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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: 10 October 2024 | Viewed by 16836

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Dr. Minhua Cui

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Guest Editor

School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
Interests: wastewater/water treatment; nioelectrochemical system; electrochemcial degradation of pollution
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Dr. Guoshuai Liu

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Guest Editor

School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Anaerobic Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
Interests: environmental electrochemistry; water treatment; DFT; advanced oxidation/reduction process
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Application of Electrochemical Methods in Water Treatment (AEMWT) is the title of a Special Issue of Water devoted to the interdisciplinary subject of electrochemistry and all aspects related to water and wastewater treatment. AEMWT focuses on the publication of both original work and reviews in the field of electrochemical treatment. AEMWT provides fast dissemination of original articles, reviews, short communications, and full communications covering the whole field of electrochemical applications in water and wastewater. Short communications are limited to a maximum of 21,000 characters (including spaces), whereas full communications are limited to 26,000 characters (including spaces). We aim to be the fastest-published Special Issue in the journal.

AEMWT welcomes the research fields covered by the following areas:

Bioelectrochemistry;
Combining electrochemistry with other technologies;
Computational and theoretical electrochemistry;
Electrochemical materials science;
Electrochemical methods in carbon sequestration and conversion;
Electrochemical sensors in water treatment;
Fundamental electrochemistry;
Mechanisms of contaminants transformation;
Pilot- and full-scale application of electrochemical technology.

The editors would like to draw particular attention to the quality and the scientific content of submissions. Papers must be presented in a way that is accessible to the readers. The presentation and discussion must be at a level that meets the global status of Water.

The AEMWT will not publish papers that have been partially or completely published in other journals, or papers that plagiarize other works. All submitted papers are screened for similarity with published works. High similarity will result in rejection without review.

Prof. Dr. Minhua Cui
Prof. Dr. Guoshuai Liu
Guest Editors

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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.

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Keywords

electrochemistry
electrode
pollution
reaction process and mechanism
sensors
wastewater
water

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

27 pages, 9279 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis and Characterization of Potassium Bicarbonate and Urea-Modified Biochar from Rape Straw: Application in the Removal of Tetracycline from Aqueous Solution

by Zhipeng Zhang, Chenghan Tang, Hongbin Wang, Ming Zhong, Pengchao Ge, Wenlai Xu and Yiyang Chen

Water 2024, 16(17), 2522; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16172522 - 5 Sep 2024

Viewed by 492

Abstract

Using rapeseed straw as a raw material and potassium bicarbonate (KHCO₃) and urea (CO(NH₂)₂) as modification reagents, the pyrolysis raw materials were mixed in a certain proportion, and the unmodified biochar GBC800, KHCO₃-modified biochar KGBC800, and (KHCO₃)/(CO(NH₂)₂) co-modified biochar N-KGBC800 were, respectively, prepared using the one-pot method at 800 °C. The physicochemical properties, such as surface morphology, pore characteristics, functional group distribution, and elemental composition of the three biochars, were characterized, and the adsorption performance and mechanism of the typical antibiotic tetracycline (TC) in water were studied. The results showed that the surface of GBC800 was smooth and dense, with no obvious pore structure, and both the specific surface area and total pore volume were small; the surface of KGBC800 showed an obvious coral-like three-dimensional carbon skeleton, the number of micropores and the specific surface area were significantly improved, and the degree of carbonization and aromatization was enhanced; N-KGBC800 had a coral-like three-dimensional carbon skeleton similar to KGBC800, and there were also many clustered carbon groups. The carbon layer changed significantly with interlayer gaps, presenting a multi-level porous structure. After N doping, the content of N increased, and new nitrogen-containing functional groups were formed. When the initial TC concentration was 100 mg/L, pH ≈ 3.4, the temperature was 25 °C, and the dosage of the three biochars was 0.15 g/L, the adsorption equilibrium was reached before 720 min. The adsorption capacities of GBC800, KGBC800, and N-KGBC800 for TC were 16.97 mg/g, 294.86 mg/g, and 604.71 mg/g, respectively. Fitting the kinetic model to the experimental data, the adsorption of TC by the three biochars was more in line with the pseudo-second-order adsorption kinetic model, and the adsorption isotherm was more in line with the Langmuir model. This adsorption process was a spontaneous endothermic reaction, mainly chemical adsorption, specifically involving multiple adsorption mechanisms such as pore filling, electrostatic attraction, hydrogen bonds, n−π interaction, Lewis acid–base interaction, π−π stacking, or cation −π interaction between the aromatic ring structure of the carbon itself and TC. A biochar-adsorption column was built to investigate the dynamic adsorption process of tetracycline using the three biochars against the background of laboratory pure water and salt water. The adsorption results show that the Thomas model and the Yoon–Nelson model both provide better predictions for dynamic adsorption processes. The modified biochars KGBC800 and N-KGBC800 can be used as preferred materials for the efficient adsorption of TC in water. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Application of Electrochemical Methods in Water Treatment)

