Electrochemical Processes for Water and Wastewater Treatment: Mechanisms, Materials, and Applications

Growing pressure on freshwater resources, tightening discharge limits, and the rise of persistent and emerging contaminants are exposing the limits of conventional water and wastewater treatment. Biological and physico-chemical processes often struggle with recalcitrant pollutants, nutrient overloads, and decentralized or onsite settings where footprint and operating simplicity matter. Electrochemical processes have re-emerged as a versatile, modular response. Techniques such as electrocoagulation, electro-oxidation, electrodialysis, and electrochemically driven nutrient recovery can remove a wide spectrum of pollutants, recover valuable resources such as phosphorus, and operate with minimal chemical dosing. Recent advances in electrode materials, reactor design, and process optimization have improved efficiency and helped reduce energy demand, moving these methods from laboratory proof-of-concept toward practical, scalable deployment across municipal, agricultural, and industrial wastewater streams.This Research Topic aims to bring together current advances in electrochemical approaches to water and wastewater treatment, spanning fundamental mechanisms through to real-world application. We seek to consolidate understanding of how electrochemical processes remove conventional and emerging contaminants, recover nutrients and other resources, and integrate with existing treatment trains. We particularly welcome work that links process performance to underlying electrochemistry, electrode behavior, reaction pathways, and energy efficiency as well as studies that address scale-up, long-term operation, and cost. Contributions tackling decentralized and onsite treatment, agricultural and high-strength wastewater, and resource recovery (for example phosphorus and nitrogen) are encouraged, as are comparative and hybrid approaches that combine electrochemical steps with biological or membrane processes. By gathering mechanistic, applied, and review contributions in one collection, we hope to clarify where electrochemical treatment offers genuine advantages, identify remaining barriers to adoption, and help shape research priorities for the coming years.We welcome submissions addressing, but not limited to:• Electrocoagulation for pollutant and nutrient removal• Electro-oxidation and advanced electrochemical oxidation of recalcitrant and emerging contaminants• Electrochemical nutrient and resource recovery (e.g. phosphorus, struvite, nitrogen)• Electrode materials, reactor configurations, and process optimization• Electrodialysis, capacitive deionization, and related separation methods• Hybrid systems integrating electrochemical steps with biological or membrane processes• Energy efficiency, cost analysis, and scale-up, pilot, or full-scale studies• Life-cycle assessment or techno-economic analysis• Decentralized, onsite, agricultural, and industrial wastewater applicationsManuscript types: Original Research, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, Methods, and Perspective articles. Topic editors: Arif Reza, Soomin Shim Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83813/electrochemical-processes-for-water-and-wastewater-treatment-mechanisms-materials-and-applications