Back to ICJN
ICJNICJN PressProfessional Journal Publishing
Journal of Solid Waste Valorization and Chemical Management (JSWVCM)
Submit Manuscript Manuscript Tracking Editorial Board

Journal of Solid Waste Valorization and Chemical Management (JSWVCM)

Environmental Science
Journal of Solid Waste Valorization and Chemical Management (JSWVCM) , upholding the green development concept of “Solid Waste Resource Recycling · Chemical Risk Control,” promotes the synergistic advancement of solid waste resource utilization, environmental safety management of chemicals, and ecological sustainable development.

Published in Partnership with

Collaborative Innovation Platform of IUR (Industry-University-Research) in China Laboratory. Collaborative Innovation Platform of IUR (Industry-University-Research) in China Laboratory. Solid Waste and Chemicals Management Center, Ministry of Ecology and Environment. Solid Waste and Chemicals Management Center,
Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

Aims & Scope

Journal of Solid Waste Valorization and Chemical Management (JSWVCM) , upholding the green development concept of “Solid Waste Resource Recycling · Chemical Risk Control,” promotes the synergistic advancement of solid waste resource utilization, environmental safety management of chemicals, and ecological sustainable development. It focuses on multidisciplinary fields related to the high-value utilization of solid waste and the environmental risk prevention and control of chemicals, covering the entire chain of research, including zero-waste city construction, new pollutant treatment, whole-process environmental risk assessment, high-value utilization of solid waste, resource utilization of hazardous waste, and optimization of environmental chemical processes and improvement of low-carbon energy efficiency. The journal features dedicated columns such as Article, Review, Perspective, Commentary, and Editorial, systematically promoting the latest research results, technological breakthroughs, and industrial application experience in the field. JSWVCM is the official publication of the Solid Waste and Chemicals Management Center, Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

Latest Articles

View more
Graphical abstract
254
Review2026, Vol. 1, Issue 2

Microwave Pyrolysis of Spent Activated Carbon-Laden Sludge: A Critical Review of Regeneration, Cross-Phase Pollutant Transfer, and Environmental Reactivity

Yongxiao Liu, Lu Liu, Hao Zheng, Viacheslav A. Arlyapov, Yu Tian, Jun Zhang

Spent activated carbon-laden sludge (SACLS) is a composite residue containing a potentially recoverable porous carbon matrix together with organic contaminants, mineral phases, and heavy metals, thereby creating simultaneous resource-recovery and environmental-risk challenges. This review critically evaluates microwave pyrolysis as a strategy for activated-carbon regeneration and SACLS valorization, with particular emphasis on particulate formation, cross-phase pollutant transfer, heavy-metal redistribution, and environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs). Peer-reviewed evidence from spent activated-carbon regeneration, sewage-sludge microwave pyrolysis, particulate formation, metal speciation, and EPFR chemistry was critically synthesized into a unified process-level framework. The analysis indicates that selective microwave absorption by carbonaceous domains can accelerate adsorbate desorption, cracking, and pore redevelopment; however, heterogeneous energy deposition may also generate interfacial hot spots that promote tar conversion, mineral transformation, particle nucleation, metal volatilization and condensation, carbon loss, and radical stabilization. Fine particles should therefore be regarded as mobile carriers of metals, aromatic radical precursors, and redox-active mineral phases rather than merely as secondary dust. Existing studies commonly evaluate only the solid char, whereas particles, condensates, reactor deposits, and time-dependent EPFR evolution are rarely included in complete mass balances and integrated risk assessments. Safe SACLS valorization consequently requires a regeneration-risk-constrained operating window that jointly considers adsorption recovery, carbon preservation, energy demand, particle-size-resolved metal fate, organic contaminant redistribution, and EPFR/reactive oxygen species (ROS) reactivity. Standardized feedstock characterization, spatially resolved thermal diagnostics, and phase- and time-resolved analyses are essential for scalable application.