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14 pages, 1950 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characteristics of Nitrogen Removal and Functional Gene Transcription of Heterotrophic Nitrification-Aerobic Denitrification Strain, Acinetobacter sp. JQ1004

by Liangang Hou, Feng Huang, Zhengwei Pan, Wei Chen and Xiujie Wang

Water 2024, 16(13), 1799; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16131799 - 26 Jun 2024

Viewed by 1082

Abstract

In this study, the heterotrophic nitrification–aerobic denitrification strain JQ1004 was investigated in terms of its nitrogen removal mechanism and kinetic properties, laying the foundation for its application in the field of wastewater treatment. Nitrogen balance analysis revealed that the final metabolic product was N₂, and approximately 54.61% of N was converted into cellular structure through assimilation. According to the fitting of the Compertz model, the maximum degradation rates of ammonia and nitrate were 7.93 mg/(L·h) and 4.08 mg/(L·h), respectively. A weakly alkaline environment was conducive to N removal, and the sensitivity of functional genes to acidic environments was amoA > nirS > narG. An appropriate increase in dissolved oxygen significantly enhanced heterotrophic nitrification activity, and notably, the denitrification-related functional gene narG exhibited greater tolerance to dissolved oxygen compared to nirS. The transcription level of amoA was significantly higher than that of narG or nirS, confirming that there might have been direct ammonia oxidation metabolic pathways (NH₄⁺→NH₂OH→N₂) besides the complete nitrification and denitrification pathway. The annotation of nitrogen assimilation-related functional genes (including gltB, gltD, glnA, nasA, nirB, narK, nrtP, cynT, and gdhA genes) in the whole-genome sequencing analysis further confirmed the high assimilation nitrogen activity of the HN-AD strain. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Application of Electrochemical Methods in Water Treatment)

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15 pages, 3724 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Efficient H₂O₂ Production and Activation by Air Diffusion Cathode Combined with Ultraviolet for Lake Water Treatment: A Long-Term Evaluation

by Hui Hong, Shiwei Xie, Aoxue Qiu, Yuming Yao, Wenzhe Jiang, Jilei Li, Zihao Wan, Shengjie Xiang, Chenyi Xi, Jingxian Xiao and Na Zhang

Water 2024, 16(12), 1658; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16121658 - 11 Jun 2024

Viewed by 797

Abstract

This study utilizes a natural air diffusion cathode (ADC) and an ultraviolet lamp to construct a UV/H₂O₂ reactor for the in situ synthesis and activation of H₂O₂ and evaluates its potential application in practical lake water treatment. The results indicate that the reactor exhibits stable treatment performance during a continuous flow experiment of 80 h. The air diffusion cathode maintains an H₂O₂ concentration of above 350 mg·L⁻¹ in sodium sulfate electrolyte and shows no decreasing trend. Under the condition of approximately 59% H₂O₂ utilization, the removal rates of COD and TOC are 37.6% and 40.0%, respectively; the rate of reduction of A₂₅₄ is 64.3%; while the total bacterial count removal rate reaches 100%. Large organic molecules in surface water are degraded to small organic molecules and mineralized to inorganic minor molecules. It effectively ameliorates the problem of organic pollution of surface water and effectively kills bacteria and improves the microbiological safety of the water body. Therefore, the UV/H₂O₂ system developed in this study, based on electrochemically produced H₂O₂, is an effective method for treating micro-polluted surface water. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Application of Electrochemical Methods in Water Treatment)

