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Minerals
Special Issues
Innovations in Nanotechnology for Wastewater and Acid Mine Drainage Treatment
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Innovations in Nanotechnology for Wastewater and Acid Mine Drainage Treatment

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (16 July 2021) | Viewed by 9216

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Elvis Fosso-Kankeu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Water Pollution Monitoring and Remediation Initiatives Research Group, School of Chemical and Minerals Engineering, North West University South Africa, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
Interests: wastewater; pollution; remediation; adsorption; environment; hydrometallurgy; extraction metallurgy; photocatalysis; nanotechnology; bioprocessing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Veronica Mpode Ngole-Jeme

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
School of Ecological and Human sustainability, College of Agriculture and Environmental Science, University of South Africa, PO Box 392, UNISA 0003, South Africa
Interests: soil quality monitoring and assessment; environmental chemistry; soil remediation; heavy metals exposure risk assessment; occurrence of EDCs in soils
Dr. Hemant Mittal

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Khalifa University of Science & Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Interests: hydrogels; wastewater; adsorption; photocatalysis; pollution; nanotechnology; atmospheric water collection; biodegradation; flocculation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The evolution of anthropogenic activities has been coupled with a substantial increase in the diversity and amount of pollutants released into the environment. Among these are emerging pollutants, mostly organic compounds, which derive from the excretion of pharmaceutical wastes, industrial effluents, and municipal discharge. Some forms of pollution have also evolved, including the proliferation of acid mine drainage from oxidation or weathering of obsolete and unmanaged excavations around the world. Our water resources have been particularly affected as the conventional water treatment systems become quickly overwhelmed by some of these pollutants, which are ubiquitous and resistant to existing treatment processes. This poses a serious risk to the health of humans and the ecosystem. Innovative approaches to curb the negative impact of such pollutants are therefore required. The development of smart nanomaterials (e.g., photocatalysts and adsorbents) responding perfectly to the robustness and diversity of the emerging pollutants is crucial for the design of an effective, sustainable, and eco-friendly water treatment system. Contributions to this Special Issue must therefore address topics related to innovative techniques for the development, characterization, and application of nanomaterials for the removal of organic and inorganic pollutants from polluted water.

Prof. Dr. Elvis Fosso-Kankeu
Dr. Hemant Mittal
Prof. Dr. Veronica Mpode Ngole-Jeme
Guest Editor

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. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2400 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

  • nanotechnology
  • acid mine drainage
  • wastewater
  • organic and inorganic pollutants
  • photocatalysis
  • adsorption
  • flocculation/precipitation

