Sustainable Technologies and Circular Solutions for Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Water and Wastewater

Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), including PFAS, microplastics, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals, are increasingly detected in water bodies worldwide. Conventional treatment technologies are not always designed to target these contaminants and may therefore provide limited removal, allowing their persistence, environmental transport, and potential bioaccumulation in aquatic food webs, vegetation, and humans. Existing solutions can also be expensive, energy intensive, difficult to scale, and capable of generating toxic by-products. Consequently, increasing attention is being given to sustainable and circular approaches that consider life-cycle impacts, resource efficiency, and the valorization of waste by-products. These include nature-based, microbial, and bioelectrochemical systems; renewable-energy-powered oxidation and separation processes; and waste-derived materials used as adsorbents, catalysts, membranes, and filter media. Although advanced CEC treatment technologies have been widely studied, further research is needed on their integration within circular-economy frameworks to close water, material, and energy loops, minimize secondary pollution, and support sustainable implementation at scale.The goal of this research topic is to assemble a collection reporting on the development, optimization and implementation of sustainable technologies and circular solutions for the management and removal of CECs from water and wastewater. This will provide an updated platform where scientists showcase recent progress in physical, chemical, biological and integrated processes that not only target effective contaminant control but also focuses on resource recovery and reducing environmental footprint closing circular economy loops. This collection will prioritize contributions that report sustainable and circular technologies removing CECs from aqueous matrices addressing transformation pathways, degradation products, life cycle assessments, environmental footprints, operational robustness, energy demand reduction, cost and scalability. Articles on reusing and valorizing waste-derived materials, integrating water treatment with energy generation or resource recovery, nature-based solutions and studies aligning with policies and governance frameworks on promoting circular economy principles will be given more emphasis. Priority will be given to original research articles, pilot- and full-scale studies, technology assessments, and implementation studies. Review articles will only be considered if they provide a rigorous systematic methodology and clear novel insights regarding sustainability, circularity, and field implementation of CEC treatment technologies. To authors interested in submitting a review manuscript, these are required to submit a 1–2 page synopsis/summary for editor review and approval prior to full submission.This Research Topic welcomes contributions on sustainable treatment technologies and circular management strategies for contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in water and wastewater, including PFAS, microplastics, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides, and other relevant contaminant classes. Contributions addressing recent innovations, performance evaluation, and critical analysis are encouraged, including:o Advanced oxidation and reduction processes designed to minimize reagent consumption and energy demand, including solar- and renewable-energy-powered systems.o Membrane, fixed-bed filtration, adsorption, and nanoadsorption systems using engineered or waste-derived materials, with attention to fouling, regenerability, reuse, recycling, and end-of-life management.o Microbial and bioelectrochemical systems, including microbial fuel cells, coupling CEC removal with energy or resource recovery.o Integrated biological and physicochemical treatment trains that improve sustainability, resilience, and circularity.o Constructed wetlands, nature-based, and hybrid solutions suitable for field-scale implementation.o Circular water-reuse schemes, including decentralized and industrial applications.o Life-cycle assessments and techno-economic analyses of CEC treatment technologies. Topic editors: Somdipta Bagchi, Zhiming Zhang, Eustace Fernando, Aryama Raychaudhuri, Prithvi Simha Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83818/sustainable-technologies-and-circular-solutions-for-contaminants-of-emerging-concern-in-water-and-wastewater