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Catalysts
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Biomass and Waste Valorization: Design and Construction of Novel Biocatalysts...
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Biomass and Waste Valorization: Design and Construction of Novel Biocatalysts for Industrial Processing

A special issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomass Catalysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 1750

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Luigi Di Bitonto

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Water Research Institute (IRSA), National Research Council (CNR), Viale de Blasio 5, 70132 Bari, Italy
Interests: homogeneuous and heterogenous catalysts; biofuels; renewable energy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The conversion of renewable biomasses into biofuels and chemicals represents a strategic way of reducing the use of fossil feedstock, contributing to a more sustainable society. Agroindustrial waste utilization processes do not involve resources destined for food consumption. In addition, waste utilization results in a reduction in its accumulation, with a consequent decrease in environmental impact and financial losses due to its disposal. In particular, the ligno-cellulosic component present in it can be used as a support for metals, metal oxides or other active species. The authors are invited to submit original innovative research articles on progress and perspectives related to the exploitation of residual biomasses and waste of different origins for the design of biocatalysts and their industrial applications.

Dr. Luigi Di Bitonto
Guest Editor

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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Catalysts is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2700 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

  • biomass valorization
  • biocatalysts
  • supported heterogeneous catalysts
  • biorefinery
  • green chemistry
  • biochar
  • metal–carbon-based catalysts

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 4502 KiB  
Article
Synthesis of a Highly Efficient Mesoporous Green Catalyst from Waste Avocado Peels for Biodiesel Production from Used Cooking–Baobab Hybrid Oil
by Anietie O. Etim and Paul Musonge
Catalysts 2024, 14(4), 261; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal14040261 - 15 Apr 2024
Viewed by 469
Abstract
Valorization of waste biomass materials for fuels and other energy products has become one of the effective ways of escalating and improving the bioeconomy. The development of a novel biomass solid catalyst obtained from waste avocado peels and its potentials in transesterification of [...] Read more.
Valorization of waste biomass materials for fuels and other energy products has become one of the effective ways of escalating and improving the bioeconomy. The development of a novel biomass solid catalyst obtained from waste avocado peels and its potentials in transesterification of a bi-hybrid oil of used cooking–baobab oil (UC-BO) was investigated in this study. The catalyst was produced by calcining the burnt char of the dried avocado peels. The produced calcined avocado peels catalyst (CAP) was further characterized using analytical equipment, such as FT-IR, XRD, SEM, EDX, and TGA, to ascertain its catalytic properties. The results revealed that CAP contains some vital elements, such as Mg, P, Cl, Ca, Si, Na, and a high percentage of K content, present in form of oxides, carbonates, chlorides, and mixed metal compounds. The catalyst displayed effective catalytic potential in converting the UC-BO to biodiesel with 100% yield under an optimized condition of 51 min reaction time (RT), 14.5:1 of methanol to oil ratio (MTOR), and 2.73 wt% of catalyst loading (CL) at a constant temperature of 60 °C. The CAP exhibited excellent recyclability potential, achieving 92.85% biodiesel yield after five successive reaction cycles without notable catalytic activity reduction. The fuel properties investigated were all established within the biodiesel quality specifications of EN 14241 and ASTM D6751, demonstrating that it is a practical substitute for petroleum fuel. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass and Waste Valorization: Design and Construction of Novel Biocatalysts for Industrial Processing)
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19 pages, 4494 KiB  
Article
A Closed-Loop Biorefinery Approach for the Valorization of Winery Waste: The Production of Iron-Sulfonated Magnetic Biochar Catalysts and 5-Hydroxymethyl Furfural from Grape Pomace and Stalks
by Luigi di Bitonto, Enrico Scelsi, Hilda Elizabeth Reynel-Ávila, Didilia Ileana Mendoza-Castillo, Adrián Bonilla-Petriciolet, Martin Hájek, Ahmad Mustafa and Carlo Pastore
Catalysts 2024, 14(3), 185; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal14030185 - 08 Mar 2024
Viewed by 916
Abstract
In this work, a closed-loop strategy for the management and valorization of winery waste was proposed. The exhausted pomace and grape stalks that are typically obtained from white wine industries were used as a source of simple sugars, namely, glucose and fructose, and [...] Read more.
In this work, a closed-loop strategy for the management and valorization of winery waste was proposed. The exhausted pomace and grape stalks that are typically obtained from white wine industries were used as a source of simple sugars, namely, glucose and fructose, and of lignocellulosic feedstock for the preparation of selective catalysts for the 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) production from fructose. A novel synthetic procedure was developed for the synthesis of iron-sulfonated magnetic biochar catalysts (Fe-SMBCs). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), BET surface area, porous structure analysis and determination of total amount of acid sites were performed in order to characterize the physico-chemical properties of the synthesized systems. Then, these heterogeneous catalysts were successfully tested via the dehydration of simple sugars into 5-HMF by using methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) and gamma valerolactone (GVL) as co-solvents. The optimum 5-HMF yield of 40.9 ± 1.1%mol with a selectivity of 59.8 ± 2.6%mol was achieved by adopting the following optimized conditions: 0.1 g of catalyst, volume ratio of GVL to H2O = 2 to 1, 403 K, 6 h. In addition, the catalyst was easily recycled using an external magnetic field and used for at least five reaction cycles without significant loss of catalytic activity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass and Waste Valorization: Design and Construction of Novel Biocatalysts for Industrial Processing)
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