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11 pages, 1664 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of UV-LED Wavelength on Reactive Species Photogeneration from Dissolved Organic Matter

by Ze-Chong Guo, Lu Zhang, Yong Chen, Cheng Huang and Zhi-Min Liao

Water 2024, 16(5), 635; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16050635 - 21 Feb 2024

Viewed by 1072

Abstract

The photogeneration of reactive species from dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays a crucial role in the photochemical and photobiochemical processes in natural aquatic systems. However, the impact of the ultraviolet (UV) wavelength on the photogeneration of reactive species by different sources of DOM remains unclear. In this study, UV light at four wavelengths (365 nm, 310 nm, 280 nm, and 260 nm) provided by UV-LEDs were irradiated onto three types of DOM: humic acid (HA), fulvic acid (FA), and effluent organic matter (EfOM). Three reactive species produced by DOM, including excited triplet-state DOM (³DOM*), singlet oxygen (¹O₂), and hydroxyl radicals (•OH), were determined. UV₃₆₅ proved to be the most efficient wavelength for generating ¹O₂ and •OH, with formation rates of 3.47 × 10⁻⁶ M s⁻¹ and 1.67 × 10⁻⁸ M s⁻¹, respectively, with the addition of FA and EfOM. The highest steady-state concentrations of all three reactive species were also generated under UV₃₆₅, reaching 3.00 × 10⁻¹³ M (³DOM*) and 1.64 × 10⁻¹¹ M (¹O₂) with the FA addition, and 1.44 × 10⁻¹⁰ M (•OH) with the EfOM. Across the different DOM sources, UV₃₆₅ obtained the maximum quantum yields of reactive species, indicating the stronger effect of UV₃₆₅ on inducing the photosensitization of DOM compared to the other shorter wavelengths. This study expands our understanding of the photochemistry of DOM in aquatic environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Application of Electrochemical Methods in Water Treatment)

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13 pages, 2152 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Co-Pyrolysis of Fenton Sludge and Pomelo Peel for Heavy Metal Stabilization: Speciation Mechanism and Risk Evaluation

by Cheng Huang, Lixian Wang, Lingyi Fan and Yong Chen

Water 2023, 15(21), 3733; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15213733 - 26 Oct 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1330

Abstract

The safe disposal and resource utilization of Fenton sludge (FS) are challenges due to the presence of heavy metals (HMs). Co-pyrolysis with biomass waste can effectively increase biochar quality and immobilize HMs, but research focusing on heavy metal stabilization from Fenton sludge using the co-pyrolysis approach is scattered. In this study, the co-pyrolysis of FS and pomelo peel (PP) was developed as a strategy to reduce the environmental risk of HMs. The results showed that co-pyrolysis greatly increased the pH and aromaticity of biochars, and the maximum specific surface area was 6.5 times higher than the corresponding FS-based biochar due to the sponge-like structure of PP, which was likely conducive to adsorbing HMs during pyrolysis. Meanwhile, the addition of PP promoted the enrichment of HMs in co-pyrolyzed biochars as well as induced the transformation of bio-available HM fractions to stable forms, especially at high temperatures. Finally, the presence of PP led to the decline in HM leachability in biochars; thus, the potential ecological risks of HMs decreased from considerable pollution levels to moderate and even clean levels. This study demonstrated that co-pyrolysis with PP is a promising approach to reduce the toxicity of HMs and improve the functionality of biochar for industrial sludge management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Application of Electrochemical Methods in Water Treatment)

