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Advances in Biosystems Engineering: Multidisciplinary Energy Innovations Applied to Agriculture, Food, and Technology

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 March 2026 | Viewed by 779

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Timo Kikas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Technology, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 56, 51014 Tartu, Estonia
Interests: bioeconomy; biofuels; biomass conversion; biomethane; bioethanol; lignocellulosic biomass; pretreatment; renewable transport fuels
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Lisandra Rocha Meneses

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Technology, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 56, 51014 Tartu, Estonia
Interests: biotechnology; bioenergetics; bioethanol; fuel; lignocellulosic biofuels; anaerobic digestion; biogas; biomethane; zero-waste; circular economy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are delighted to announce a Special Issue on Advances in Biosystems Engineering: Multidisciplinary Energy Innovations Applied to Agriculture, Food, and Technology.

This Special Issue focuses on modern and cutting-edge engineering techniques and technical solutions applied to biological systems to create productive energy solutions for agricultural, food, and environmental systems. High-quality research articles, reviews, and case studies exploring cutting-edge research and advancements in this field are welcome; multidisciplinary solutions focusing on digitalization, sustainable and efficient resource management, integrated processes, waste valorization, circular economy, climate resilience, adaptation, and interdisciplinary research are welcome.

Among the more prominent topics are energy and fuels from renewable sources, bioenergy, waste-to-energy, energy efficiency, etc.

Prof. Dr. Timo Kikas
Dr. Lisandra Rocha Meneses
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

  • smart energy systems
  • energy policy
  • energy system analysis
  • renewable energy resources
  • advanced sustainable energy conversion systems
  • renewable heat systems
  • biofuels and biorefineries
  • alternative fuels
  • hybrid and electric vehicles
  • energy storage
  • energy efficiency

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

37 pages, 4320 KB  
Article
Proof of Concept for Enhanced Sugar Yields and Inhibitors Reduction from Aspen Biomass via Novel, Single-Step Nitrogen Explosive Decompression (NED 3.0) Pretreatment Method
by Damaris Okafor, Lisandra Rocha-Meneses, Vahur Rooni and Timo Kikas
Energies 2025, 18(15), 4026; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18154026 - 29 Jul 2025
Viewed by 580
Abstract
The transition to sustainable energy sources has intensified interest in lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) as a feedstock for second-generation biofuels. However, the inherent structural recalcitrance of LCB requires the utilization of an effective pretreatment to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis and subsequent fermentation yields. This manuscript [...] Read more.
The transition to sustainable energy sources has intensified interest in lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) as a feedstock for second-generation biofuels. However, the inherent structural recalcitrance of LCB requires the utilization of an effective pretreatment to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis and subsequent fermentation yields. This manuscript presents a novel, single-step, and optimized nitrogen explosive decompression system (NED 3.0) designed to address the critical limitations of earlier NED versions by enabling the in situ removal of inhibitory compounds from biomass slurry and fermentation inefficiency at elevated temperatures, thereby reducing or eliminating the need for post-treatment detoxification. Aspen wood (Populus tremula) was pretreated by NED 3.0 at 200 °C, followed by enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation. The analytical results confirmed substantial reductions in common fermentation inhibitors, such as acetic acid (up to 2.18 g/100 g dry biomass) and furfural (0.18 g/100 g dry biomass), during early filtrate recovery. Hydrolysate analysis revealed a glucose yield of 26.41 g/100 g dry biomass, corresponding to a hydrolysis efficiency of 41.3%. Fermentation yielded up to 8.05 g ethanol/100 g dry biomass and achieved a fermentation efficiency of 59.8%. Inhibitor concentrations in both hydrolysate and fermentation broth remained within tolerable limits, allowing for effective glucose release and sustained fermentation performance. Compared with earlier NED configurations, the optimized system improved sugar recovery and ethanol production. These findings confirm the operational advantages of NED 3.0, including reduced inhibitory stress, simplified process integration, and chemical-free operation, underscoring its potential for scalability in line with the EU Green Deal for bioethanol production from woody biomass. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biosystems Engineering: Multidisciplinary Energy Innovations Applied to Agriculture, Food, and Technology)
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