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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Wastewater Treatment and Reuse".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 34268

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Zacharias Frontistis

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Guest Editor

Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Western Macedonia, GR-50132 Kozani, Greece
Interests: advanced oxidation processes; electrochemistry; photocatalysis; persulfate; sonochemistry; wastewater treatment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the use of physicochemical methods, such as advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), for the treatment of waste water has consistently been gaining ground. These processes are based on the in situ production of very reactive oxygen species (mainly, but not exclusively, hydroxyl radicals, including technologies such as semiconductor photocatalysis, photon Fenton and Fenton like processes, ozonation, wet air oxidation, sonochemistry, electrochemical oxidation, gamma ray, etc.). At the same time, research into hybrid processes has been steadily growing over the past few years, involving more than one process, resulting in synergy effects, leading to a higher efficiency, which will lead to the implementation of these processes on a large scale. Under this perspective, this Special Issue of Water welcomes the application of various advanced oxidation processes for the treatment of highly resistant compounds, as well as for disinfection. Articles dealing with the application of new catalytic materials for environmental protection, as well as the experimental and modeling of pilot plants and hybrid processes, are particularly welcome.

Prof. Dr. Zacharias Frontistis
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. 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

advanced oxidation processes
hybrid processes
disinfection
micropollutants
environmental catalysis
photocatalysis
radicals
pharmaceuticals
industrial wastewaters
pilot plant

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research

3 pages, 167 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

New Trends in Environmental Catalytic Technologies for Water Remediation

by Zacharias Frontistis

Water 2021, 13(4), 571; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13040571 - 23 Feb 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1998

Abstract

Due to climate change, industrialization, and overpopulation, water resources management is becoming a crucial sector [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Engineering and Environmental Catalysis)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

19 pages, 4833 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Removal of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in a Heterogeneous Fenton Like Oxidation System Using Nanoscale Zero-Valent Iron as a Catalyst

by Tahir Haneef, Muhammad Raza Ul Mustafa, Kashif Rasool, Yeek Chia Ho and Shamsul Rahman Mohamed Kutty

Water 2020, 12(9), 2430; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12092430 - 29 Aug 2020

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 3718

Abstract

Oil and gas effluents contains highly toxic and harmful organic pollutants. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate and/or reduced the concertation of organic pollutants to a technologically acceptable levels before their discharge into water streams. This study investigates the application of nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI), and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) for removal of organic pollutants from real oily produced water. Batch studies were performed and effect of different operating parameters, including concentration of nZVI and H₂O₂, pH and reaction time were studied. Moreover, optimization of independent variables was performed using central composite design (CCD) in response surface methodology (RSM). The experimental set up provided maximum removal efficiencies of 89.5% and 75.3% for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and chemical oxygen demand (COD), respectively. The optimum values of independent variables such as concentrations of nZVI, and H₂O₂, contact time and pH were obtained as 4.35 g/L, 1.60 g/L, 199.9 min and 2.9, respectively. Predicted PAHs and COD removal efficiencies at the optimum values of independent variables were found as 89.3% and 75.7%, respectively which are in line with the experimental values. The study indicates that application of heterogeneous Fenton like oxidation system using nZVI as a catalyst is an efficient treatment method for removal of organic pollutants from real produced water. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Engineering and Environmental Catalysis)

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12 pages, 1097 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Improvement Effects of Different Treatment Methods of Soil Wastewater Washing on Environmental Pollution

by Linjie Zhan and Minxian Chen

Water 2020, 12(9), 2329; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12092329 - 19 Aug 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2354

