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Special Issue "Emerging Pollutants and Wastewater Treatment Technologies"

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A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2023 | Viewed by 5942

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Emmanuel Kweinor Tetteh

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Guest Editor

Green Engineering Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4001, South Africa
Interests: water and wastewater treatment technology; biophotocatalysis; membrane technology; bioenergy; process optimization; response surface methodology; green engineering; green catalysis; nanotechnology and magnetic separation technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Sudesh Rathilal

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Guest Editor

Green Engineering Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4001, South Africa
Interests: water and wastewater treatment technologies; green engineering; membrane technology; process optimization; advanced oxidation process; nanotechnology; magnetic separation process
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Isaac Dennis Amoah

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Guest Editor

Department of Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
Interests: water and wastewater treatment technologies; microbial risk assessment; pharmacetology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Anthropogenic activities and industrialisation makes the treatment of water pollution very fundamental in environmental sustainability. In fact, emerging contaminants (ECs), such as pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, pesticides, oil emulsion, phenols, and dye, are highly recalcitrant pollutants which undermine the efficacy of conventional treatment technologies. Consequently, advancing technologies to monitor and mitigate ECs is highly advantageous as they pose a great threat to human health and the environment. Herein, the reclamation of wastewater for reuse can be a viable route to water sustainability. Generally, to meet stringent wastewater discharge specifications, significant efforts made in addressing and managing waste and water pollution still encounter difficulty. This warrants an urgent demand for developing robust technologies and the concept of treating wastewater towards a circular economy.

Therefore, this Special Issue will present new ideas and experimental results in the field of water and wastewater treatment technologies and other related disciplines. Areas relevant to bioenergy and wastewater management may be included, as they are not limited to kinetics and the process optimisation of anaerobic digestion, advanced oxidation, bioremediation, adsorption, coagulation, nanotechnology, bioprocessing, bioengineering, life cycle assessment, and environmental protection solutions.

Dr. Emmanuel Kweinor Tetteh
Prof. Dr. Sudesh Rathilal
Prof. Dr. Isaac Dennis Amoah
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. Applied Sciences 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 2300 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

advanced oxidation process
bioengineering
biotechnology
coagulation
emerging contaminants
nanotechnology
bioenergy
photocatalytic engineering

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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Open AccessArticle

Turbidity and COD Removal from Municipal Wastewater Using a TiO₂ Photocatalyst—A Comparative Study of UV and Visible Light

Caressa Munien

Emmanuel Kweinor Tetteh

Timaine Govender

Shivek Jairajh

Liberty L. Mguni

and

Sudesh Rathilal

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(8), 4766; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13084766 - 10 Apr 2023

Viewed by 820

Abstract

Water resources are depleting, and the availability and supply of clean, potable water are a global concern. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) possess immense prospects in water and wastewater treatment settings. This study investigated and optimized the photocatalytic treatment of wastewater using titanium dioxide (TiO₂) as the photocatalyst. The one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) technique was employed to evaluate the effects of reaction time (20–100 min), mixing speed (20–100 rpm), and catalyst load (0.3–1.5 g/L) on pH, colour, turbidity, and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal from actual municipal wastewater. Reaction time and catalyst load were then identified as the two key factors selected to be modeled and were optimized for turbidity and COD removal using the Central Composite Design (CCD) of response surface methodology (RSM). These statistical models were developed and used to optimize the operating conditions. The results obtained showed a desirability efficiency of 74.7% at a 95% confidence level. The RSM model predicted results at the optimum conditions and showed reasonable agreement with the experimental results obtained. The optimal responses achieved were 32.64% COD removal and 95.17% turbidity removal. A comparative study between UV light and visible light was also conducted at optimum conditions, whereby the UV light was demonstrated to be highly effective for turbidity and COD removal. The optimal responses achieved were 25.58% COD removal and 66.88% turbidity removal for visible light. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Pollutants and Wastewater Treatment Technologies)

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Open AccessArticle

Enhancing Biodegradation of Industrial Wastewater into Methane-Rich Biogas Using an Up-Flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor

