About this Research Topic
A rapidly increasing world population and improvement in living standards have resulted in a greater demand for resource exploitation and energy production; as a result, more recent concerns have arisen about pollution control of the changing environment. Of the alternatives available, advanced electrochemical technologies have gained popularity due to their merits, including sound efficiency, ease of incorporation into other processes, and—if designed and operated appropriately—high sustainability. To date, advanced electrochemical technologies have successfully been applied in a number of areas such as (bio)hydrogen production, energy conversion, brackish water/seawater desalination, air purification, and soil remediation.
Nano-size carbon materials (nanotubes and spheres) and related hybrid composites have become a hot topic for electrochemical studies. For instance, the electrochemical flow capacitor (EFC), that shares the major advantages of both supercapacitors and flow batteries, relies on energy storage in the electric double layers of its charged carbon particles. Their flowability and particle contact would benefit from the optimization of the carbon beads with the use of nano-sized materials, drawing great interest in fundamental studies.
With regard to practical applications, there is another innovation in the development of cost-effective electrochemical systems for the environment. Electrochemical membrane filtration (EMF) describes the incorporation of advanced oxidation processes into membrane filtration, with the functionalized membrane operating as a physical filter as well as an anode (or cathode) for electrochemical oxidation of the organic pollutants when subjected to pressure and polarization. While substantial progress has been achieved in the last decade, further understanding and improvement of these advanced electrochemical technologies are required if they are to be used effectively and reliably.
This Research Topic calls for pioneering research highlighting the latest advances in the development of electrochemical systems and methods for environmental sustainability.
Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
• Conductive and catalytic membranes/electrodes for energy-saving water/air purification
• Bioelectrochemical systems for energy and/or resource recovery from the waste
• Flow electrodes for energy conversion and brackish water/seawater desalination
• Hybrid electrochemical processes for soil remediation.
Nano-size carbon materials (nanotubes and spheres) and related hybrid composites have become a hot topic for electrochemical studies. For instance, the electrochemical flow capacitor (EFC), that shares the major advantages of both supercapacitors and flow batteries, relies on energy storage in the electric double layers of its charged carbon particles. Their flowability and particle contact would benefit from the optimization of the carbon beads with the use of nano-sized materials, drawing great interest in fundamental studies.
With regard to practical applications, there is another innovation in the development of cost-effective electrochemical systems for the environment. Electrochemical membrane filtration (EMF) describes the incorporation of advanced oxidation processes into membrane filtration, with the functionalized membrane operating as a physical filter as well as an anode (or cathode) for electrochemical oxidation of the organic pollutants when subjected to pressure and polarization. While substantial progress has been achieved in the last decade, further understanding and improvement of these advanced electrochemical technologies are required if they are to be used effectively and reliably.
This Research Topic calls for pioneering research highlighting the latest advances in the development of electrochemical systems and methods for environmental sustainability.
Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
• Conductive and catalytic membranes/electrodes for energy-saving water/air purification
• Bioelectrochemical systems for energy and/or resource recovery from the waste
• Flow electrodes for energy conversion and brackish water/seawater desalination
• Hybrid electrochemical processes for soil remediation.
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
