Soil/Sediment Remediation and Wastewater Treatment

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

The continuous discharge of hazardous substances (e.g., organic contaminants, inorganic nutrients, and potentially toxic elements) into the soil/sediment system through wastewater and other routes has led to harmful effects on the environment and human health. Several strategies were proposed to deal with this issue, but novel options beyond traditional approaches are needed to unlock the full potential of these waste streams while ensuring environmental protection.

This Topic, entitled “Soil/Sediment Remediation and Wastewater Treatment”, promotes novel environmental science and technology works, mainly including soil/sediment remediation and wastewater treatment methods. With this Topic, original research and review articles, case and technical reports, and short communications are considered for publication. Investigation themes may be related, but are not limited to:

• Emerging pollutants (e.g., microplastics, antibiotics, herbicides);
• Bioremediation, phytoremediation, bioaugmentation and biostimulation;
• Advanced oxidation processes for soil/sediment treatment;
• Sustainable adsorbents (e.g., biochar) aimed at pollutant removal;
• Biosorption and biocoagulation;
• Thermal remediation;
• Physico-chemical techniques for resource recovery from wastewater;
• Nutrient recovery from wastewater;
• Phosphorus removal and recovery (e.g., chemical precipitation, PAO);
• Biological treatments for wastewater (e.g., biological nutrients removal);
• Innovative system for wastewater treatment (e.g., membrane-based systems);
• Renewable energy from sludge (e.g., biomethane, biohydrogen, syngas);
• Pretreatment methods for the improvement of biogas potential;
• Anaerobic fermentation modeling;
• Digestate treatment (e.g., removal of nitrogen, sanitization).

We look forward to receiving your contributions. 

Dr. Francesco Bianco
Dr. Silvio Matassa
Dr. Armando Oliva
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Clean Technologies cleantechnol	4.7	8.3	2019	20 Days	CHF 1800	Submit
Sustainability sustainability	3.3	7.7	2009	17.9 Days	CHF 2400	Submit
Toxics toxics	4.1	6.4	2013	17.8 Days	CHF 2600	Submit
Water water	3.0	6.0	2009	18.9 Days	CHF 2600	Submit
Environments environments	3.7	5.7	2014	19.2 Days	CHF 1800	Submit
Agriculture agriculture	3.6	6.3	2011	18.8 Days	CHF 2600	Submit

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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All Clean Technol. Sustainability Toxics Water Environments Agriculture

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21 pages, 1485 KB  

Open AccessArticle

Potential of Single-Cell Protein as Novel Biosorbents for the Removal of Heavy Metals from Seawater

by Chiara Maraviglia, Silvio Matassa, Alessandra Cesaro and Francesco Pirozzi

Water 2025, 17(22), 3253; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17223253 - 14 Nov 2025

Viewed by 705

Abstract

This study aimed to explore innovative sorbent materials for the remediation of contaminated marine environments, with a focus on metal removal from seawater. Adsorption tests were carried out to evaluate the performance of single-cell proteins (SCPs), a protein-rich biomass derived from industrial by-products, [...] Read more.

This study aimed to explore innovative sorbent materials for the remediation of contaminated marine environments, with a focus on metal removal from seawater. Adsorption tests were carried out to evaluate the performance of single-cell proteins (SCPs), a protein-rich biomass derived from industrial by-products, in comparison with commercial activated carbon (AC). Given the increasing need for sustainable and effective approaches in sediment remediation and water treatment, identifying alternatives to conventional sorbents is of particular relevance. Results showed that SCPs exhibited higher affinity for Cr than for Zn, while multi-metal solutions improved adsorption, suggesting synergistic interactions possibly linked to surface charge effects and ternary complex formation. Importantly, SCPs demonstrated competitive and, in some cases, superior performance compared to AC, highlighting their potential as an innovative and sustainable material. Moreover, when the absorbent materials were combined, SCP and AC mixes outperformed both the individual adsorbents and the expected additive efficiencies, achieving significantly higher removal yields for both metals, particularly at low concentrations. Overall, these findings suggest that SCPs, alone or in combination with AC, represent a promising strategy for the removal of heavy metals from marine systems, offering new opportunities for the treatment of contaminated sediments and seawater. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Soil/Sediment Remediation and Wastewater Treatment)

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16 pages, 1851 KB  

Open AccessArticle

Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Road-Deposited Sediments and Correlation Distribution of DOM and Heavy Metals in Beijing, China

by Donghai Yuan, Pengmiao Li, Chenling Yan, Jinggang Wang, Xiaochen Bai, Yuhang Wei, Chen Wang and Yingying Kou

Toxics 2025, 13(4), 308; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13040308 - 16 Apr 2025

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1318

Abstract

Road-deposited sediments (RDS) from 28 sites in Beijing were studied and analyzed for eight heavy metals. In RDS, the levels of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Pb and V were 2.76, 1.11, 2.40, 1.65, 1.09, 6.52, 4.13 and 0.06 times the background [...] Read more.

Road-deposited sediments (RDS) from 28 sites in Beijing were studied and analyzed for eight heavy metals. In RDS, the levels of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Pb and V were 2.76, 1.11, 2.40, 1.65, 1.09, 6.52, 4.13 and 0.06 times the background values, respectively. The levels were rated in accordance with the geoaccumulation index (Igeo) as follows: Cd>Pb>Zn>Cu>Cr>Ni>As>V. In the four functional zones, the potential ecological risk index method showed that most of the heavy metals have environmental risk index values (${\mathrm{E}}_{\mathrm{r}}^{\mathrm{i}}$) of less than 40, but the multifactor environmental risk value (RI) for Pb in the transportation area exceeded 150. Four functional areas had Cd values greater than 160, exhibiting the highest risk. The human health risk assessment revealed that exposure pathways followed this decreasing order: ingestion > dermal > inhalation. Three DOM fractions were resolved in the sediments of the four functional zones, including terrestrial fulvic-acid-like fractions (C1), humic-acid-like fractions (C2), and tryptophan-like fractions (C3), and the DOM fractions were affected by both exogenous and endogenous sources. A positive correlation existed between DOM and Ni and Cu in the transportation zone, and the correlation between DOM and heavy metals in other zones was not apparent. In conclusion, heavy metals in different functional zones affected the concentration and characteristics of DOM, and there was a strong correlation between heavy metals and DOM concentration and features. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Soil/Sediment Remediation and Wastewater Treatment)

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