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Energies
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Advances in Energy Recovery and Waste Management for Sustainable Development
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Advances in Energy Recovery and Waste Management for Sustainable Development

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 April 2026 | Viewed by 985

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Agata Wajda

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Energy and Fuel Processing Technology, Zamkowa 1, 41-803 Zabrze, Poland
Interests: waste management; energy recovery; waste-to-energy; renewable energy; waste heat recovery; hazardous waste management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue delves into the challenges and opportunities presented by growing global waste generation and energy demands, offering insights into the latest advancements in the development and application of sustainable solutions for waste management and energy recovery.

As the global demand for energy continues to rise alongside growing environmental concerns, we need to create methods and systems that allow for the reuse of waste heat, convert waste materials into valuable energy resources, and increase the energy efficiency of systems and processes. In the context of energy recovery, issues relating to energy storage, the design of energy systems, and their decentralisation should be considered. Waste, both municipal and industrial, is considered an additional energy source. However, it should be noted that according to the waste hierarchy, other waste management methods such as waste prevention, preparation for reuse, and recycling are preferred. Within each waste management method, optimisation should be sought. The scope of this Special Issue also includes environmental impact assessments of the proposed solutions using either methods that are currently available (such as lifecycle assessments, carbon footprints, and cost–benefit analyses) or new methods proposed by researchers.

I encourage scientists to submit original research articles, case studies, and review papers that explore the latest technological innovations, best practices, and successful implementations of strategies that are within the scope of this Special Issue. Let this Special Issue be a platform for the exchange of knowledge and research on sustainable energy recovery and waste management!

This Special Issue seeks to include, but is not limited to, the following research topics:

  • Waste-to-energy;
  • Circular economy and sustainable waste management;
  • Energy recovery;
  • Innovative waste management systems;
  • Environmental impact assessments;
  • Policy and regulatory frameworks;
  • Waste heat recovery;
  • Energy storage;
  • Numerical methods in energy recovery and waste management;
  • Management of different types of waste (municipal, industrial, agricultural);
  • Decentralised energy systems using local resources;
  • Methods for treating hazardous waste;
  • Sustainable wastewater treatment methods and technologies.

Dr. Agata Wajda
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 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. 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

  • energy recovery
  • waste-to-energy
  • sustainable waste management
  • waste heat recovery
  • hazardous waste treatment
  • circular economy
  • environmental impact assessment
  • energy storage
  • numerical methods
  • wastewater treatment

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3405 KB  
Article
The Use of Coniferous Tree Cone Biomass as an Energy Source and a Reducing Agent in the Recycling of Metals from Oxide Secondary Raw Materials
by Szymon Ptak, Jerzy Łabaj, Tomasz Matuła, Albert Smalcerz, Leszek Blacha, Adrian Smagór and Róbert Findorák
Energies 2025, 18(23), 6183; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18236183 - 25 Nov 2025
Viewed by 266
Abstract
The challenges faced by the metallurgical industry implicate that actions aimed at reducing negative impacts on the environment are becoming extremely important. This is justified both in the search for economically competitive methods of producing basic construction materials, consistent with the circular economy [...] Read more.
The challenges faced by the metallurgical industry implicate that actions aimed at reducing negative impacts on the environment are becoming extremely important. This is justified both in the search for economically competitive methods of producing basic construction materials, consistent with the circular economy policy, and in improving the efficiency of metal production technology. An essential aspect of biomass use is the introduction of an energy source that naturally reduces the energy supplied to the reactor, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of the metal produced. In this case, the research undertaken aims to determine the possibility of using a bioreductant that will allow for the reduction or elimination of the fossil raw material, which is coal, thus reducing the costs associated with ETS and ETS II (European Union Emissions Trading System). This paper presents the results of research on the reduction process of oxide metal-bearing raw material, the chemical composition of which is similar to slags from the copper industry. The effects of slag reduction time on the degrees of copper and lead removal were examined. The process was carried out at 1300 °C, with the constant addition of a reducing agent, in the form of crushed pine cones. After processing for 1 h, the copper content in the waste slag was 1.30 wt%, whereas extending the process to 5 h reduced the copper content to 0.15 wt%. For lead, at the exact reduction times, the element’s contents in the slag after processing were 1.92 wt% and 0.79 wt%, respectively. The results of the studied process showed that, in the first stage of the slag reduction process, intensive reduction of copper and lead oxides occurs. Research was also conducted to characterize the biomaterial during the high-temperature process. Results show high degrees of removal for basic metals at the following levels: 99% for Cu and 72% for Pb. The waste slag is characterized by low metal content, which allows for safe storage or use in other sectors of the economy. This type of biomaterial is, therefore, recommended for research in large-scale laboratories or on a semi-industrial scale, particularly in relation to the gas phase formed and its possible impacts on the structural elements of industrial installations. It should be noted that there is a lack of data in the literature on the use of forest biomass in the form of pine cones as an alternative to coke as a reducing agent for use in pyrometallurgical processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Energy Recovery and Waste Management for Sustainable Development)
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17 pages, 1048 KB  
Article
A Simulation-Based Framework for Energy-Efficient and Safe Blower Coordination in Wastewater Treatment Plants
by Luca Cirillo, Marco Gotelli, Marina Massei, Xhulia Sina and Vittorio Solina
Energies 2025, 18(22), 5947; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18225947 - 12 Nov 2025
Viewed by 458
Abstract
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are critical infrastructures that account for a significant share of global electricity, with aeration alone often responsible for over half of the total demand. Reducing the energy intensity of blower operation is, therefore, essential for sustainable and resilient WWTP [...] Read more.
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are critical infrastructures that account for a significant share of global electricity, with aeration alone often responsible for over half of the total demand. Reducing the energy intensity of blower operation is, therefore, essential for sustainable and resilient WWTP management. This study presents a modeling and simulation framework for optimizing parallel blower operation in grit chamber aeration system. The framework integrates a modular structure with a blower model, a distribution network model, and an optimization layer that work together to capture equipment performance, simulate hydraulic interactions, and determine energy-optimal operating strategies under process and safety constraints. Two optimization strategies are compared: a heuristic grid search and a Safe Bayesian Optimization (SBO) method. Both algorithms enforce vendor surge and overheat limits, network pressure constraints, and process requirements. Simulation campaigns under representative demand scenarios show that both approaches achieve feasible operating points, while SBO consistently demonstrates higher energy savings and substantially faster runtime. Overall, the findings highlight the potential of data-driven optimization for achieving efficient and safe blower control, with reduced computation time making progress for real-time supervisory optimization in WWTPs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Energy Recovery and Waste Management for Sustainable Development)
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