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Clean Technol.
Special Issues
Bioeconomy: Current Trends, Challenges, and Future Prospects
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Bioeconomy: Current Trends, Challenges, and Future Prospects

A special issue of Clean Technologies (ISSN 2571-8797).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 19376

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Sarat Chandra Togarcheti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Chemistry, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
Interests: microalgal biotechnology; bioeconomy; life cycle and sustainabiity assessment; wastewater treatment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The climate crisis across the globe has driven interest towards the production of biochemicals and bioenergy from renewable resources. The sustainable use of bioresources will pave the way to the decarbonisation of our society and reduced dependency on fossil-based resources. Unleashing the economic potential of marine and forest eco-systems will boost the bio-based economy, while addressing the climate crisis. Utilizing biological resources and their by-products for the production of value-added products through fermentation and bio-catalysis results in a decrease in energy and water consumption, and in a reduction of toxic waste. This Special Issue invites outstanding contributions from researchers exploring marine and forest bioresources for developing a sustainable bioeconomy. Specific interests of the Special Issue include the following:

  • Bio-based chemicals from forest residues
  • Bioactives from micro- and macro-algae
  • Biofuels from agro-industrial wastes for circular economy
  • Life cycle and sustainability analysis

Dr. Sarat Chandra Togarcheti
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. Clean Technologies is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1600 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

  • marine bioeconomy
  • forest bioeconomy
  • circular economy
  • life cycle assessment

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 8277 KiB  
Article
Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of EPA and DHA Production from Microalgae and Farmed Fish
by Sarat Chandra Togarcheti and Ramesh Babu Padamati
Clean Technol. 2021, 3(4), 699-710; https://doi.org/10.3390/cleantechnol3040042 - 28 Sep 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4828
Abstract
The present study aims at comparing the life cycle environmental impacts of polyunsaturated fatty acids production (PUFA) from microalgae and farmed fish. PUFA production from microalgae cultivated via heterotrophy and photoautotrophy was assessed and compared. The primary energy demand (PED) and environmental impacts [...] Read more.
The present study aims at comparing the life cycle environmental impacts of polyunsaturated fatty acids production (PUFA) from microalgae and farmed fish. PUFA production from microalgae cultivated via heterotrophy and photoautotrophy was assessed and compared. The primary energy demand (PED) and environmental impacts (EI) of PUFA production from microalgae via heterotrophy were significantly lower compared to PUFA produced via photoautotrophy. Furthermore, PED and EI of PUFA production from fish farmed in marine net pens were assessed. The results indicated that the PED and EI of PUFA production from farmed fish are higher than that produced from microalgae cultivated via heterotrophy. Therefore, the results suggest that PUFA produced from microalgae via heterotrophy could substitute fish oil from an environmental perspective. Furthermore, life cycle analysis results indicate that PUFA derived from microalgae could potentially replace fish oil in the fish feed, thus reducing the pressure on oceans. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioeconomy: Current Trends, Challenges, and Future Prospects)
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15 pages, 711 KiB  
Article
Production of Green Biorefinery Protein Concentrate Derived from Perennial Ryegrass as an Alternative Feed for Pigs
by Rajeev Ravindran, Sybrandus Koopmans, Johan P. M. Sanders, Helena McMahon and James Gaffey
Clean Technol. 2021, 3(3), 656-669; https://doi.org/10.3390/cleantechnol3030039 - 14 Sep 2021
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 5766
Abstract
Perennial rye grass is a widely used forage species in Ireland, on which the ruminant sector of agriculture is heavily dependent. While this species of grass is the primary source of fodder for cows, it is also abundant in plant protein, which could [...] Read more.
Perennial rye grass is a widely used forage species in Ireland, on which the ruminant sector of agriculture is heavily dependent. While this species of grass is the primary source of fodder for cows, it is also abundant in plant protein, which could form a potential alternative ingredient in monogastric animal feed using a green biorefinery approach. In this study, perennial rye grass was processed using a novel biorefining process to extract value added products including protein as a potential replacement for soybean meal in monogastric feeds. Feed trials were conducted on a commercial farm with 55 weaner pigs for 31 days until slaughter. The diets comprised a control and a trial diet which integrated the green biorefinery protein concentrate. The effects of the new diet were determined by measuring the daily feed intake (DFI), average weight gain (AWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR). Amino acid profiles of grass protein concentrate and soybean meal were comparable, with the latter having a slightly higher amount of total protein content, lysine and cysteine. The DFI and ADW indicated that the treatment diet was superior to the control. DFI for the treatment diet (1.512 kg/d) was 8% higher than the control diet (1.400 kg/d) by the end of the trial. Additionally, the ADW for the treatment diet was 6.44% higher than that achieved in the control sample. Meanwhile, FCR calculations indicated that the treatment diet is just as efficient as the conventional diet. Overall, the results of the study indicate positive potential for perennial ryegrass-derived green biorefinery protein concentrate as an alternative protein source for pig feed formulations in Ireland. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioeconomy: Current Trends, Challenges, and Future Prospects)
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Review

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32 pages, 3578 KiB  
Review
Key Targets for Improving Algal Biofuel Production
by Gareth Griffiths, Abul Kalam Hossain, Vikas Sharma and Ganesh Duraisamy
Clean Technol. 2021, 3(4), 711-742; https://doi.org/10.3390/cleantechnol3040043 - 9 Oct 2021
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 7622
Abstract
A number of technological challenges need to be overcome if algae are to be utilized for commercial fuel production. Current economic assessment is largely based on laboratory scale up or commercial systems geared to the production of high value products, since no industrial [...] Read more.
A number of technological challenges need to be overcome if algae are to be utilized for commercial fuel production. Current economic assessment is largely based on laboratory scale up or commercial systems geared to the production of high value products, since no industrial scale plant exits that are dedicated to algal biofuel. For macroalgae (‘seaweeds’), the most promising processes are anaerobic digestion for biomethane production and fermentation for bioethanol, the latter with levels exceeding those from sugar cane. Currently, both processes could be enhanced by increasing the rate of degradation of the complex polysaccharide cell walls to generate fermentable sugars using specifically tailored hydrolytic enzymes. For microalgal biofuel production, open raceway ponds are more cost-effective than photobioreactors, with CO2 and harvesting/dewatering costs estimated to be ~50% and up to 15% of total costs, respectively. These costs need to be reduced by an order of magnitude if algal biodiesel is to compete with petroleum. Improved economics could be achieved by using a low-cost water supply supplemented with high glucose and nutrients from food grade industrial wastewater and using more efficient flocculation methods and CO2 from power plants. Solar radiation of not <3000 h·yr−1 favours production sites 30° north or south of the equator and should use marginal land with flat topography near oceans. Possible geographical sites are discussed. In terms of biomass conversion, advances in wet technologies such as hydrothermal liquefaction, anaerobic digestion, and transesterification for algal biodiesel are presented and how these can be integrated into a biorefinery are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioeconomy: Current Trends, Challenges, and Future Prospects)
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