Abstract

This paper focus on how to treat the wastewater after soil washing since water pollution is a severe threat to the water security of China. Ca (OH)₂ and two kinds of biochars (biochar and ZnCl₂ modified biochar) were tested to treat the waste FeCl₃ washing effluent. Two kinds of biochars (biochar and ZnCl₂-modified biochar) were prepared from maize straws. Soil samples were collected near a smelter for adsorption experiments. ICP-OES was used to determine the concentration of metal ions in the samples, as well as calculating their adsorption capacity and removal rate. As to Ca(OH)₂ treatment, the maximum removal rates of Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn could exceed 99%, and the concentrations of Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn in solution could reduce to 0.08, 0.018, 0.15, 0.44 mg/dm³, respectively. However, both of the two biochars had relatively low removal rates compared with Ca (OH)₂ treatment. The wastewater shows significantly lower environmental implications after the two treatments, and the lime precipitation method has better effects than biochar adsorption. The activated carbon adsorption method discussed can significantly improve the environmental pollution caused by soil washing wastewater, which is suitable for environmental treatment projects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Engineering and Environmental Catalysis)

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18 pages, 3154 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electro-Oxidation of Humic Acids Using Platinum Electrodes: An Experimental Approach and Kinetic Modelling

by Stefano Salvestrini, Angelo Fenti, Simeone Chianese, Pasquale Iovino and Dino Musmarra

Water 2020, 12(8), 2250; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12082250 - 10 Aug 2020

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 3091

Abstract

Humic acids (HA) are a potential hazard to aquatic ecosystems and human health. Because biological treatment of contaminated water does not satisfactorily remove these pollutants, novel approaches are under evaluation. This work explores electrochemical oxidation of HA in aqueous solution in a lab-scale apparatus using platinum-coated titanium electrodes. We evaluated the effects of HA concentration, current density, chloride concentration and ionic strength on the rate of HA oxidation. The initial reaction rate method was used for determining the rate law of HA degradation. The results showed that the reaction rate was first-order relative to HA concentration, chloride concentration and current density. An appreciable effect of ionic strength was also observed, most likely due to the polyanionic character of HA. We propose a kinetic model that satisfactorily fits the experimental data. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Engineering and Environmental Catalysis)

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13 pages, 1332 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim Degradation by Fenton and Fenton-Like Processes

by Antover Panazzolo Sarmento, Alisson Carraro Borges, Antonio Teixeira de Matos and Lincoln Lucílio Romualdo

Water 2020, 12(6), 1655; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12061655 - 09 Jun 2020

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3052

Abstract

In this work, the degradation of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and trimethoprim (TMP) via Fenton and Fenton-like processes was evaluated using Mn²⁺ as supporting catalyst in the Fenton reaction. The optimum conditions of degradation were also evaluated. Besides that, the effect of independent factors pH, [H₂O₂], [Fe²⁺], [Mn²⁺] and reaction time (t) on the efficiency of the SMX and TMP degradation were assessed. Box–Behnken was the experimental design adopted, delineating the relative concentration (C/Co) of antibiotics after treatments as response variable. The inferences were conducted using variance analysis, Pareto chart, response surface methodology, and desirability function. Due to the lack of adjustment of the SMX degradation model, there are no more inferences about it. The significant variables (p ≤ 0.05) on TMP degradation were: reaction time quadratic and linear effect, [Fe²⁺] linear effect, [Mn²⁺] linear effect, interaction pH vs. [Mn²⁺]. The Mn²⁺ addition aided TMP degradation in environments with lower pH values. However, the addition may harm the efficiency of the antibiotic degradation at higher pH. The optimum condition for TMP degradation in the conventional process (without the addition of Mn²⁺) is: pH 5, [H₂O₂] equal to 4.41 mmol L⁻¹, [Fe²⁺] equal to 0.81 mmol L⁻¹ and 90 min reaction time. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Engineering and Environmental Catalysis)

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17 pages, 2873 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Coupling Persulfate-Based AOPs: A Novel Approach for Piroxicam Degradation in Aqueous Matrices

by Antonios Stathoulopoulos, Dionissios Mantzavinos and Zacharias Frontistis

Water 2020, 12(6), 1530; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12061530 - 27 May 2020