Lindokuhle Ngema

Devona Sathiyah

Emmanuel Kweinor Tetteh

and

Sudesh Rathilal

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(7), 4181; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13074181 - 25 Mar 2023

Viewed by 544

Abstract

Anaerobic digestion (AD), the oldest technology used for treating waste, converts organic matter into biogas in the absence of oxygen. The current efforts focuses on improving the digestion of a local industrial wastewater to produce biogas and treat water for reuse. A lab-scale up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor operated at 37 °C was employed for the biodegradation the industrial wastewater. A one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) approach was used to study the effects of influent chemical oxygen demand (CODin), hydraulic retention time (HRT), and magnetic nanoparticles (magnetite) on UASB biogas and COD elimination from digestate wastewater. The optimum HRT for the biodegradation of municipal wastewater was found to be 21 days with contaminants’ removals of 94%, 90.1%, and 98.9% for COD, color, and turbidity, respectively. The addition of magnetite resulted in 225 mL of cumulative biogas produced with 73% methane content, and treatability efficiency of 85%. The most influential factor was magnetite load, which stimulated the microbial activity via redox catalytic reaction in degrading the high organic wastewater (9590 mg COD/L) into biogas production. The prospects of upgrading lab-scale of this technological concept for bioenergy production is viable to mitigate wastewater management and fossil fuel environmental challenges. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Pollutants and Wastewater Treatment Technologies)

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Open AccessArticle

Central Composite Design Optimisation of Banana Peels/Magnetite for Anaerobic Biogas Production from Wastewater

Jeremiah A. Adedeji

Emmanuel Kweinor Tetteh

and

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(23), 12037; https://doi.org/10.3390/app122312037 - 24 Nov 2022

Viewed by 692

Abstract

Biogas production from wastewater as a function to curb waste and provide energy security has gained worldwide attention. Ensuring the stability of anaerobic digestion (AD) of physiochemical and biological complexity necessitates optimization. In this study, a central composite design (CCD) from a response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to evaluate and optimize the effects of bio-stimulation of banana peels coupled with magnetite on the anaerobic digestion of wastewater to produce biogas. An experimental matrix of 14 runs using the CCD, with two factors (nanoparticle and biochar load) as a function of pH, biogas production, and COD removal by the AD process was operated at a constant mesophilic temperature (37 °C) for 28 days. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the quadratic models attained were significant (p-values < 0.05) with a high coefficient of determination (R²) values closer to 1. The optimized conditions, including nanoparticle (0.46 g) and biochar (0.66 mgVS/L), resulted in biogas production (19.26 mL/day), pH (7.07), and COD removal (75.17%). This suggests 100% desirability at a 95% confidence level. This finding depicts the trade-off between biogas productivity, biodegradability, and stability of the AD process established for future consideration of using nanoparticles as bio-stimulant. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Pollutants and Wastewater Treatment Technologies)

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Review

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Open AccessReview

Mycoremediation as a Potentially Promising Technology: Current Status and Prospects—A Review

Stephen Okiemute Akpasi

Ifeanyi Michael Smarte Anekwe

Emmanuel Kweinor Tetteh

Ubani Oluwaseun Amune

Hassan Oriyomi Shoyiga

Thembisile Patience Mahlangu

and

Sammy Lewis Kiambi

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(8), 4978; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13084978 - 15 Apr 2023

