Advanced Functional Materials for Wastewater Treatment and Purification

A special issue of Separations (ISSN 2297-8739). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials in Separation Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2024 | Viewed by 5710

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, China
Interests: biomass-derived carbonaceous materials; solid waste thermal treatments; thermal responsive materials

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, China
Interests: heavy metal adsorption; seasonal characteristics of phosphorus sorption; sediment contamination control

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The world’s water supplies have been contaminated due to large effluents containing toxic pollutants such as dyes, heavy metals, surfactants, personal care products, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals from agricultural, industrial, and municipal resources into water streams. As such, water contamination and its treatment have emerged as an escalating challenge globally. Amongst various wastewater treatment approaches, adsorption is considered as one of the most cost-effective methods, and it also has witnessed continuous development in the case of the advancements in novel materials as adsorbents. Preferably, an adsorbent should be provided with enough binding sites that can perform appropriate adsorption for pollutants, and the most commonly used conventional adsorbents for pollutants and dye elimination are silica, alumina, activated carbon, clay, metal oxides, titania, etc. However, the performances including adsorption capacity and adsorption selectivity of those materials should be improved for efficient removal of pollutants in wastewater. The breakthrough of materials science and engineering provides innovative solutions to adsorption and separation technology, and this can be addressed through material synthesis (i.e., metal-organic frameworks, low dimensional materials, hydrogels/aerogels, composite materials, etc.) and rational structure design (i.e., surface modification, elemental doping, structural functionalization, etc.).

Hence, this special issue is aiming to cover the latest research progress in the synthesis, characterizations and applications of advanced materials for adsorption and separation related to wastewater treatments and purifications. We look forward to receiving your contributions from all over the world.

Dr. Tengyao Jiang
Dr. Wei Huang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • wastewater treatments
  • heavy metals
  • organic contaminants
  • porous materials
  • adsorption
  • composites

