Catalysis for Solid Waste Upcycling: Challenges and Opportunities
A special issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomass Catalysis".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 31
Special Issue Editors
Interests: thermochemical conversion; catalytic pyrolysis; municipal solid waste
Interests: selective pyrolysis polygeneration of biomass and other solid waste, biomass-based functional carbon materials
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The escalating global production of solid waste, along with increasing environmental concerns and the potential depletion of non-renewable resources, has intensified the urgent need for sustainable waste management strategies. Catalytic upcycling of solid waste into value-added products presents a transformative approach to address these challenges, serving as a critical element for achieving the circular economy. This emerging field encompasses the conversion of diverse waste streams, which generally include complex macromolecules in plastics, biomass residues, electronic waste, and industrial byproducts, into renewable fuels, chemicals, and other functional materials through innovative catalytic processes. Despite significant progress in recent years, key challenges remain, such as catalyst design for decomposing complex waste feedstocks, elucidation of reaction network or mechanism, and evaluation of process scalability and economic viability.
This Special Issue, entitled “Catalysis for Solid Waste Upcycling: Challenges and Opportunities”, aims to compile original research papers, critical reviews, and perspective articles that report fundamentals, innovative strategies, laboratory and field experimental studies, and modeling on catalytic technologies for solid waste conversion. The Guest Editors welcome contributions covering, but not limited to:
- Development of novel catalysts (e.g., heterogeneous, homogeneous, enzymatic) for waste conversion
- Mechanistic studies and kinetic modeling of waste upcycling processes
- Integrated catalytic strategies for mixed or contaminated waste streams
- Life-cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis of catalytic upcycling
- Case studies on industrial applications and scalable processes
By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, this Special Issue seeks to accelerate the transition toward sustainable waste-to-resource solutions. Should the authors have any questions on the appropriateness of the topic they work with for submission to this Special Issue, please feel free to reach the Guest Editors for more information.
Dr. Yao He
Dr. Kai Li
Dr. Junyan Zhang
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- solid waste
- biomass
- catalytic conversion
- value-added utilization
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