Contact Lens (CLs) are often disposed of via toilet or sinks, ending up in the wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs). Millions of CLs enter WWTPs worldwide each year in macro and micro sizes. Despite WWTPs'ability to remove solids, CLs can persist and potentially contaminate watercourses and soils. This study evaluates whether different CLs degrade in WWTP aeration tanks. Six daily CLs (Nelfilcon A,Delefilcon A, Nesofilcon A, Stenfilcon A, Narafilcon A, Somofilcon A) and four monthly CLs (Lotrafilcon B,Comfilcon A, Senofilcon A, and Samfilcon A) were immersed in aeration tanks for twelve weeks. Theirphysical and chemical properties, including water content (WC), refractive index (RI), chemical prop-erties (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy), and mechanical properties were assessed. Results show that all CLs maintained their physical appearance after 12 weeks. Neither Nelfilcon A norNarafilcon A exhibited significant changes in WC and RI, (p>0.05, Tukey test), while other daily lensesshowed variations in at least one parameter. Among monthly CLs, only Senofilcon A showed significant differences in both WC (p0.05 Tukey test). However, Somofilcon A displayed significant changes in stress at break (p<0.0001,Tukey test), and Elongation at Break (p<0.05, Tukey test). No changes were found in the chemicalstructure of any CLs suggesting that twelve weeks in WWTP aeration tanks is insufficient for CLsdegradation. Thesefindings highlight CLs as a potential emerging pollutant, emphasizing their persis-tence in sludge or migration into watercourses and soils (c) 2025 The Authors. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. Thisis an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

This review paper explores the use of red mud as a sustainable alternative for construction materials and soil stabilisation due to its unique chemical and mineral composition, a waste produced during the extraction of aluminium from bauxite ore. The disposal of red mud is a major environmental issue worldwide due to its high alkalinity and large production volume. Although this material has already been utilised as construction material (e.g., bricks, cement, concrete), it can also be incorporated for waste water treatment and lead to waste reduction. In soil stabilisation, red mud's alkaline nature, pozzolanic properties, and fine particle size improve soil structure and strength, offering a cost-effective solution. Utilising red mud as a filling material for low-lying areas addresses the disposal problem while contributing to infrastructure development projects. This study highlights construction materials' mechanical properties and durability by incorporating bauxite tailings and also incorporating valorisation of red mud as a precursor for alkali-activated binder. This paper comprises recent research findings and practical applications associated with the use of this waste. Also, it discusses the benefits and challenges associated with the large-scale use of red mud. It gives an idea about how the strength and durability of construction materials can be improved considering overall environmental impact. Future perspectives on policy, technology, and environmental impact are also discussed to provide a comprehensive understanding of red mud's potential for sustainable development. Red mud enhances the properties of materials like strength, durability, and thermal resistance of construction materials like bricks, ceramic, and cement.Red mud increases soil load-bearing capacity, reduces plasticity, and enhances erosion resistance, making it ideal for foundations and road construction.Using red mud reduces dependency on traditional raw materials, conserving natural resources and lowering environmental impacts.Red mud in construction and soil stabilisation contributes to durable, eco-friendly structures and supports sustainable land use.

This study aimed to develop an energy-efficient process for treating highly saline textile wastewater (TWW) in a 10 m3/day pilot plant and evaluate forage sorghum irrigation with treated wastewater in terms of crop production and soil and irrigation device performance. The TWW treatment pilot plant, consisting of a coagulation/flocculation unit followed by a sand filter and an anion exchange resin column, produced treated effluent that complied with the permissible limits specified in the ISO 16075-2:2020 standard for Category C irrigation water. The corresponding average energy consumption was 1.77 kWh/m3. Reusing treated TWW for forage sorghum irrigation over a 13-week cycle yielded crop performances comparable with freshwater irrigation, with no negative impact on the irrigation system. Although soil profiles were similar between treated TWW and freshwater irrigation, both soils featured an increase in electrical conductivity, which may reversibly or irreversibly affect soil quality and damage salt-sensitive crops. These findings demonstrate the effective treatment and reuse of saline TWW for irrigating salt-tolerant crops, offering significant implications for industrial wastewater management and cropping patterns in arid and semi-arid regions. A 10-m3/day pilot plant was developed for the treatment of highly saline textile wastewater. The pilot plant demonstrated average removal efficiencies of 63% for COD, 97% for colour, 96% for TSS and 21% for EC. Treated effluent met ISO 16075-2:2020 standards for Category C irrigation water, with an average energy consumption of 1.77 kWh/m3. The use of treated wastewater showed sorghum crop production comparable with freshwater irrigation. The use of treated wastewater had no adverse effects on the irrigation system; however, it led to an increase in soil electrical conductivity.

Agricultural waste presents a significant environmental challenge due to improper disposal and management practices, contributing to soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and pollution of water and air resources. To address these issues, there is a growing emphasis on the valorization of agricultural waste. Cellulose, a major component of agricultural waste, offers promising opportunities for resource utilization due to its unique properties, including biodegradability, biocompatibility, and renewability. Thus, this review explored various types of agricultural waste, their chemical composition, and pretreatment methods for cellulose extraction. It also highlights the significance of rice straw, sugarcane bagasse, and other agricultural residues as cellulose-rich resources. Among the various membrane fabrication techniques, phase inversion is highly effective for creating porous membranes with controlled thickness and uniformity, while electrospinning produces nanofibrous membranes with high surface area and exceptional mechanical properties. The review further explores the separation of pollutants including using cellulose membranes, demonstrating their potential in environmental remediation. Hence, by valorizing agricultural residues into functional materials, this approach addresses the challenge of agricultural waste management and contributes to the development of innovative solutions for pollution control and water treatment.

