Sustainable Technologies for Removing Heavy Metals from Contaminated Soils and Wastewater

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental and Green Processes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 July 2024) | Viewed by 1023

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150006, China
Interests: ecological effects and remediation technologies of soil pollution

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Guest Editor
School of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150006, China
Interests: soil microorganisms; soil nutrients; soil structure

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is dedicated to exploring cutting-edge sustainable technologies and methodologies for the remediation of heavy metals in soils and wastewater. The contamination of natural resources by heavy metals is a pressing environmental issue that poses significant health risks to humans and ecosystems. Traditional methods of remediation often involve complex, costly, and sometimes environmentally harmful processes. In contrast, this Special Issue focuses on innovative, eco-friendly, and efficient approaches for the removal of heavy metals.

Through a collection of research articles, reviews, and case studies, this Special Issue aims to highlight advancements in sustainable remediation technologies, understanding their mechanisms, scalability, and application in real-world scenarios. We welcome contributions that demonstrate novel techniques, optimized processes, and integrated approaches, encompassing the fields of environmental engineering, chemistry, biotechnology, and material science.

Suitable topics of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Focus on strategies and technologies specifically targeting the removal of heavy metals from soil and water environments;
  • Emphasis on eco-friendly, cost-effective, and sustainable approaches;
  • Techniques and methodologies for the extraction and neutralization of heavy metals in soils;
  • Innovative approaches for treating industrial and municipal wastewater contaminated with heavy metals;
  • Use of biological organisms such as bacteria, fungi, or plants in the removal of heavy metals;
  • Specific focus on plant-based remediation techniques;
  • Development and optimization of adsorbent materials for heavy metal capture;

Discussion of the environmental impact and sustainability aspects of remediation technologies.

Dr. Yifan Wang
Dr. Yue Tao
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • heavy metal remediation
  • sustainable technologies
  • soil decontamination
  • wastewater treatment
  • bioremediation
  • phytoremediation
  • adsorption technologies
  • environmental sustainability

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

11 pages, 204 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Microbial Compound Fertilizer on the Heavy Metal Binding Forms and Enzyme Activity in Soil
by Zheng Zhao, Changyin Huang, Baohui Liang, Siyu Wang, Huiwen Sun, Simeng Bian and Xiaoran Sun
Processes 2024, 12(6), 1134; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12061134 - 31 May 2024
Viewed by 788
Abstract
Nowadays, heavy metal pollution in soil caused by human production activities is increasingly serious. The heavy metal ions in soil inhibit plant growth and endanger human health as they can disrupt the physicochemical properties of soil. However, the elimination of heavy metals in [...] Read more.
Nowadays, heavy metal pollution in soil caused by human production activities is increasingly serious. The heavy metal ions in soil inhibit plant growth and endanger human health as they can disrupt the physicochemical properties of soil. However, the elimination of heavy metals in soil is so difficult that more and more researchers are studying effective soil conditioners. The negatively charged groups in microbial communities can bind with heavy metal ions in the soil to remove them. In this paper, Cr- and Cd-polluted soils were used to simulate heavy-metal-polluted soil, and microbial compound fertilizer (MOF) was used as a soil conditioner for removing Cr and Cd in soil. The effects of different additive amounts of MOF on the physicochemical properties, the concentration of metal binding forms in soil and the enzyme activity of soil were investigated. The results showed that when the addition amount of fertilizer was 10%, the improvement effect on Cr- and Cd-polluted soils was the best. Compared with polluted soils without MOF addition, the physicochemical properties of MOF-treated polluted soils improved significantly, the concentration of effective forms of heavy metals decreased significantly, and the concentration of organic and residual forms as well as soil enzyme activity increased significantly. This indicates that the addition of MOF can increase the activity of soil microbial communities and soil fertility, and has the ability to remediate heavy-metal-polluted soil. MOF is expected to become an efficient soil conditioner for heavy metals. Full article
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