molecules

Editorial
Saline Wastewater: Characteristics and Treatment Technologies
Jingtao Bi 1,2,3, * and Yingying Zhao 1,2,3,4, *

1 School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Hebei University of Technology, No. 8, Guangrong Road,
Hongqiao District, Tianjin 300130, China
2 Engineering Research Center of Seawater Utilization of Ministry of Education, No. 8, Guangrong Road,
Hongqiao District, Tianjin 300130, China
3 Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center of Modern Marine Chemical Technology, No. 8, Guangrong Road,
Hongqiao District, Tianjin 300130, China
4 Tianjin Key Laboratory of Chemical Process Safety, Tianjin 300130, China
* Correspondence: jingtaob@gmail.com or jingtaob@hebut.edu.cn (J.B.); luckyzhaoyy@126.com (Y.Z.)

The discharge of saline wastewater has significantly increased due to rapid urbaniza-
tion and industrialization [1–3]. Saline wastewater contains substantial amounts of salt
resources originating from various sources, such as NaCl from the coal chemical industry
and Zn(II) from electroplating processes [4–6]. Despite the presence of these valuable
resources, due to the uncertainty in the handling cost and profit, saline wastewater is gen-
erally transported to the wastewater treatment plant or evaporated into solid salt wastes in
most industries. Nevertheless, such a treatment would not only be a waste of resources but
also place a significant treatment burden on downstream facilities.
Similar to the nineteenth century “clouds” over the dynamical theory of heat and light,
two small, puzzling “clouds” remained on the horizon of saline wastewater treatment.
The first one comes into the contradiction between a continuously complex salt matrix
and perusing for simplified utilization of wastes, and the second one is the challenge for
sustainable optimization of energy consumption and carbon emissions.
In response to these “clouds”, two major concepts have emerged in the quest for
efficient and sustainable saline wastewater treatment: zero discharge and carbon emission
reduction [7,8]. To achieve zero discharge, a variety of methods have been proposed
to extract resources from saline wastewater, including nanofiltration, reverse osmosis,
evaporation and crystallization [9–12]. During these processes, energy conservation and
integrated technology were extensively utilized to decrease energy consumption and reduce
Citation: Bi, J.; Zhao, Y. Saline carbon emissions. In the impending future, these two concepts might serve as the linchpins
Wastewater: Characteristics and
and hold the potential to evolve into the “Quantum Mechanics” and “Theory of Relativity”
Treatment Technologies. Molecules
of saline wastewater treatment.
2023, 28, 1622. https://doi.org/
This Special Issue, entitled “Saline Wastewater: Characteristics and Treatment Tech-
10.3390/molecules28041622
nologies”, focuses on the resource recycling and carbon emission reductions in saline
Received: 2 February 2023 wastewater treatment, including innovative technologies and the related fundamental char-
Accepted: 6 February 2023 acterizations of saline wastewater. During the production of this Special Issue, we aimed to
Published: 8 February 2023 highlight our inspirations and contribute to the development of sustainable solutions for
this critical environmental issue:
(1) There are huge amounts of coexisting contaminants in some saline wastewater,
such as phenols and heavy metals [13,14]. This circumstance directly induces the extracted
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
liquid/solid salts might have unsatisfied purity and contain hazardous materials, which
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
is the main reason for the extremely low price of the extracted salts. It is imperative to
This article is an open access article
develop high-purity extraction and secondary refining techniques in order to mitigate
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
these challenges.
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
(2) With the continuous progress of new materials, equipment and methods, their
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
integration with saline wastewater treatment presents a significant challenge. The inte-
4.0/). gration has the potential to bring forth novel technologies and play a crucial role in the

Molecules 2023, 28, 1622. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28041622 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules

Molecules 2023, 28, 1622 2 of 3

realization of zero discharge and carbon emission reduction across the entire treatment pro-
cess [15]. While the current focus of integration efforts is on new methods and equipment,
the integration of saline wastewater treatment with sustainable and cost-effective advanced
materials has the potential to become a highly sought-after area of research.
(3) The cost and carbon emissions are the main considerations in the treatment of
saline wastewater. To ensure its viability, the value of the products, state subsidies and
potential benefits should offset the costs associated with capital construction and energy
consumption. With the development of treatment techniques and the utilization of renew-
able energy, it is important to conduct systematic life cycle economic analysis and carbon
emission assessments to reassess the treatment of saline wastewater.
Finally, we hope the published manuscripts in this Special Issue will give prospects to
handle the two small “clouds” in this area. Good luck!

Acknowledgments: We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (No. 22208081), Central Guidance on Local Science and Technology Devel-
opment Fund of Hebei Province (No. 226Z3102G), and Science and Technology Project of Hebei
Education Department (No. QN2022089). Our appreciation also goes to the authors and reviewers
who contributed to this Special Issue for their invaluable support.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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