation onto biochar produced by pyrolysis at 450 °C. The resulting magnetic material and composite were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDS), confirming the suitability of the synthesis method and the successful deposition of magnetite onto the porous carbon matrix while preserving its structural integrity. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted at pH 2.0 to evaluate the effect of adsorbent dose and initial Cr(VI) concentration. The adsorption process reached equilibrium within 120 min and was better described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model (R2 ≥ 0.98), suggesting that chemisorption governs the rate-controlling step, with diffusion phenomena contributing but not dominating the overall mechanism. The maximum adsorption capacity predicted by the kinetic model reached 42.49 mg g−1 at an initial concentration of 100 mg L−1. The results demonstrate that avocado-seed-derived magnetic biochar represents a sustainable and effective material for chromium-contaminated water treatment, integrating agro-industrial waste valorization with enhanced adsorption performance and magnetic separability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adsorption Technology in Water and Wastewater Treatment)
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17 pages, 6524 KB  
Article
Chitosan Aerogel Composited with Cu-Functionalized UiO-66-NO2 as Recyclable Adsorption of Primary Aromatic Amines in Wastewater
by Chenyang Meng, Zhongxi Lu, Gengli Huang and Zhouping Wang
Water 2026, 18(8), 971; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18080971 - 19 Apr 2026
Viewed by 516
Abstract
Primary aromatic amines (PAAs), such as 4,4′-methylenedianiline (MDA) and 4-chloroaniline (4-CA), are toxic, carcinogenic, and persistent pollutants widely detected in aquatic environments. To address this issue, UiO-66 was modified through nitro functionalization, copper doping, and defect regulation, and further integrated with chitosan (CS) [...] Read more.
Primary aromatic amines (PAAs), such as 4,4′-methylenedianiline (MDA) and 4-chloroaniline (4-CA), are toxic, carcinogenic, and persistent pollutants widely detected in aquatic environments. To address this issue, UiO-66 was modified through nitro functionalization, copper doping, and defect regulation, and further integrated with chitosan (CS) to construct a composite aerogel (CS@CuUiO-66-NO2) for the removal of MDA and 4-CA from wastewater. The adsorbent demonstrated relatively fast adsorption kinetics (MDA: 6 h; 4-CA: 4 h) and high adsorption capacities (MDA: 643.74 mg·g−1; 4-CA: 491.54 mg·g−1), showing improved performance compared to pristine UiO-66 and many previously reported adsorbents under similar conditions. The enhanced adsorption performance is likely attributed to the synergistic effects of multiple interactions, including hydrogen bonding, π-π interactions, and possible coordination interactions between functional groups of the adsorbent and PAAs. Moreover, the adsorbent maintained good adsorption performance after five adsorption–desorption cycles, with only a slight decrease in efficiency (~8%), and exhibited limited interference from coexisting anions. Overall, this study presents a feasible strategy for designing porous composite adsorbents with favorable reusability for potential applications in aqueous pollutant remediation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adsorption Technology in Water and Wastewater Treatment)
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15 pages, 2376 KB  
Article
Urea-Modified Graphene Oxide (GO-Ur): Adsorption Mechanism for Methylene Blue
by Ming Li, Yun Li, Tianhao Li, Chengyun Zhou and Jiaqi Bu
Water 2026, 18(8), 953; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18080953 - 16 Apr 2026
Viewed by 414
Abstract
This study developed urea-modified graphene oxide (GO-Ur) for efficient methylene blue (MB) adsorption. Characterization confirmed that urea modification introduced amino and hydroxyl groups, enhancing the material’s surface properties. GO-Ur achieved a high MB adsorption capacity of 367.37 mg/g under optimal conditions (the adsorption [...] Read more.
This study developed urea-modified graphene oxide (GO-Ur) for efficient methylene blue (MB) adsorption. Characterization confirmed that urea modification introduced amino and hydroxyl groups, enhancing the material’s surface properties. GO-Ur achieved a high MB adsorption capacity of 367.37 mg/g under optimal conditions (the adsorption tests used 0.01 g of adsorbent, 50 mL of 80 mg/L MB solution (pH 9), a temperature of 25 °C, and a contact time of 120 min), driven by a synergistic mechanism of hydrogen bonding, electrostatic attraction, and π-π stacking. The adsorbent also demonstrated excellent reusability, with only a 0.37% capacity loss after 5 cycles of adsorption–desorption processes, and outperformed many reported adsorbents in both capacity and equilibrium time. These results highlight GO-Ur as a promising material for MB wastewater treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adsorption Technology in Water and Wastewater Treatment)
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