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 4962 KiB  
Article
Construction of High-Activity Nano-NiTiO3/g-C3N4 Composite Catalysts for Enhanced Photodegradation Activities under Visible Light
by Da Li, Zhan Yang, Kun Wang, Lan Zhang, Linglong Shi, Abdul Qadeer, Jiao Dong and Haoyu Ren
Separations 2024, 11(3), 77; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations11030077 - 01 Mar 2024
Viewed by 907
Abstract
Nickel titanate (NiTiO3) semiconductors and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) have attracted great attention as photocatalysts in the degradation of environmental pollutants because of their visible-light-driven activity. But the utilizations of both semiconductors are limited by their low [...] Read more.
Nickel titanate (NiTiO3) semiconductors and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) have attracted great attention as photocatalysts in the degradation of environmental pollutants because of their visible-light-driven activity. But the utilizations of both semiconductors are limited by their low specific surface area. In this study, a nano-NiTiO3/g-C3N4 photocatalyst was successfully synthesized by optimizing the preparation method of photocatalyst precursors. Compared with the bulk g-C3N4 and bulk NiTiO3/g-C3N4 composite photocatalysts, the nano-NiTiO3/g-C3N4 composite catalyst displayed a larger specific surface area, a more abundant pore size structure, and superior carrier separation capabilities. According to the pseudo-first-order, the degradation rate of MB was more than 2.5–19.7 times higher than that of previous studies. The superoxide radicals (·O2) and holes (h+) played significant roles in the photocatalytic reaction of MB. This study provides a new idea for the synthesis of photocatalysts and the improvement in photocatalytic performance. Full article
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18 pages, 15774 KiB  
Article
Adsorption Properties and Mechanism of Copper Ions from Wastewater by Lessonia nigrescens and Lessonia nigrescens Residue
by Haoran Chen, Rui Zhang, Xiaohan Qu, Yuan Yuan, Bo Zhu, Shichao Zhao and Tengyao Jiang
Separations 2023, 10(11), 559; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10110559 - 05 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1863
Abstract
Given the advantages of readily availability, low cost, convenient operation, and large adsorption capacity, brown seaweed has been studied extensively as a biosorbent for heavy metal remediation from aqueous media. Herein, raw Lessonia nigrescens and brown seaweed residue, a waste product from the [...] Read more.
Given the advantages of readily availability, low cost, convenient operation, and large adsorption capacity, brown seaweed has been studied extensively as a biosorbent for heavy metal remediation from aqueous media. Herein, raw Lessonia nigrescens and brown seaweed residue, a waste product from the manufacturing of alginate from L. nigrescens, were employed as low-cost and renewable adsorption materials for effective copper removal in wastewater streams. The influences of temperature, sample loadings, adsorption time, initial metal ion concentrations, and pH on the efficiency of the metal ions adsorption process were investigated. The thermodynamics and kinetics of Cu (II) adsorption for both the raw seaweed and seaweed residue were studied in order to determine the maximum removal efficiency and capacity. The characterization of the seaweed and seaweed residue before and after copper adsorption with SEM, FTIR, EDS, etc., coupled with the thermodynamics study, confirmed the ion exchange mechanism involved in the adsorption process. Under optimal conditions, the removal efficiencies were 75% and 71% for L. nigrescens and seaweed residue, respectively, and the adsorption capacities can reach 12.15 mg/g and 9.09 mg/g within 10 min for L. nigrescens and seaweed residue, respectively. The slight reduction in removal efficiency was because the active ion exchange sites were partially removed during the alginate extraction. The comparable metal ion removal efficiency between raw seaweed and seaweed residue suggesting the L. nigrescens residue is viable as bio-adsorbent and potential for industrial applications in adsorption process. The results provided a novel way to upgrade seaweed biomass in a biorefinery concept. Full article
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14 pages, 2710 KiB  
Article
Synthesis of Silica Gel Chelated with Alizarin and 1-Nitroso-2-Naphthol for Solid Phase Extraction of Lead in Ground Water Samples
by Sana M. Alahmadi and Salwa S. Aljuhani
Separations 2023, 10(10), 544; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10100544 - 19 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1237
Abstract
Silica gel chemically functionalized with alizarin (Si-AZ) and 1-nitroso-2-naphthol (Si-NN) was synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, N2 adsorption-desorption, SEM, and elemental analysis. The two chelators show adequate sorption properties for Pb (II) and are hence used as SPE sorbents prior to their [...] Read more.
Silica gel chemically functionalized with alizarin (Si-AZ) and 1-nitroso-2-naphthol (Si-NN) was synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, N2 adsorption-desorption, SEM, and elemental analysis. The two chelators show adequate sorption properties for Pb (II) and are hence used as SPE sorbents prior to their determination with ICP-MS. Both chelators showed high sorption efficiency for the Pb (II) ion at pH 8. Batch experiments demonstrate that the synthesized resins could remove more than 95% Pb (II) out of solutions containing 100 μg/mL of the ion. At optimum conditions, the maximum adsorption capacities for S-TDI-AZ and S-TDI-NN for Pb (II) were 9.56 and 9.43 mg/g, respectively. Method development was performed to investigate the applicability of the chelating resins as packing materials for SPE using model solutions and real groundwater samples. The method detection limits of SPE were 0.0025 and 0.0026 μg/L with high precision (R.S.D. < 3%). The recoveries of spiked Pb (II) with ground water were 104.70 and 102.62%. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of Pb (II) in the groundwater by ICP-MS. Full article
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17 pages, 5101 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Status Quo of Research on Heavy Metals in Rivers and Lakes Based on Bibliometrics
by Shuhang Wang, Yaran Zhang, Zhenghui Fu, Dong Shi, Yuanyi Wang, Dianhai Yang and Feifei Che
Separations 2023, 10(9), 490; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10090490 - 07 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1129
Abstract
Heavy metal pollution in rivers and lakes arising due to rapid economic development has been extensively studied by various countries due to its direct impact on ecological health and human well-being. However, there is a lack of comprehensive and systematic reviews addressing the [...] Read more.
Heavy metal pollution in rivers and lakes arising due to rapid economic development has been extensively studied by various countries due to its direct impact on ecological health and human well-being. However, there is a lack of comprehensive and systematic reviews addressing the current research status of this subject. In this study, we conducted a visual metrological analysis of the literature from 2001 to 2021 using the Web of Science (WoS) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) citation databases. The results show that studies conducted in other countries initially outnumbered those in China; after 2010, China emerged as the foremost contributor. Furthermore, both the WoS and CNKI databases indicate active engagement of Chinese researchers through a significant proportion of published papers on metal research, with prominent contributions coming from institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and University CAS. Nevertheless, Chinese research institutions still have relatively low total paper citation numbers and have yet to establish themselves as key players in international scientific research efforts. Additionally, core authors from different countries share substantial similarities in their research directions and focuses. Consistent research hotspots regarding heavy metals in rivers and lakes were identified across both databases, including heavy metal pollution, adsorption, human activities, water quality, and sediment. Full article
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Application of corn straw from agro-industrial waste to remove dyes from an aqueous medium
Authors: Andressa dos Santos1, Anne R. Sotiles1, Camila A. Soares1 and Fauze J. Anaissi1,*
Affiliation: 1Chemistry Department, Universidade Estadual do Centro-Oeste, UNICENTRO, 85040-167, Guarapuava, Paraná, Brazil.
Abstract: The rapid population growth and extend industrial activities, have damaged the quality of water resources, affecting the ecosystem. These contaminants include dyes that even at low concentrations, may cause a series of advers e effects in humans and animals, and your r emoval by adsorption metho ds using alternative adsorbents as natural fibers , is regarded are a research topic that has become increasingly relevant. Furthermore, t he dyeing artificial in fibers can be being an important indicator of its final value decorative and achieve a rich color system. In this study, corn straw (CS), an agro industrial residue, was used to remove dye from an aqueous medium. The samples were characterized by vibrational spe ctroscopy (FTIR) and colorimetry (CIE L*a*b*), before and after dye removal. The analyzes make it possible to identify the presence of dye on the adsorbent surface of the CS , and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images allowed us to differentiate the mor phology of CS. Preliminary adsorption data show an increase in removal percentage when alkaline treatment was applied, CS alk q max = 11.23 mg g 1 (97 16 %). After the dye removal step, the samples were characterized (by FTIR) and revealed the presence of dye adsorbed on the CS. The characterization complementary and adsorption tests are being held to ascertain the methylene blue adsorption and dyeing effe ctiveness in the corn straw residue.

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