Anaerobic Processes in Wastewater Treatment: Current Limitations and Future Challenges
A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Wastewater Treatment and Reuse".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026
Special Issue Editors
Interests: wastewater treatment; energy recovery; fermentation; membrane biotechnology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Anaerobic digestion (AD) has expanded its traditional role in sludge treatment to become a crucial part of modern wastewater management, supporting the "Waste-to-Energy" concept. Its potential for energy-positive operation, reduced sludge production, and a smaller carbon footprint makes it an essential technology for sustainable water management and the circular economy. However, the move towards its wider adoption is impeded by ongoing technical and biological challenges that limit its efficiency, stability, and scope.
This Special Issue, ‘Anaerobic Processes in Wastewater Treatment: Current Limitations and Future Challenges,’ seeks to gather pioneering research and comprehensive review articles addressing the main barriers confronting anaerobic technology. We aim to foster a discussion that extends beyond minor improvements, focusing on transformative solutions to enhance the resilience, efficiency, and range of applicability of anaerobic systems across various waste streams.
The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Strategies for rapid start-up and bioaugmentation.
- Enhancing the activity of slow-growing methanogens and syntrophic communities.
- Innovative bioreactor designs (e.g., high-rate, hybrid systems) to optimise biomass retention and reaction kinetics.
- Mitigation strategies for inhibitors (ammonia, sulphide, heavy metals, xenobiotics).
- Management of foaming, clogging, and sludge floatation.
- Co-digestion of complex organic wastes to enhance biogas yield and process economics.
- Low-strength and low-temperature wastewater treatment.
- Integration of anaerobic processes with nutrient recovery (N, P) and removal technologies.
- Coupling anaerobic digestion with microbial electrochemical technologies (e.g., MECs) for enhanced conversion.
- Biohydrogen production via dark fermentation and its integration with methanogenesis.
- Post-treatment and purification of biogas to biomethane.
- Holistic assessments of the environmental and economic sustainability of advanced anaerobic systems.
- Scale-up studies and long-term performance evaluations of pilot and full-scale installations.
This Issue will provide a state-of-the-art platform for researchers, engineers, and policymakers to disseminate innovative solutions that push the boundaries of anaerobic biotechnology. By addressing the core limitations and outlining a clear path for future development, the collected works will serve as a foundational reference for advancing the field toward more reliable, efficient, and widespread implementation.
We invite original research articles, critical reviews, and short communications that help unlock the full potential of anaerobic processes in the wastewater treatment landscape of tomorrow.
Dr. Jialing Tang
Dr. Shah Faisal
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
- anaerobic digestion
- digestate reuse and nutrient recovery
- anaerobic membrane bioreactor
- green energy
- waste treatment
- anaerobic process
- fermentation
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