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Biomass-Based Materials and Systems for a Sustainable Bioeconomy and Carbon Management

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Green Sustainable Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2026 | Viewed by 150

Special Issue Editors

Department of Environmental Science, Policy, & Management, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Interests: pyrolysis of biomass and waste; industrial thermochemical process modeling; lifecycle assessment for biomass system; techno-economic analysis for bioeconomy
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Guest Editor
Institute of Chemical Industry of forest products, Chinese Academy of Forestry Sciences, Nanjing 210042, China
Interests: bio-based activated carbon; advanced carbon materials; carbon-based energy material
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
1. College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
2. Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Nanjing, China
Interests: design and synthesis of biomass-based carbon catalysts, and their catalytic activity; mechanism on electrocatalysis including oxygen reduction reaction; electrochemical CO2 reduction, and electrochemical urea synthesis, etc.
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to compile cutting-edge research on biomass-based carbon management strategies and their role in advancing the bioeconomy and climate mitigation. We seek interdisciplinary contributions that combine modeling, assessment, and optimization techniques to evaluate biomass utilization pathways from a systems perspective.

Relevant topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Process simulation and optimization for biomass conversion (e.g., pyrolysis, gasification, HTC, fermentation);
  • Techno-economic analysis (TEA) and lifecycle assessment (LCA) of biomass-to-product or biomass-to-energy systems;
  • Biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) strategies, including biochar, hydrochar, and carbon-storing bioproducts;
  • Geospatial information system (GIS) applications in biomass resource mapping and facility siting;
  • Supply chain modeling and logistics optimization for bio-based production systems;
  • Carbon credit, policy, and market frameworks relevant to biomass-derived negative emission technologies;
  • Experimental or pilot-scale studies of new biomass pathways with techno-economic or environmental implications.

We welcome both computational and experimental studies, particularly those that integrate multi-scale modeling with real-world datasets or empirical validation. This Special Issue hopes to support researchers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders in developing scalable, cost-effective, and environmentally responsible bio-based solutions.

Dr. Shule Wang
Prof. Dr. Kang Sun
Dr. Mengmeng Fan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biochar
  • circular bioeconomy
  • biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS)
  • techno-economic analysis (TEA)
  • lifecycle assessment (LCA)

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

22 pages, 2616 KB  
Review
Operational Research Underpinning the Development of a Novel Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) Peatlands-Based System for Demonstrating the Bioeconomy
by Neil J. Rowan
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(3), 1583; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16031583 - 4 Feb 2026
Abstract
Developing the bioeconomy offers a critical sustainable path away from fossil fuels by using renewable biological resources to create feed, food, materials, and energy; fostering decarbonization; and supporting circular economic growth. However, the pivotal role of different demonstration facilities in unlocking viable bio-based [...] Read more.
Developing the bioeconomy offers a critical sustainable path away from fossil fuels by using renewable biological resources to create feed, food, materials, and energy; fostering decarbonization; and supporting circular economic growth. However, the pivotal role of different demonstration facilities in unlocking viable bio-based products remains to be fully defined and appreciated. This review addresses the importance and added value of developing a novel integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) demonstration site in the peatlands as a scalable facility to support companies and end-users who are co-creating and testing appropriate bio-based products for new markets along with de-risking for investments. The operational activities necessary to develop and launch a fully functional IMTA-based bioeconomy demonstration site to meet a diversity of end-user expectations are considerable, including many unforeseen challenges that are addressed in this review. The IMTA site offers considerable potential for building a networked ecosystem of end-users (farmers, start-ups, entrepreneurs, companies, policy-makers), enabling alternative uses of land along with tailoring strategic policies for enhancing regional resilience and competitiveness with a global orientation. Full article
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