Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.5
3.4
Journals
Water
Special Issues
The Transition of Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants into Facilities...
share announcement

The Transition of Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants into Facilities for Resources and Energy Production: Solutions and Innovation

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water-Energy Nexus".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 December 2023) | Viewed by 7392

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Maria Cristina Collivignarelli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Interests: drinking water; chemical-physical processes; sewage sludge minimization; thermophilic treatments; WWTP optimization; membrane processes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Alessandro Abbà

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics, University of Brescia, 25121 Brescia, Italy
Interests: water reuse; circular economy; resource recovery; advanced biological wastewater treatment; treatment for sludge minimization; membrane processes; assessment of wastewater treatment plants
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Chiara Milanese

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Pavia Hydrogen Lab, Chemistry Department, Physical Chemistry Section, C.S.G.I. & University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Interests: circular economy; resource recovery; preparation of innovative adsorbent materials for emerging pollutants; solid-state hydrogen storage and energy storage; hydrogen production; innovative nanomaterials and nanoparticles; physicochemical characterization in the solid state
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water is a scarce resource and it has a close and intricate nexus with energy. The traditional concept of water and wastewater treament plants is old. These plants should be considered as facilities, where reusing of resources and energy is an actual perspective in order to move towards the circular economy and to face off the global energy demand. Alternative viable solutions can be applied with the aim to obtain resources and energy from water and wastewater. Hydrogen production from this natural source, both in its clean form and after its use in human applications, is studied in the attempt to optimize the efficiency reducing the costs, in the frame of a green circular economy. Metallic species can be extracted and re-used as catalysts for energy storage processes.

This Special Issue contributes towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 6 and 7. It is open to papers that give new solutions on the Water and Energy Nexus. You are invited to submit original research and review articles focusing, but are not limited, on the following topics:

  • water resources management
  • clear water, wastewater, reclaimed water
  • recent advances in wastewater treatments
  • recovery of residues from wastewater treatment plants
  • hydrogen production
  • sustainable energy production and storage
  • water and carbon footprint assessment

Prof. Dr. Maria Cristina Collivignarelli
Dr. Alessandro Abbà
Prof. Dr. Chiara Milanese
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. Water 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 2600 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

  • water resources management
  • energy/resource recovery from wastewater
  • circular economy
  • wastewater management
  • hydrogen production
  • sustainable energy production
  • climate change impact
  • biohydrogen