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3098

Abstract

The activated persulfate degradation of piroxicam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) belonging to oxicams, was investigated. Persulfate was activated with thermal energy or (UV-A and simulated solar) irradiation. Using 250 mg/L sodium persulfate at 40 °C degraded almost completely 0.5 mg/L of piroxicam in 30 min. Increasing piroxicam concentration from 0.5 to 4.5 mg/L decreased its removal. The observed kinetic constant was increased almost ten times from 0.077 to 0.755 min⁻¹, when the temperature was increased from 40 to 60 °C, respectively. Process efficiency was enhanced at pH 5–7. At ambient conditions and 30 min of irradiation, 94.1% and 89.8% of 0.5 mg/L piroxicam was removed using UV-A LED or simulated solar radiation, respectively. Interestingly, the use of simulated sunlight was advantageous over UV-A light for both secondary effluent, and 20 mg/L of humic acid solution. Unlike other advanced oxidation processes, the presence of bicarbonate or chloride in the range 50–250 mg/L enhanced the degradation rate, while the presence of humic acid delayed the removal of piroxicam. The use of 0.5 and 10 g/L of methanol or tert-butanol as radical scavengers inhibited the reaction. The coupling of thermal and light activation methods in different aqueous matrices showed a high level of synergy. The synergy factor was calculated as 68.4% and 58.4% for thermal activation (40 °C) coupled with either solar light in 20 mg/L of humic acid or UV-A LED light in secondary effluent, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Engineering and Environmental Catalysis)

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14 pages, 5946 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Photocatalytic Evaluation of Ag₂CO₃ for Ethylparaben Degradation in Different Water Matrices

by Athanasia Petala, Athanasia Nasiou, Dionissios Mantzavinos and Zacharias Frontistis

Water 2020, 12(4), 1180; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12041180 - 20 Apr 2020

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3190

Abstract

The present study examines the photocatalytic properties of silver carbonate (Ag₂CO₃) for ethyl paraben (EP) degradation under simulated solar irradiation. Ag₂CO₃ was prepared according to a solution method and its physicochemical characteristics were studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Complete EP (0.5 mg/L) removal was achieved after 120 min of irradiation with the use of 750 mg/L Ag₂CO₃ in ultrapure water (UPW), with EP degradation following pseudo-first-order kinetics. The effect of several experimental parameters was investigated; increasing catalyst concentration from 250 mg/L to 1000 mg/L led to an increase in EP removal, while increasing EP concentration from 0.25 mg/L to 1.00 mg/L slightly lowered k_app from 0.115 min⁻¹ to 0.085 min⁻¹. Experiments carried out with the use of UV or visible cut-off filters showed sufficient EP degradation under visible irradiation. A series of experiments were performed in real water matrices such as bottled water (BW) and wastewater (WW), manifesting Ag₂CO₃’s equally high photocatalytic activity for EP degradation. To interpret these results different concentrations of inorganic anions (bicarbonate 100–500 mg/L, chloride 100–500 mg/L) present in aqueous media, as well as 10 mg/L organic matter in the form of humic acid (HA), were added sequentially in UPW. Results showed accelerating effects on EP degradation for the lowest concentrations tested in all cases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Engineering and Environmental Catalysis)

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18 pages, 3589 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Eggshell-supported Catalysts for the Advanced Oxidation Treatment of Humic Acid Polluted Wastewaters

by Paula Oulego, Amanda Laca, Sonia Calvo and Mario Díaz

Water 2020, 12(1), 100; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12010100 - 27 Dec 2019