Graphical abstract
335
Article2026, Vol. 1, Issue 2

High-Efficiency Lithium Extraction From Lithium Precipitated Mother Liquor Using the IPE-Z Lithium Extractant Under Weakly Alkaline Conditions

Rongyue Wang, Hui Li, Gaojie Xu, Pengge Ning

As a critical strategic metal, lithium is subject to increasingly stringent resource utilization efficiency requirements. Lithium precipitated mother liquor is the final hurdle in the recovery of lithium resources. Due to its high sodium-to-lithium ratio, strong alkalinity, and complex impurity composition, it poses a significant challenge to the selectivity and stability of traditional extraction systems. In this study, we investigated the influence of different substituents on the enolization capacity of β-diketone extractant molecules based on the electrostatic distribution patterns of extractant molecules. Using this as the primary criterion, we developed a novel extraction system (IPE-Z/tributyl phosphate (TBP)) and examined the effects of various factors, such as pH, extractant concentration, co–extractant ratio and agitation intensity, on extraction yield. Furthermore, the adaptability of this extractant to different feed solutions was verified and its extraction mechanism analysed. The results show that this extractant can achieve over 85% extraction efficiency in a single-stage process and a sodium separation factor (βLi/Na) of 178.72. Meanwhile, the pH of the extractant raffinate is 7.9, suggesting that lithium can be extracted from lithium–precipitated mother liquor without consuming alkali. In the extractate, the coordination ratio of the extractant molecules, the co-extractant molecules, and the lithium ions is 1:1:1. Infrared spectroscopic analysis of the organic phase before and after extraction confirmed that the extractant’s molecular structure remains stable during extraction and back-extraction. Cyclic extraction experiments indicate that this extractant can achieve an extraction efficiency of 98.70% for lithium precipitated mother liquor. The pH of the raffinate is 7.2, enabling the near-neutral extraction of lithium from lithium-precipitated mother liquor, which demonstrates good industrial application prospects.

Graphical abstract
279
Review2026, Vol. 1, Issue 2

A Review of DFT Studies in Biomass Pyrolysis and Gasification

Ying Wang, Baofeng Zhao, Chongmin Wang, Haibin Guan, Lei Chen, Bari Wulan, Laizhi Sun, Tianyi Liu, Krishnaswamy Nandakumar, Wanning Zheng, Ying Bo

Biomass thermochemical conversion is a key route for converting renewable carbon into fuels and high-value chemicals, and density functional theory (DFT) has been used to elucidate its microscopic mechanisms. This review summarizes DFT studies of reaction pathways, key intermediates, and catalyst-surface mechanisms in four core fields of biomass pyrolysis and gasification. In biomass primary pyrolysis, main model compounds of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, such as cellobiose, xylan fragments and lignin β-O-4 dimers, have been used to analyze glycosidic-bond, Cβ–O and Cα–Cβ cleavage, hydrogen transfer, dehydration and transglycosylation pathways leading to levoglucosan, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, furfural and phenolic products. For bio-oil upgrading, DFT calculations on Pt, Fe, Ru–H2O, Mo2C and Co@CoO systems have revealed the effects of adsorption geometry, hydrogen activation and transfer, and C–O cleavage on hydrogenation, dehydroxylation and demethoxylation routes and product selectivity. For tar removal, DFT studies have calculated initial C–H/O–H cleavage, aromatic-ring opening and carbon-removal steps of toluene and phenol on transition-metal, CaO-based and carbon-based catalysts, and analyzed the effects of surface composition and interfacial structure on cracking and reforming. In gas conditioning, DFT studies have attempted to describe competitive and synergistic radical reactions of surface carbon, CHx, O, OH, and H intermediates linking methane reforming, carbon removal, and water-gas shift/reverse water-gas shift reactions (WGS/RWGS). In conclusion, the molecular mechanism of biomass thermal conversion could be elucidated and consistent with macroscale reaction tendencies via DFT simulations; nevertheless, the relatively simplified compound models of biomass and catalytic surface models, isolated elementary steps and limited kinetic descriptions led to considerable discrepancies between computational results that still fail to perfectly reproduce authentic reaction behaviors. Future work should integrate realistic catalytic structures, interconnected reaction networks, microkinetic modelling, and experimental validation to more accurately design chemical reactions and forecast product distributions for engineering applications of solid waste utilization.