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

16 pages, 4292 KiB  
Article
Continuous Flow Photocatalytic Degradation of Phenol Using Palladium@Mesoporous TiO2 Core@Shell Nanoparticles
by Moses T. Yilleng, Nancy Artioli, David Rooney and Haresh Manyar
Water 2023, 15(16), 2975; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15162975 - 18 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1145
Abstract
Palladium@mesoporous titania core@shell nanoparticles with uniform and narrow particle size distribution were synthesised using a four component ‘‘water in oil’’ microemulsion system. The prepared materials were well characterised using N2 adsorption–desorption measurements, temperature program oxidation, X-ray diffraction, ICP-OES, DRS UV-Vis, PL, TGA [...] Read more.
Palladium@mesoporous titania core@shell nanoparticles with uniform and narrow particle size distribution were synthesised using a four component ‘‘water in oil’’ microemulsion system. The prepared materials were well characterised using N2 adsorption–desorption measurements, temperature program oxidation, X-ray diffraction, ICP-OES, DRS UV-Vis, PL, TGA and transmission electron microscopy techniques. The core@shell nanoparticles showed very good absorption in both the UV and visible regions and a low bandgap, indicating that the prepared materials are visible-light-active, unlike the pristine TiO2 P25. The activity of the prepared materials was evaluated in the photodegradation of phenol using both UV and visible light, in batch and continuous flow trickle-bed and Taylor flow photoreactors. The prepared 2%Pd@mTiO2 core@shell nanoparticles showed better photocatalytic performance for phenol degradation in visible light in comparison to pristine TiO2 P25 and conventional 0.5%Pd/TiO2 P25 catalysts. The TiO2 P25 and conventional 0.5%Pd/TiO2 P25 catalysts showed gradual catalyst deactivation due to photocorrosion, the deposition of intermediates and Pd metal leaching. In comparison, the 2%Pd@mTiO2 catalyst showed higher catalyst stability and reusability. The 2%Pd@mTiO2 catalysts showed very high and stable phenol degradation (97% conversion) in continuous flow over 52 h. The results showed the feasibility of utilising the developed continuous Taylor flow photoreactor for phenol degradation or as a wastewater treatment plant. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Transition of Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants into Facilities for Resources and Energy Production: Solutions and Innovation)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 1446 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Viability of Utilizing Treated Wastewater as a Sustainable Water Resource for Green Hydrogen Generation Using Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells (SOECs)
by Marina Maddaloni, Matteo Marchionni, Alessandro Abbá, Michele Mascia, Vittorio Tola, Maria Paola Carpanese, Giorgio Bertanza and Nancy Artioli
Water 2023, 15(14), 2569; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15142569 - 13 Jul 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2110
Abstract
In response to the European Union’s initiative toward achieving carbon neutrality, the utilization of water electrolysis for hydrogen production has emerged as a promising avenue for decarbonizing current energy systems. Among the various approaches, Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell (SOEC) presents an attractive solution, [...] Read more.
In response to the European Union’s initiative toward achieving carbon neutrality, the utilization of water electrolysis for hydrogen production has emerged as a promising avenue for decarbonizing current energy systems. Among the various approaches, Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell (SOEC) presents an attractive solution, especially due to its potential to utilize impure water sources. This study focuses on modeling a SOEC supplied with four distinct streams of treated municipal wastewaters, using the Aspen Plus software. Through the simulation analysis, it was determined that two of the wastewater streams could be effectively evaporated and treated within the cell, without generating waste liquids containing excessive pollutant concentrations. Specifically, by evaporating 27% of the first current and 10% of the second, it was estimated that 26.2 kg/m3 and 9.7 kg/m3 of green hydrogen could be produced, respectively. Considering the EU’s target for Italy is to have 5 GW of installed power capacity by 2030 and the mass flowrate of the analyzed wastewater streams, this hydrogen production could meet anywhere from 0.4% to 20% of Italy’s projected electricity demand. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Transition of Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants into Facilities for Resources and Energy Production: Solutions and Innovation)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 6015 KiB  
Article
Nitrate and/or Nitric Acid Formation in the Presence of Different Radical Scavengers during Ozonation of Water Samples; Are Scavengers Effective?
by Ulker D. Keris-Sen and Taner Yonar
Water 2023, 15(10), 1840; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15101840 - 11 May 2023
Viewed by 1663
Abstract
In this study, we investigated the effect of different radical scavengers on the nitrate and/or nitric acid (NO3− and/or HNO3) formation chain in liquid while the dielectric barrier discharge plasma system (DBD) was used for ozone (O3) [...] Read more.
In this study, we investigated the effect of different radical scavengers on the nitrate and/or nitric acid (NO3− and/or HNO3) formation chain in liquid while the dielectric barrier discharge plasma system (DBD) was used for ozone (O3) generation. The effects of the excess concentration of each scavenger were studied individually. In addition, ultrapure water (UPW), tap water, and surface water samples were examined in the same condition. Due to the absence of scavengers in the UPW, we expected the highest NO3− formation in this experiment because all active species produced by the DBD system should have formed NO3−. However, the obtained results were unexpected; the highest NO3− formation was obtained in the tap water at 385 ± 4.6 mg/L. The results can be explained by some compounds in tap water acting as a trap for radicals involved in chain reactions that form NO3− and/or HNO3. The second highest result was obtained in the sodium hydroxide solution as 371 ± 4.9 mg/L, since the OH− ions accelerated the decomposition of O3 to its intermediates such as hydroperoxide (HO2−), ozonide (O3−), and hydroxyl radical (OH•), and, by increasing radicals in the liquid, more chain reactions can be promoted that lead to the formation of NO3− and/or HNO3. On the other hand, the quenching of radicals by scavengers such as carbonate ion and phosphoric acid and/or the long-term stabilization of O3 as O3 negatively affected the chain reactions that generate NO3− and/or HNO3. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Transition of Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants into Facilities for Resources and Energy Production: Solutions and Innovation)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 11438 KiB  
Article
Effective Removal of Biogenic Substances Using Natural Treatment Systems for Wastewater for Safer Water Reuse
by Wojciech Halicki and Michał Halicki
Water 2022, 14(23), 3977; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14233977 - 06 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1550
Abstract
Natural Treatment Systems for Wastewater (NTSW) show great potential for economic, socially acceptable and environmentally friendly wastewater treatment, along with the renewal of water for its safe reuse. This article presents the reduction in nitrogen and phosphorus compounds in domestic wastewater, which was [...] Read more.
Natural Treatment Systems for Wastewater (NTSW) show great potential for economic, socially acceptable and environmentally friendly wastewater treatment, along with the renewal of water for its safe reuse. This article presents the reduction in nitrogen and phosphorus compounds in domestic wastewater, which was achieved in a 2.5-year operation of the newly developed NTSW. The presented installation was developed by the Institute of Applied Ecology in Skórzyn (Poland) and implemented as a pilot plant serving the institute building with three permanent residents and up to five employees. The installation consisted of two parts, responsible for: wastewater treatment (septic tank and compost beds) and water renewal (denitrification beds, phosphorus beds and activated carbon beds). The mean values of nitrogen and phosphorus compound concentrations obtained in the renewed water for the entire research period were: 0.8, 49.4, 12 and 3.1 mg/L for ammonium nitrogen (NH4), nitrates (NO3), total nitrogen and phosphates (PO4), respectively. Thus, average reductions of 99.6%, 90.9% and 94.4% were obtained for NH4, total nitrogen and PO4, respectively. Treatment of domestic sewage to such a level, similar to drinking water, enables versatile, safe water reuse, which in the situation of increasingly limited water resources will constitute increasing ecological and economic value. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Transition of Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants into Facilities for Resources and Energy Production: Solutions and Innovation)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop