Wastewater treatment is fundamental to sustainable urban development, and recent European legislation now requires quaternary treatment of final effluent at wastewater treatment plants. Among the technologies evaluated for this purpose, adsorption and Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) have demonstrated the highest removal efficiencies, and the ongoing shift toward more circular and sustainable urban wastewater management, positioning them as two of the most strategically significant technologies in the field. Quaternary treatments with ozonation and activated carbon adsorption (PAC/GAC) achieve median micropollutant removal above 80%. GAC is generally associated with the highest costs, followed by PAC and ozonation, typically in the range of approximately 0.035 to 0.3 € per cubic meter in European settings. This review presents a systematic comparison of adsorption and AOPs for the removal of urban wastewater pollutants, with emphasis on removal efficiency, energy requirements, carbon footprint, and operational limitations. It delineates the conditions under which each technology demonstrates superior performance and highlights its complementary strengths across different contaminant groups and treatment objectives. Beyond conventional performance indicators, the review frames these technologies as key enablers of circular wastewater treatment through material regeneration, resource recovery, and process integration.

The utilization of lime mortar to connect the masonry wall elements of historical architectural structures, to overlap and protect these structures, is an ancient technique that has prevailed until today as a compatible solution based on the principles of restoration. In recent years, scientists have studied the modification of lime mortars with new, sustainable and environmentally friendly materials that respect the value of monuments and are aligned with the principles of restoration. In the present study, the existing international literature on advanced lime mortars with improved mechanical and physicochemical properties is presented, and the knowledge gap is identified. Finally, new materials for improving lime mortars are proposed as a basis for successful restoration and further protection of architectural heritage.

Textile industries release dyes into wastewater, and when present above certain levels, these dyes pose serious risks because of their high toxicity. This study investigates the removal of Sunset Yellow (SY) and Methylene Violet (MV) dyes from wastewater using chitosan (CS) and polysilicate acid (pSi) in the structure of aluminum-based coagulants, resulting in hybrid formulations (CS@Al, Al/pSi, and CS@Al/pSi). Among the various treatment methods that have been applied for the removal of dyes, the coagulation/flocculation process was chosen in the present study, as it is a cheap and effective method. Coagulation performance was optimized for pH, coagulant dosage, temperature and mixing time. The Al/pSi coagulant achieved nearly complete SY removal (98.8%) at 25 mg/L dosage and pH 3.0. MV removal in single-dye solutions was limited, with Al/pSi achieving only 26.6% removal at pH 3.0. However, in mixed-dye systems (SY/MV), synergistic interactions increased MV removal up to 94.4% and SY removal to 100%. Hybrid CS@Al/pSi showed lower SY removal (36.4%) for SY at 50 mg/L but provided stable floc formation, particularly in mixtures of anionic and cationic dyes. Application to real textile wastewater confirmed the high efficiency of the optimized coagulants, particularly with Al/pSi_20,A and AlCl₃, indicating their potential for industrial wastewater treatment. SEM, EDS, XRD, and FTIR analyses revealed structural consolidation, increased surface area, and successful dye adsorption, explaining the high removal efficiency.

Environmental monitoring and early disaster prediction require sensor networks that can dynamically reconfigure their operation based on environmental conditions and potential threats. Moving beyond traditional management requires autonomous and adaptive control systems with the ability for intelligent decision-making at the network edge. This paper presents an intelligent agent-based system for autonomous control and optimization of large-scale, distributed electronic sensor networks used for environmental monitoring and disaster prediction. The approach aims at promoting the accuracy and timeliness of disaster prediction by using sensor characteristics knowledge, environmental processes, and network control protocols. The paper presents the architecture and decision-making with potential applications.

The introduction of the computer into the educational process is a fact. The educational use of new technologies creates a new, more appealing and enjoyable learning environment. The introduction of new technologies into school differentiates the role of the professor by giving him/her a guiding character in a process of experiential approach to knowledge. In the present paper a proposal for the teaching of the chemistry module “Simple Colloids” is presented, with the contribution of video recorded educational experiments. Complete experiments on the subject of “Simple Colloids” and their properties are presented, aiming at familiarizing students with this theory.