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Advanced Technologies in Waste-to-Bioenergy

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A4: Bio-Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 December 2025 | Viewed by 523

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Chemical Process & Energy Resources Institute—CPERI, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas—CERTH, 6km Harilaou-Thermi, P.O. Box 57001, Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: life cycle assessment with a focus on biofuels, bio-refineries, and bio-based products; circular economy; fuel and biofuel stability and ageing assessment

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Chemical Process & Energy Resources Institute—CPERI, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas—CERTH, 6km Harilaou-Thermi, P.O. Box 57001, Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: production and evaluation of environmentally friendly fuels and biofuels; catalytic hydroprocessing; HVOs; hydrothermal liquefaction
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The increasing global demand for sustainable energy solutions, alongside the imperative for efficient waste management, has increased academic interest in the development and implementation of advanced technological processes for waste-to-bioenergy conversion. Waste-to-bioenergy conversion technologies constitute a promising pathway towards the transition to circular economy.

This Special Issue of Energies aims to highlight the latest advancements and interdisciplinary research in waste-to-bioenergy systems, highlighting novel approaches of the efficient and sustainable valorization of various waste streams into bioenergy. Thermochemical and biochemical conversion processes will be emphasized in this field, supporting the circular economy. Studies addressing investigations into techno-economic analysis (TEA) or life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the sustainability of these technologies are anticipated. Contributions exploring the characterization and valorization of diverse waste feedstocks—including municipal solid waste, agricultural residues, industrial by-products, and organic wastes—are also highly encouraged.

Furthermore, this Special Issue anticipates submissions on policy frameworks, sustainability metrics, and implementation strategies that facilitate the commercialization of waste-to-bioenergy technological schemes.

We invite high-quality submissions that include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  • Waste feedstock characterization and valorization;
  • Biofuel production via variant conversion processes (e.g., pyrolysis, gasification, hydrothermal liquefaction, catalytic hydrotreatment, anaerobic digestion, fermentation, etc.) from various wastes (e.g., agricultural, municipal, industrial, and food waste and non-food energy crops, etc.);
  • Bioenergy production from diverse waste streams, including agricultural, municipal, industrial by-products, food waste, and non-food energy crops;
  • Techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) of waste-to-bioenergy systems;
  • Policy frameworks, sustainability metrics, and pathways to commercialization.

This Special Issue aims to showcase interdisciplinary approaches and breakthrough innovations that support the transition to low-carbon energy systems and sustainable waste valorization. Contributions from both academic and industrial researchers are welcome.

Dr. Loukia P. Chrysikou
Dr. Stella Bezergianni
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 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. Energies 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 2600 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

  • bioenergy and biofuels production from waste
  • waste valorization
  • circular economy
  • techno-economic analysis (TEA)
  • life cycle assessment (LCA)
  • sustainable waste management

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

30 pages, 21593 KB  
Article
Design and CFD Analysis of a Compact Anaerobic Digestion Bioreactor Evaluating Agitation Designs and Configurations for Energy Efficiency
by Hoe-Gil Lee and Brett Rice
Energies 2025, 18(19), 5085; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18195085 - 24 Sep 2025
Viewed by 353
Abstract
Anaerobic digestion (AD) plays a crucial role in renewable energy production and waste management by converting organic waste into biogas and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Optimized bioreactor performance depends on two main categories of factors: (1) reactor and geometric factors of agitator geometry, [...] Read more.
Anaerobic digestion (AD) plays a crucial role in renewable energy production and waste management by converting organic waste into biogas and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Optimized bioreactor performance depends on two main categories of factors: (1) reactor and geometric factors of agitator geometry, blade configuration, rotational speed, torque, power consumption, and the impeller-to-tank ration (d/D), and (2) fluid property factors of viscosity and flow characteristics, which relates turbulence, circulation patters, and stratification. Impeller power strongly influences nutrient distribution, gas exchange, and temperature uniformity within the reactor. While higher power inputs improve turbulence and prevent stratification, they also increase energy demand. This study evaluated fifteen blade configurations to determine the optimal fluid circulation using ANSYS 2024 R1 Fluent simulations. The bioreactor tank, with a diameter of 0.130 m and a height of 0.225 m, was tested at speeds ranging from 40 to 150 RPM. Among the single-blade configurations, the curved blade achieved the highest velocity at 0.521 m/s, generating localized circulations. The Rushton blade produced strong radial flows with a velocity of 0.364 m/s, while the propeller blade reached 0.254 m/s, supporting axial flow. In double-blade arrangements, the curved-propeller combination exhibited velocities between 0.261 and 0.342 m/s, enhancing fluid motion. The three-blade configurations resulted in the highest power consumption, ranging from 1.94 W to 1.99 W, with power increasing at higher RPMs and larger impeller sizes. However, torque values decreased over time. The most efficient mixing was achieved at moderate RPMs (80–120) and an impeller-to-tank diameter ratio (d/D) of approximately 0.75. These findings highlight the significance of blade selection in balancing mixing efficiency and energy consumption for scalable AD systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies in Waste-to-Bioenergy)
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