Viewed by 942

Abstract

Global environmental pollutants are becoming intense because of the increasing human population, urbanisation, and industrialisation. Human health and the ecosystem are affected by soil and water contamination. Therefore, creating strategies is essential to tackle this persistent issue. In the process, the health and environmental risk associated with these pollutants can be signifi-cantly reduced. Previously, traditional remediation techniques have been employed in combating these environmental pollutants, proving ineffective. Mycoremediation, which uses fungi or their compounds to remediate environmental pollutants, has shown to be a cost-efficient, environmen-tally friendly, and effective method of environmental remediation that includes organic, inorganic, and emerging contaminants (antibiotics, pharmaceuticals). This review provides an overview of various mycoremediation approaches through fungi for biosorption, precipitation, biotransfor-mation, and sequestration of environmental pollutants. In addition, the removal of metals, persis-tent organic pollutants, and other emerging contaminants by mycoremediation was highlighted. For example, fungi such as Pleurotusdryinus, Trameteshirsuta MK640786, and Aspergillusniger shows 91%, 94%, and 98.4% degradation of pollutants ranging from pesticides to azo dyes, respectively. Furthermore, prospects of mycoremediation to remove heavy metals and emerging pollutants from waters and soils were discussed. It was elucidated that fungi have great potential for the mycoremediation of emerging pollutants such as heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, and weedicides. The findings suggested a knowledge gap exists to enhance the rate of the mycoremediation process. Therefore, a possible framework of mycoremediation was proposed to facilitate this promising technology for rectifying global environmental problems. For mycoremediation procedures to be as effective as possible, further studies are needed on fungal enzymes’ role, activities, and regulation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Pollutants and Wastewater Treatment Technologies)

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Open AccessReview

Microbial Bioremediation and Biodegradation of Petroleum Products—A Mini Review

Jeremiah A. Adedeji

Emmanuel Kweinor Tetteh

Mark Opoku Amankwa

Dennis Asante-Sackey

Samuel Ofori-Frimpong

and

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(23), 12212; https://doi.org/10.3390/app122312212 - 29 Nov 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1686

Abstract

The demand for technological and industrial change has become heavily dependent on the availability and use of petroleum products as a source of energy for socio-economic development. Notwithstanding, petroleum and petrochemical products are strongly related to global economic activities, and their extensive distribution, refining processes, and final routes into the environment pose a threat to human health and the ecosystem. Additional global environmental challenges related to the toxicological impact of air, soil, and water pollutants from hydrocarbons are carcinogenic to animals and humans. Therefore, it is practical to introduce biodegradation as a biological catalyst to address the remediation of petroleum-contaminated ecosystems, adverse impacts, the complexity of hydrocarbons, and resistance to biodegradation. This review presents the bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminants in water and soil, focusing on petroleum biodegradable microorganisms essential for the biodegradation of petroleum contaminants. Moreover, explore the mineralization and transformation of complex organic and inorganic contaminants into other simpler compounds by biological agents. In addition, physicochemical and biological factors affecting biodegradation mechanisms and enzymatic systems are expanded. Finally, recent studies on bioremediation techniques with economic prospects for petroleum spill remediation are highlighted. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Pollutants and Wastewater Treatment Technologies)

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Open AccessReview

The Occurrence and Bioremediation of Emerging Polyfluorinated Compounds in Water Bodies: A Mini Review

Siphesihle Mangena Khumalo

Babatunde Femi Bakare

and

Sudesh Rathilal

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(23), 12196; https://doi.org/10.3390/app122312196 - 29 Nov 2022

Viewed by 630

Abstract

The occurrence and fate of polyfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in the aquatic environment resulting from anthropogenic activities has become an emerging issue of environmental chemistry. PFCs have been detected in drinking water samples, aquatic life, human tissue, and blood serum. This is attributed to their xenobiotic attributes making them environmentally persistent, bio-accumulative, and globally distributed in water receiving bodies, posing serious health problems to aquatic life and human health. This is ascribed to PFCs’ peculiar physicochemical properties of being hydrophobic and oleophobic and their removal process from wastewater streams is different from any other organic pollutants. Therefore, this review summarizes the environmental occurrence and recent developments on microbial degradation of the most detected PFCs, i.e., perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) in water bodies. The available literature suggests that PFOA and PFOS are susceptible to biodegradation by Acidimicrobium sp. strain A6, Pseudomonas parafulva strain YAB1, Pseudomonas plecoglossicidia 2.4-D, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain HJ4. Moreover, the current study presents a summary on phytoremediation of PFOA and PFOS as a sustainable green technology. Despite the extensive work undertaken on bioremediation of PFOA and PFOS by biological processes, the available literature suggests that a lot of work still needs to be carried out aimed at investigating the biodegradation pathway of PFOA and PFOS by both microbial species and plants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Pollutants and Wastewater Treatment Technologies)

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