Society confronts the pressing environmental challenges posed by the pervasive presence of toxic pollutants in aquatic ecosystems. The repercussions of contaminant release extend far and wide, endangering marine life and human well-being. While various techniques such as bioremediation, filtration, and adsorption have been employed for wastewater treatment, they grapple with cost effectiveness and overall efficiency issues. Advanced oxidative processes, including photocatalysis and Fenton, have emerged as viable solutions in response to the emerging contaminants. However, the efficacy of photocatalysis largely hinges on the choice of catalyst. Their distinctive attributes, such as chemical defects and exceptional stability, make perovskite oxides a promising catalyst. These materials can be synthesized through diverse methods, rendering them versatile and adaptable for widespread applications. Ongoing research endeavors are diligently focused on enhancing the performance of perovskite oxides, optimizing their integration into catalytic processes, and exploring innovative approaches for material immobilization. This comprehensive review seeks to elucidate the most pivotal advances in perovskite oxides and their composites within the wastewater treatment domain. Additionally, it sheds light on burgeoning research trends and multifaceted challenges confronting this field, which present insights into techniques for treating the antibiotic-contaminated environment, delving into innovative strategies, green technologies, challenges, and emerging trends.

Conventionally, unfilled wax has been used as a universal pattern material for the investment casting process. With increase in demand for accurate dimensions and complex shapes, various materials have been blended with wax to develop more suitable patterns for investment casting in order to overcome performance limitations exhibited by unfilled wax. The present article initially reviews various investigations on the development of investment casting patterns by exploring pattern materials, type of waxes and their limitations, the effect of filler materials and various additives on unfilled wax, wax blends for pattern materials, plastics and polymers for pattern materials and 3D-printed patterns. The superiority of filled and polymer patterns in terms of dimensional accuracy, pattern strength, surface and flow properties over unfilled wax is also discussed. The present use of 3D patterns following their versatility in the manufacturing sector to revolutionize the investment casting process is also emphasized. Various studies on wax characterization such as physical (surface and dimensions), thermal (thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry), mechanical (thermomechanical analysis, tensile stress testing, dynamic mechanical analysis) and rheological (viscosity and shearing properties) are also discussed.

The increase in the world population and the intensification of agricultural practices have resulted in the release of several contaminants into the environment, especially pesticides and heavy metals. This article reviews recent advances in using adsorbent and catalytic materials for environmental decontamination. Different materials, including clays, carbonaceous, metallic, polymeric, and hybrid materials, are evaluated for their effectiveness in pollutant removal. Adsorption is an effective technique due to its low cost, operational simplicity, and possibility of adsorbent regeneration. Catalytic processes, especially those using metallic nanoparticles, offer high efficiency in degrading complex pesticides. Combining these technologies can enhance the efficiency of remediation processes, promoting a more sustainable and practical approach to mitigate the impacts of pesticides and other agricultural pollutants on the environment. Therefore, this review article aims to present several types of materials used as adsorbents and catalysts for decontaminating ecosystems affected by agricultural pollutants. It discusses recent works in literature and future perspectives on using these materials in environmental remediation. Additionally, it explores the possibilities of using green chemistry principles in producing sustainable materials and using agro-industrial waste as precursors of new materials to remove contaminants from the environment.

This work investigates the potential industrial applications of two sodium bentonite samples (white and yellow), obtained from raw Ca-rich bentonite from Maputo Province in Southern Mozambique. Bentonite bio-organoclays were successfully developed from two Mozambican montmorillonite clays through the intercalation of protonated dimer fatty acid-based polyamide chains using a solution casting method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed polymer intercalation, with the basal spacing (d₀₀₁) increasing from approximately 1.5 nm to 1.7 nm as the polymer concentration varied between 2.5 and 7.5 wt.%. However, the extent of intercalation was limited at this stage, suggesting that polymer concentration alone had a minimal effect, likely due to the formation of agglomerates. In a subsequent optimization phase, the influence of temperature (30–90 °C), stirring speed (1000–2000 rpm), and contact time (30–90 min) was evaluated while maintaining a constant polymer concentration. These parameters significantly enhanced intercalation, achieving d001 values up to 4 nm. Statistical Design of Experiments and Response Surface Methodology revealed that temperature and stirring speed exerted a stronger influence on d001 expansion than contact time. Optimal intercalation occurred at 90 °C, 1500 rpm, and 60 min. The predictive models demonstrated high accuracy, with R² values of 0.9861 for white bentonite (WB) and 0.9823 for yellow bentonite (YB). From statistical modeling, several key observations emerged. Higher stirring speeds promoted intercalation by enhancing mass transfer and dispersion; increased agitation disrupted stagnant layers surrounding the clay particles, facilitating deeper penetration of the polymer chains into the interlayer galleries and preventing particle settling. Furthermore, the ANOVA results showed that all individual and interaction effects of the factors investigated had a significant influence on the d₀₀₁ spacing for both WB and YB clays. Each factor exhibited a positive effect on the degree of intercalation.

Electrochemical oxidation (EO) is a versatile, advanced oxidation process (AOP) for the treatment of persistent and recalcitrant pollutants in wastewater. This critical review examines recent advances in EO, with emphasis on oxidation mechanisms, electrode materials, reactive species, reactor configurations, operational parameters, and energy efficiency. Direct electron-transfer reactions and indirect oxidation mediated by electrogenerated reactive species are discussed in relation to pollutant degradation, mineralization, and process selectivity. Attention is given to active and non-active anodes, classified according to their interaction with electrogenerated oxidizing species and their catalytic behavior toward organic pollutant oxidation, as well as to electrode stability and oxygen evolution competition. The effects of parameters such as current density applied potential, pH, electrolyte composition, conductivity, temperature, mass transfer, and electrolysis time on treatment performance and energy consumption are critically evaluated. The review also examines the integration of EO with microbial electrochemical technologies, anaerobic digestion, hydrogen production, and other resource-recovery pathways, distinguishing direct electrochemical energy recovery from downstream energy generation. Photo-electrooxidation is considered as a complementary light-assisted electrochemical approach. Importantly, the available evidence does not yet support generalized claims of positive net energy recovery, highlighting the need for complete system-level energy balances. Finally, key challenges related to real wastewater, electrode durability, transformation products, toxicity, scale-up, techno-economic feasibility, and environmental sustainability are discussed, together with future perspectives for efficient and scalable EO-based wastewater treatment.