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 35887 KiB  
Article
Laboratory Study on the Effectiveness of Limestone and Cementitious Industrial Products for Acid Mine Drainage Remediation
by Abdellatif Elghali, Mostafa Benzaazoua, Hassan Bouzahzah and Bruno Bussière
Minerals 2021, 11(4), 413; https://doi.org/10.3390/min11040413 - 14 Apr 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2960
Abstract
Acid mine tailings may affect several environmental matrices. Here, we aimed to stabilize acid-generated mine tailings using several alkaline and cementitious amendments, which were tested in columns for 361 days. The alkaline amendments consisted of 10 and 20 wt.% limestone, while the cementitious [...] Read more.
Acid mine tailings may affect several environmental matrices. Here, we aimed to stabilize acid-generated mine tailings using several alkaline and cementitious amendments, which were tested in columns for 361 days. The alkaline amendments consisted of 10 and 20 wt.% limestone, while the cementitious amendments consisted of different binders at a total dosage of 5 wt.% binder. The different formulations for the cementitious amendments were: 50% Kruger fly ash and 50% class F fly ash; 20% ordinary Portland cement, 40% Kruger fly ash, and 40% class F fly ash; 80% ordinary Portland cement and 20% Kruger fly ash; and 20% ordinary Portland cement, 40% Kruger fly ash, and 40% fly ash. Kinetic testing on the amendment formulations showed that the pH values increased from <2.5 to circumneutral values (~7.5). The mobility of various chemical species was greatly reduced. Cumulative Fe released from the unamended tailings was ~342.5 mg/kg, and was <22 mg/kg for the amended tailings. The main mechanisms responsible for metal(loid) immobilization were the precipitation of secondary phases, such as Fe-oxyhydroxides, physical trapping, and tailing impermeabilization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations in Nanotechnology for Wastewater and Acid Mine Drainage Treatment)
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13 pages, 22678 KiB  
Article
Synthesis and Application of FeCu Bimetallic Nanoparticles in Coal Mine Wastewater Treatment
by Nkosinathi Goodman Dlamini, Albertus Kotze Basson and Viswanadha Srirama Rajasekhar Pullabhotla
Minerals 2021, 11(2), 132; https://doi.org/10.3390/min11020132 - 28 Jan 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2694
Abstract
Wastewater treatment has become a global challenge with wastewater treatment cost fast increasing. Industrial processes such as downstream processes, wastewater treatment, and several fermentation processes depend largely on the use of flocculants. Synthetic flocculants, which are conventionally used in wastewater treatment, are hazardous [...] Read more.
Wastewater treatment has become a global challenge with wastewater treatment cost fast increasing. Industrial processes such as downstream processes, wastewater treatment, and several fermentation processes depend largely on the use of flocculants. Synthetic flocculants, which are conventionally used in wastewater treatment, are hazardous to the environment and are carcinogenic to human health. Therefore, bioflocculants can be used as an alternative due to their biodegradable and environmentally friendly nature. However, low efficacy hinders their industrial application. This necessitates the need for a new technology to combat wastewater treatment challenges. Nanotechnology provides the platform to explore the possible solutions to these problems. The combination of two different metals results in the formation of bimetallic nanoparticles (BNPs). Due to better properties, bimetallic nanoparticles have attracted huge attention as compared to monometallic nanoparticles from both technological and scientific views. Iron copper bimetallic nanoparticles (FeCu BNPs) were successfully stabilized by bioflocculant and used in the coal mine wastewater treatment. Infrared spectrometric analysis showed the presence of carboxyl (COO−), hydroxyl (−OH), and amino (−NH2) functional groups. SEM images showed irregular and crystalline like morphology. Meanwhile, TEM analysis revealed chain like agglomerated nanoparticles. FeCu BNPs exhibited a wide pH stability range from 3, 7, and 11 with 99% flocculation activity at pH 7 and at lowest dosage of 0.2 mg/mL. After treating wastewater, the FeCu BNPs could remove pollutants such as phosphate, sulfate, calcium, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and biological oxygen demand (BOD) with phosphate having the highest removal efficacy of 99%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations in Nanotechnology for Wastewater and Acid Mine Drainage Treatment)
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15 pages, 4254 KiB  
Article
Recovery of Iron Nanoparticles from Mine Wastewater Using Plant Extracts of Eucalyptus Globulus, Callistemon Viminalis and Persea Americana
by Lovasoa C. Razanamahandry, Assumpta C. Nwanya, Michael O. Akharame, Badeggi U. Muhammad, Seteno K.O. Ntwampe and Elvis Fosso-Kankeu
Minerals 2020, 10(10), 859; https://doi.org/10.3390/min10100859 - 29 Sep 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2357
Abstract
Mine wastewater (MW) is often rich in heavy metals that can have measurable effects on humans. The storage and treatment of MW remains a challenge for most mining companies. Iron (Fe) in MW was removed by using extracts from Eucalyptus globulus (EG); Callistemon [...] Read more.
Mine wastewater (MW) is often rich in heavy metals that can have measurable effects on humans. The storage and treatment of MW remains a challenge for most mining companies. Iron (Fe) in MW was removed by using extracts from Eucalyptus globulus (EG); Callistemon viminalis (CV); and Persea americana (AS). Fe was removed from MW samples with an initial concentration of 5.53 mg Fe mL−1; 4.63 mg Fe mL−1 and 4.40 mg Fe mL−1 using EG leaves, CV flowers and AS seed extracts, respectively. Conditions of the MW decontamination were studied by varying the dosage of the plant extracts, the temperature of the medium and the contact time between the MW and the plant extracts. Undiluted plant extracts—which were mixed with the MW and heated at 45 °C for 3 h—gave the highest Fe-removal efficiency for CV (70%) and AS (53%) extracts, respectively. Similarly, EG extracts, albeit heated at 25 °C, showed a higher Fe-removal efficiency (85%) than the CV and AS extracts at low to high temperatures. The residual Fe concentration in the MW was 0.83 mg Fe mL−1, 1.39 mg Fe mL−1 and 2.07 mg Fe mL−1 for EG, CV and AS extracts, respectively. Residue solid-phase deposits from the precipitation reaction of the MW with the plant extracts were collected and analyzed. Fe was among the byproducts detected in the deposited material. The characterization of the annealed solid-phase deposits revealed Fe precipitates as maghemite-C (Fe2O3) and magnetite (FeFe2O4) nanoparticles. Therefore, the MW quality and form were improved, making it reusable for other purposes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations in Nanotechnology for Wastewater and Acid Mine Drainage Treatment)
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