Themed collection SDG6: Clean water & sanitation

An international workshop identified how pore structures and unique properties that emerge at nano- to sub-nano- size domains can improve the energy efficiency and selectivity of electroseparation or electrocatalytic processes for treating water.

Integration of resource recovery and circular economy concepts in higher education will stimulate responsible innovation in the water sector for an ecologically-balanced society.

Closing the human nutrient cycle with decentralized urine separation would help to achieve progress in food security and water protection – especially in poor countries. For this, radical innovation is needed along the whole sanitation value chain.

Phase-based detection and monitoring of pathogens in water and wastewater.

The recent improvements in FO technology are critically reviewed, with barriers to full-scale applications highlighted.

Thermally stable, 3D rod-like, nanosized, pH-stable Fe–Al metal–organic-framework with terephthalic acid as a linker with a surface area 120.255 m² g⁻¹ was synthesized solvothermally for fluoride adsorption and the photodegradation of rhodamine B/methylene blue (pH 2–11).

A flexible CuS/Matrimid composite membrane with tunable near-infrared absorption is constructed. The composite membrane exhibits good near-infrared light-driven photothermal vapor evaporation and seawater desalination effects.

Extensive building closures due to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic resulted in long-term water stagnation within the plumbing of large buildings.

Bi₂O₃/nylon multilayered nanocomposite membrane was fabricated by electrospinning and effectively used to degrade organic dye pollutants and pathogens through ROS produced by photocatalysis.

Knowledge gaps exist pertaining to the interaction between anaerobic conditions, microbiology and activity that characterize biodegradation mechanisms in septic tanks.

Mechanically robust Ag/CS–PVA hydrogel displayed 100% disinfection efficacy against biomedical/natural contaminants through contact-active mechanism with ∼74 ppb Ag release.

Wastewater systems are recognized pathways for the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria, but relatively little is known about the microbial ecology of the sewer environment.

Nano-sized iron oxides supported on textile is successfully used for PMS activation and thus flumequine and ciprofloxacin removal in hospital wastewater under visible light.

A novel treatment system for pit latrine faecal sludge; solar-dried sludge with captured leachate heat-treated in agriculture using waste-fired rocket stove.

Demonstration of an electrochemical toilet wastewater treatment and disinfection technology at the scale of an apartment building and translation of the system into a commercial product.

Nitrate and phosphate in the effluent of a municipal wastewater treatment plant (MWTP) were electrochemically removed with cheap metal (aluminum and iron) electrodes.

Designing vertically-aligned CuAl-layered double oxide grown on reduced graphene oxide for capacitive desalination with high capacity and long cycling life.

We report the efficacy of titania-based photocatalysts for use as a simple and effective method of disinfecting drinking water in villages in West Bengal, demonstrating the viability of this technique to enhance solar disinfection in rural areas.