Purpose of ReviewAn increase in the generation of waste within cities is unavoidable due to the increasing global population growth, particularly in urban areas. Municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in these urban areas are being pushed to their design limits resulting in issues with WWTP residual management. This paper reviews potential applications of transitioning a municipal WWTP into an urban biorefinery for converting wastes into various value-added chemicals and energy.Recent FindingsPrimary WWTP-based residuals produced are waste-activated sludge, biosolids, grit, and effluent. These components are becoming viable feedstocks for producing many potential products and can be recovered for commercial purposes as opposed to simple disposal. Example products include chemicals, energy, and transportable biofuels. An advantage to biorefinery operations composed of WWTPs is that they provide greener solutions while posing little to no threat to the environment. There has also been an increasing interest in co-feedstocks to WWTPs, such as municipal solids, food wastes, agriculture wastes, and lignocellulosic biomass, which can enhance product yields while providing sustainable management solutions to these additional waste streams.SummaryMunicipal wastewater influents generated within the USA have a chemical energy potential of 1.3 MJ/person/day which represents about 4% of the total daily electricity consumed globally. The cost of waste management is expected to rise by 5.5% by 2027 which can be significantly lowered by having WWTPs integrated into biorefineries. This review found that there is great potential for converting WWTPs into true biorefineries that can effectively produce numerous value-added chemicals. Often, minor process changes can be applied which will yield the envisoned products. This paper provides the framework towards both commercialization opportunities and needed research.

Resources recovery can improve the economic efficiency and reduce the negative environmental impacts of municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWWTP). The recovered resources can also actively benefit the natural environment enabling a reciprocal relationship between human society and nature. Focusing on these benefits can reveal new resources recovery opportunities. Moreover, for certain environmental impact categories such as emissions of reactive nitrogen, mere damage reduction is insufficient because these emissions are already beyond planetary limits. However, quantitative methods to assess nature benefits are lacking. A new method is developed to calculate the potential nature benefits in three categories: Freshwater restoration, biomass assimilation of nutrients, and soil organic matter sequestration and it is demonstrated on a real-life MWWTP. Focusing on resources recovery helps to purify the wastewater sufficiently for discharge and to benefit the natural environment. Treated wastewater discharge into a river can support freshwater restoration depending on the effluent quality. High quality is achieved by the sufficient removal of the nutrients and organic matter and discharging into a high-flow stream. The recovery of nutrients helps to close the nutrient cycle through biomass assimilation. To maximize this benefit, the nutrient recovery efficiency from the MWWTP must be maximized. But, increasing the nutrient uptake efficiency in agriculture is also crucial, especially for nitrogen. The wastewater sludge products can be applied to soil to sequester organic matter and the products with low volatile solids should be preferred. The development of the new method is a start to recognizing and assessing the potentially positive role of humans in nature.

Its advantages over precipitation enable the wide application of the extraction method, which has been a research hotspot in the world in petrochemistry, hydrometallurgy, fine chemical industry, separation, and purification of biochemical substances. Iron extraction has been studied extensively due to the damage caused by iron ions to water, soil, and organisms. Extraction of iron ions cannot only realize waste-liquid treatment and resource recovery but also the treatment and utilization of iron. This paper introduces different extractants and extraction methods used in iron separation (solvent extraction, ion-exchange resin extraction, membrane extraction, and ionic liquid extraction), clarifies various extraction principles, analyzes the existing forms of iron ions under varied pH conditions, summarizes the recent research progress on the extraction and separation of iron, and prospects the possible the corresponding development direction. In the future, combined with new strengthening equipment, new, safe, and green solvents can be explored to provide ideas for the development and application of new processes for the extraction and separation of iron from green and efficient acid solutions.

Constructed wetlands (CWs) have been widely used for treating polluted water since the 1950s, with applications in over 50 countries worldwide. Most studies investigating the pollutant removal efficiency of these wetlands have focused on differences among wetland designs, operation strategies, and environmental conditions. However, there still remains a gap in understanding the variation in wetland pollutant removal efficiency over different time scales. Therefore, the main aim of the study is to address this gap by conducting a global metaanalysis to estimate the variation in nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) removal by wetland in short- and longterm pollutant treatment. The findings of this study indicated that the total efficiencies of N and P removal increased during short-term wetland operation but decreased during long-term operation. However, for surface flow CWs specifically, the efficiencies of N and P removal increased during short-term operation and remained stable during long-term operation. Moreover, the study discovered that wetland N removal efficiency was influenced by seasons, with an increase in spring and summer and a decrease in autumn and winter. Conversely, there was no significant seasonal effect on P removal efficiency. Additionally, high hydraulic load impaired wetland N and P removal efficiency during long-term operation. This study offers a critical review of the role of wetlands in wastewater treatment and provides valuable reference data for the design and selection of CWs types during wastewater treatment in the aspect of sustainability.