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4435

Abstract

Metal nanoparticles have been reported as effective catalysts for the removal of refractory compounds from industrial wastewaters in advanced oxidation processes. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of tons of eggshells are discarded worldwide each year. In this work, this waste has been evaluated as support for the synthesis of nanomaterials by wet impregnation method. Four supported catalysts, with a load of iron or copper of 5% and 15%, were prepared and thoroughly characterized by means of different techniques (elemental analysis, XRF, XRD, FTIR, N₂ adsorption-desorption, SEM, TEM and TGA). The catalysts performance was evaluated in wet oxidation tests to degrade humic acids, analyzing the evolution with time of COD, biodegradability index (BOD₅/COD), color number and pH. The best results were achieved with 15% Cu and 5% Fe catalysts (COD reduction being 82.3% and 75.1%, respectively), whereas a COD reduction of 58% was obtained employing non-impregnated eggshell. This can be mainly attributed to the metal loading and the good metal distribution on the surface of the support. The BOD₅ value of humic acids was initially null and, in all assays, the oxidation treatment enhanced the biodegradability. Therefore, eggshell has proved to be an interesting material to be employed as support in nanoparticles preparation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Engineering and Environmental Catalysis)

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17 pages, 786 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Photocatalytic Treatment of Pharmaceuticals in Real Hospital Wastewaters for Effluent Quality Amelioration

by Panagiotis-Spyridon Konstas, Christina Kosma, Ioannis Konstantinou and Triantafyllos Albanis

Water 2019, 11(10), 2165; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w11102165 - 17 Oct 2019

Cited by 40 | Viewed by 5267

Abstract

The presence of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) in the wastewater effluents has confirmed that conventional wastewater treatment technologies are not sufficiently effective in the pharmaceuticals’ removal. The objective of the present study was to evaluate and compare the photocatalytic degradation of PhACs using TiO₂-P25, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄, CN) and a heterojunction of perovskite strodium titanate and graphitic carbon nitride SrTiO₃/g-C₃N₄ (20% g-C₃N₄, 20CNSTO) photocatalytic materials, in hospital wastewater effluents, by simulated solar irradiation. The experiments were performed by using real wastewater samples collected from the university hospital wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent of Ioannina city (Northwestern Greece) and inherent pharmaceutical concentration levels. The analysis of the samples was accomplished by solid phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography-Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry. In the cases of TiO₂ and CN, more than 70% of the initial concentration (e.g., venlafaxine) was degraded after 90 min, while 20CNSTO presented lower photocatalytic performance. Furthermore, some compounds were sporadically detected (e.g., fluoxetine) or their concentrations remained stable during the photocatalytic treatment time period (e.g., trimethoprim). In total 11 transformation products (TPs) were formed along the degradation processes and were identified by using liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Engineering and Environmental Catalysis)

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13 pages, 2102 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhanced Photo-Catalytic Performance of Activated Carbon Fibers for Water Treatment

by Konstantinos V. Plakas, Athina Taxintari and Anastasios J. Karabelas

Water 2019, 11(9), 1794; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w11091794 - 29 Aug 2019

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3220

Abstract

The synthesis, characterization, and performance of composite photocatalytic adsorbents are investigated in this work using the dip-coating and the electrophoretic coating methods for the deposition of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) on porous activated carbon fiber (ACF) substrates. The adsorption and photocatalytic efficiency of the synthesized catalytic adsorbents were compared using phenol as the model pollutant. Both immobilization techniques resulted in composite ACF/TiO₂ adsorbents characterized by large surface area (844.67 ± 45.58 m² g⁻¹), uniform distribution of TiO₂ nanoparticles on the activated carbon fibers, and high phenol adsorption. The method and the treatment time affected the phenol adsorption, while the highest sorption was determined in the case of the ACF/TiO₂ sample prepared by the electrophoretic coating method (at 20 V) for an electrolysis time of 120 s (7.93 mg_phenol g⁻¹_ACF/TiO2). The UV-A irradiation of most ACF/TiO₂ samples led to a faster removal of phenol from water as a result of the combined sorption and heterogeneous photocatalysis. The stability and the effective regeneration of the most promising composite photocatalytic adsorbent was proved by multiple filtration and UV-A irradiation cycles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Engineering and Environmental Catalysis)

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