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22 pages, 7061 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on Preparation of Rabbit Manure Biochar and Activation of Peroxymonosulfate for Rhodamine B Degradation

by Feng Ouyang, Yujie Liu, Jiao Chen, Chenghan Tang, Aojie Wang, Yixin Lu and Yiping Yuan

Water 2023, 15(11), 2015; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15112015 - 26 May 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2159

Abstract

Using rabbit manure as raw material, three distinct types of rabbit manure biochar (RBC400, RBC500, and RBC600) were prepared via pyrolysis at 400 °C, 500 °C, and 600 °C, respectively. The effects of pyrolysis temperature on the physicochemical properties of biochar were examined by scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction techniques. Rabbit manure biochar was used to activate permonosulfate (PMS) to degrade rhodamine B (RhB). The findings revealed that RBC600 prepared at 600 °C showed the strongest catalytic activity due to its abundant pores and pore structure, high graphitization, and high carbonization degree. Under optimal reaction conditions (0.4 g/L PMS and 0.6 g/L RBC600), the degradation rate of 50 mg/L RhB reached 93.38% within 60 min. RBC600 can be effectively recovered, and effective catalytic activity can be sustained after five cycles. The quenching and EPR experiments showed that both free-radical (SO₄⁻ and ·OH) and non-free-radical (¹O₂) pathways contributed to the degradation of RhB, in which ¹O₂ performed a dominant role. In conclusion, the new PMS activator prepared in this study not only realizes the “waste to waste” use of manure waste but also provides technical support for the efficient resource-based treatment of organic wastewater. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Application of Electrochemical Methods in Water Treatment)

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13 pages, 29108 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Methane Promotion of Waste Sludge Anaerobic Digestion: Effect of Typical Metal Meshes on Community Evolution and Electron Transfer

by Ling Wang, Chang Liu, Xing Fan, Chunxue Yang, Xiaolin Zhou and Zechong Guo

Water 2022, 14(19), 3129; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14193129 - 4 Oct 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1935

Abstract

Anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge (WAS) to produce methane is a promising pathway for biomass energy recovery. However, a slow organic biodegradation rate and weak microbial cooperation between fermentation bacteria and methanogens lead to low methane production from WAS. Considering the reuse of conductive materials for the regulation of microbial communities, this study chose three kinds of high-mesh metal materials (nickel, copper, and stainless steel) to promote the anaerobic digestion process. All three kinds of metal mesh could effectively increase methane production, and the highest methane production was increased by 61%, reaching 77.52 mL gVSS⁻¹. The poor biocompatibility of the stainless steel mesh was the least effective in promoting methane production compared to the biocompatible copper mesh and nickel mesh. The microbiological analysis found that the metal mesh with good biocompatibility can effectively induce and promote the enrichment of key microorganisms in the process of synergistic methane production, and the direct electron transfer process (DIET) of microorganisms on the metal surface contributes to the further improvement of the methane production efficiency. Therefore, the application of metal conductive materials in sludge anaerobic fermentation is feasible to achieve the retention of syntrophic bacteria and methanogens in the system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Application of Electrochemical Methods in Water Treatment)

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17 pages, 5120 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nitrate Removal from Groundwater by Heterotrophic and Electro-Autotrophic Denitrification

by Shuangshuang Yao, Lei Liu, Shiyang Zhang and Xinhua Tang

Water 2022, 14(11), 1759; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14111759 - 30 May 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2481

