Wastewater Treatment by Adsorption and/or Ion-Exchange Processes for Resource Recovery

<p>The triple-R model (reduce reuse and recycle) is the essential concept of the circular economy. Due to population growth the recovery of added-value products from wastes has become a challenge. Wastewaters of different origin (urban industrial mining textile distillery and microbial culture among others) are rich in energy water and nutrient sources that can be recovered and reused within a circular economy framework. Recently wastewater treatment plants have been converted into biofactories since they can convert waste into new products (water nutrients fertilizers biomethane electricity heat etc.) with a minimal environmental impact. In this context adsorption and ion-exchange as well as the integration of both processes have been proposed as promising technologies for the treatment of wastewaters for resource recovery. Therefore the aim of this Special Issue entitled Wastewater Treatment by Adsorption and/or Ion-Exchange Processes for Resource Recovery is to promote these two processes as innovative and environmentally friendly alternatives for the recovery of secondary raw materials from by-products or waste streams. These processes could improve the environmental economic and social impacts of the currently used wastewater treatment techniques.</p>