Graphical abstract
412
Article2026, Vol. 1, Issue 2

Synergistic Pathways for Pollution and Carbon Reduction in End-of-Life Nickel Cobalt Manganese Oxide Battery Recycling Processes

Xi Tian, Ziying Zhang, Wei Liu, Xinxue Lai, Tongzhu Zhang, Hu Liu, Yaobin Liu

Synergistic pollution and carbon reduction in end-of-life (EOL) lithium-ion battery recycling are essential for the green and low-carbon transition of the battery recycling industry. However, systematic comparisons of different recycling processes from a synergy perspective remain limited. This study applies life cycle assessment to compare four representative recycling routes for EOL lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NCM) batteries in China: pyrometallurgical recycling, hydrometallurgical recycling, pyro-hydrometallurgical recycling, and direct recycling. Environmental performance is evaluated across 18 impact categories using the ReCiPe 2016 midpoint method, and contribution hotspot analysis, sensitivity analysis, scenario analysis, and a synergy index (SI) are integrated to identify key burden sources and potential for synergistic optimization. The results show that direct recycling performs best under the baseline scenario, with the lowest burdens in 12 of the 18 impact categories and the lowest global warming potential (GWP) of 1.35 kg CO2-eq EOL NCM battery. Key influencing parameters differ markedly among processes. Scenario analysis shows that technological progress yields the most stable synergistic benefits; under this scenario, direct recycling achieves nearly synchronized reductions in pollution and carbon, with pollution-related SI values ranging from 0.96 to 0.99. In contrast, energy structure transition substantially reduces GWP, with a 64.43% reduction for pyro-hydrometallurgical recycling, but may induce non-carbon environmental burden shifting, particularly in terrestrial ecotoxicity and ozone depletion. The combined scenario achieves high absolute reduction potential, but its synergy depends on whether pollution-related impacts decrease synchronously with GWP. Process-specific strategies that integrate source-oriented technological improvements, electricity decarbonization, and key input reduction are essential to achieve robust pollution-carbon synergies in EOL NCM battery recycling.

257
Review2026, Vol. 1, Issue 2

Preparation, Functionalization and Frontier Applications of Nanocellulose Hydrogels

Yanhua Liu, Zheng Xu, Pengjun Zhao, Zhengjie Lin

Nanocellulose hydrogels are gaining traction as sustainable soft materials, thanks to the high surface area, abundant hydroxyl groups, mechanical strength, biocompatibility, and renewability of cellulose nanocrystals and nanofibers. Unlike conventional synthetic polymer hydrogels, those based on nanocellulose offer distinct advantages in building mechanically robust, multifunctional, and eco-friendly three-dimensional (3D) networks. This review highlights recent advances in the preparation, structural design, functionalization, and emerging applications of nanocellulose hydrogels. We begin by comparing major preparation routes — mechanical, chemical, chemical-mechanical and green solvent-based — in terms of efficiency, cost, environmental footprint, and scalability. Next, we discuss hydrogel fabrication strategies including physical and chemical crosslinking, double networks, interpenetrating polymer networks, and pore‑structure control. Emphasis is placed on how interfacial interactions, energy dissipation, and network topology govern mechanical performance. Functionalization methods to introduce stimuli responsiveness, electrical conductivity, self‑healing capability, and interfacial adhesion are then reviewed. Representative applications are covered in biomedical engineering, flexible electronics, smart devices, 3D printing, food packaging, and agricultural uses such as water retention and nutrient release. Finally, we critically examine key challenges: balancing mechanical strength with multifunctionality, dispersing nanofillers in multicomponent systems, limitations of current reinforcement theories, long‑term stability, biosafety, and scalable green manufacturing. This review aims to guide the rational design, functional integration, and practical translation of nanocellulose hydrogels.