Abstract

A heterotrophic and autotrophic denitrification (HAD) system shows satisfactory performance for groundwater with nitrate contamination. In this study, an HAD system combining solid-phase heterotrophic denitrification and electrochemical hydrogen autotrophic denitrification (SHD-EHD) was developed for the treatment of nitrate-contaminated groundwater, in which polycaprolactone (PCL) was used as the carbon source to enhance the nitrate removal performance and prevent secondary pollution of the electrochemical hydrogen autotrophic denitrification (EHD) system. The denitrification performance, microbial community structure and nitrogen metabolism were investigated. The results showed that a high nitrate removal rate of 99.04% was achieved with an influent nitrate concentration of 40 mg/L, a current of 40 mA and a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 4 h. By comparing the performance with the EHD system, it was found that the HAD system with PCL promoted the complete denitrification and reduced the accumulation of

{N O}_{2}^{-}

-N. Analysis of the microbial community structure identified the key denitrifying bacteria: Dechloromonas, Thauera and Hydrogenophaga. A comparison of microbial communities from SHD-EHD and solid-phase heterotrophic denitrification (SHD) demonstrated that electrical stimulation promoted the abundance of the dominant denitrifying bacteria and the electroactive bacteria. Analysis of the nitrogen metabolic pathway revealed that the conversion of NO to N₂O was the rate-limiting step in the overall denitrification pathway. The SHD-EHD developed in this study showed great potential for groundwater nitrate removal. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Application of Electrochemical Methods in Water Treatment)

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12 pages, 1772 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electrode Microbial Communities Associated with Electron Donor Source Types in a Bioelectrochemical System Treating Azo-Dye Wastewater

by Zechong Guo, Lu Zhang, Min-Hua Cui and Aijie Wang

Water 2022, 14(9), 1505; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14091505 - 7 May 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1995

Abstract

Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) have been acknowledged to be an efficient technology for refractory pollution treatment. An electron donor is as an indispensable element of BES, and domestic wastewater (DW) has been proved as a cost-efficient and accessible alternative option to expensive carbon sources (such as acetate and glucose), yet its effect on microbial community evolution has not been thoroughly revealed. In this study, the electrode microbial communities from BESs treating azo dye wastewater fed by DW (R_DW), acetate (R_Ac), and glucose (R_Glu) were systematically revealed based on 16S rRNA Illumina MiSeq sequencing platform. It was found that there were significant differences between three groups in microbial community structures. Desulfovibrio, Acinetobacter, and Klebsiella were identified as the predominant bacterial genera in R_DW, R_Ac, and R_Glu, respectively. Methanosaeta, the most enriched methanogen in all reactors, had a relative lower abundance in R_DW. Microbial communities in R_Ac and R_Glu were sensitive to electrode polarity while R_DW was sensitive to electrode position_. Compared with pure substrates, DW increased the diversity of microbial community and, thus, may enhance the stability of electrode biofilm. This study provides an insight into the microbial response mechanism to the electron donors and provides engineering implications for the development of BES. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Application of Electrochemical Methods in Water Treatment)

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19 pages, 3114 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mechanism and Kinetic Analysis of the Degradation of Atrazine by O₃/H₂O₂

by Yixin Lu, Chenghan Tang, Yujie Liu and Jiao Chen

Water 2022, 14(9), 1412; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14091412 - 28 Apr 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1769

Abstract

In phosphate buffer, the degradation of ATZ by ozone/(O₃/H₂O₂) under various circumstance was explored and the degradation mechanism and dynamics were probed. The findings revealed that when maintaining the reaction temperature at 25 °C, the H₂O₂ concentration and the O₃ concentration were 20 mol/L and 20 mol/L, respectively. Moreover, the degradation rate of 5 mol/L ATZ under the influence of O₃/H₂O₂ was 92.59% in phosphate buffer at pH7. The mechanism analysis showed that HO• and O₃ underwent co-oxidized degradation and that the HO• and O₃ oxidation degradation ratios were close to 1:1 under acidic conditions. Furthermore, HO• oxidative degradation dominated the ATZ degradation process. The kinetics analysis showed that the ATZ kinetics of O₃/H₂O₂ degradation were more compatible with quasi-second-order reaction kinetics under different temperatures, pH values, and H₂O₂ concentrations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Application of Electrochemical Methods in Water Treatment)

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