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Environments
Special Issues
Life Cycle Assessment for Circular Waste and Wastewater Treatment
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Life Cycle Assessment for Circular Waste and Wastewater Treatment

A Special Issue of Environments (ISSN 2076-3298) belonging to the section "Environmental Monitoring and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2027 | Viewed by 5747

Editors

Dr. Alessio Castagnoli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Livorno, Italy
Interests: biorefinery; life cycle thinking; sediment remediation; polyhydroxylkanoates; resource recovery
Dr. Francesca Demichelis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Applied Science and Technology (DISAT), Polytechnic of Turin, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy
Interests: biorefinery; life cycle assessment; life cycle costing; bio-energy; bio-absorbent materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Matia Mainardis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Polytechnic Department of Engineering and Architecture (DPIA), University of Udine, Udine, Italy
Interests: wastewater treatment; biogas production through anaerobic digestion process; advanced oxidation processes; energy optimization of wastewater treatment plants; process modelling; organic waste treatment; life cycle assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cities and industries are currently pivoting from the linear disposal of waste to circular waste-to-resource systems grounded in bioeconomy principles. Life cycle thinking supplies the much-needed system view—linking collection, sorting, conversion, use, and end-of-life—to reveal trade-offs in environmental performance, resource efficiency, costs, and social aspects.

This Special Issue therefore welcomes studies applying life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle costing (LCC), social LCA (S-LCA), or integrated life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) to evaluate, compare, and improve circular pathways across biochemical (e.g., fermentation, anaerobic digestion, and enzymatic routes) and thermochemical platforms (e.g., pyrolysis, gasification, and hydrothermal processes). We particularly encourage work on valorizing organic wastes (OFMSW, sewage sludge, agro-industrial residues, seaweed, and digestate) and wastewater, as well as transforming inorganic and gaseous streams—CO2, CO/H2 syngas, and industrial or biogenic off-gases—into bio-based intermediates and products. Topics of interest include CO2 utilization and carbon capture and use (CCU), power-to-biochemicals, and syngas fermentation/upgrading yielding marketable outputs (e.g., methanol, ethanol, higher alcohols, formic acid, urea, dimethyl ether, dimethylamine, organic acids, and platform chemicals).

Rigorous investigations should cover multifunctionality, CCU carbon accounting (temporal/geographical), uncertainty/sensitivity, scalability (lab–pilot–full), and spatial/temporal dynamics. We also welcome dredged-sediment bioremediation within circular strategies (co-treatment with organic residues and beneficial reuse) assessed by life cycle tools. Submissions must ensure clear functional units and boundaries, transparent inventories, justified allocation, and uncertainty analyses.

Representative topics include VFA platforms; PHAs; nutrient recovery (N/P/K) from waste and wastewater; wastewater treatment in a circular economy perspective; biogas/biomethane upgrading; solvent/chemical recycling of bio-based materials; hybrid bio–electro systems; thermochemical oils/char/syngas with biological/catalytic upgrading; and sediment bioremediation (biopiles and bio-electro-kinetic trains). Preference will be given to studies with pilot-/full-scale evidence, decision-support relevance, and open data/coding.

Dr. Alessio Castagnoli
Dr. Francesca Demichelis
Dr. Matia Mainardis
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 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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Environments is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 1800 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

  • life cycle assessment (LCA)
  • life cycle costing (LCC)
  • life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA)
  • resource recovery
  • biochemical treatment
  • thermochemical treatment
  • sediment bioremediation
  • waste conversion into valuable products
  • wastewater treatment
  • secondary raw materials

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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27 pages, 1379 KB  
Article
Textile-Waste-Derived Biofuel Pellets for Coal Substitution: Combustion Emissions, Ash Characterization, Life Cycle of Carbon, and Economic Assessment
by Irfan Ansari, Asad A. Zaidi, Ahmad Hussain, Abdul Hameed Memon, Shahnaz Shahani and Asad Bilal Haleem
Environments 2026, 13(7), 402; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13070402 - 16 Jul 2026
Viewed by 666
Abstract
The increasing generation of textile cotton waste (TCW) and textile wastewater sludge (TWS) presents significant environmental management challenges. This study evaluates the conversion of TCW and TWS into biofuel pellets for waste recovery and coal substitution. Pellets were prepared at TWS ratios of [...] Read more.
The increasing generation of textile cotton waste (TCW) and textile wastewater sludge (TWS) presents significant environmental management challenges. This study evaluates the conversion of TCW and TWS into biofuel pellets for waste recovery and coal substitution. Pellets were prepared at TWS ratios of 20:80, 40:60, 60:40, and 80:20 and assessed through combustion emission analysis, ash characterization, cradle-to-gate carbon assessment, and equal-energy cost comparison with imported bituminous coal. Increasing the TWS fraction prolonged combustion duration and increased SO2 and NOx emissions; however, all oxygen-normalized emissions remained within Sindh Environmental Quality Standards (SEQS) limits under the tested conditions. The 20:80 blend exhibited the lowest emission factors, with CO, SO2, NOx, and CO2 emissions of 1.03 g kg−1, 3.81 g kg−1, 1.57 g kg−1, and 1.42 kg kg−1, respectively. Ash analysis showed that Cd and Pb were not detected, while measured heavy-metal concentrations remained below U.S. EPA regulatory limits and relevant EU limit values. The 20:80 pellet achieved a cradle-to-gate carbon intensity of 6.6 g CO2e MJ−1, approximately 59% lower than upstream coal production. Equal-energy fuel-cost savings relative to imported coal were 37.6% for the binder-based 20:80 pellet and 83.1% for the binder-free 40:60 pellet. Overall, the results indicate that TCW–TWS pellets, particularly those containing 20–40% TWS, can support textile waste utilization and partial coal substitution while reducing fuel costs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Assessment for Circular Waste and Wastewater Treatment)
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24 pages, 2994 KB  
Article
Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Aquafaba: Applications in the Food and Cosmetic Sectors and Comparison with Conventional Alternatives
by Eleonora Rossi, Giada Bassi, Daniele Cespi and Fabrizio Passarini
Environments 2026, 13(1), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13010030 - 1 Jan 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1885
Abstract
Aquafaba, the cooking liquid of legumes, has recently shifted from being a discarded waste stream to a valuable functional ingredient due to its emulsifying and foaming properties. This study addresses two sustainability challenges: reducing the environmental impacts associated with animal-based ingredients in the [...] Read more.
Aquafaba, the cooking liquid of legumes, has recently shifted from being a discarded waste stream to a valuable functional ingredient due to its emulsifying and foaming properties. This study addresses two sustainability challenges: reducing the environmental impacts associated with animal-based ingredients in the food sector and decreasing the reliance on petrochemical-derived ingredients in cosmetic formulations. A life cycle assessment approach was applied using two functional units to represent different applications: 100 g of powdered aquafaba for cosmetic use and 100 g of liquid aquafaba with stabilizing additives for food use. Three allocation scenarios were evaluated to reflect different production contexts: baseline, zero burden and economic allocation based on co-product value. The results show that powdered aquafaba used in cosmetics has higher environmental impacts than conventional petrochemical emulsifiers, mainly due to the energy demand of the spray-drying process. In contrast, liquid aquafaba used in food applications exhibits significantly lower environmental impacts than egg-based alternatives. Overall, the environmental performance of aquafaba strongly depends on processing intensity and allocation assumptions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Assessment for Circular Waste and Wastewater Treatment)
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Review

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22 pages, 971 KB  
Review
Small Breweries, Large Footprints? Environmental Implications of Brewing Waste
by Dora Bjedov, Krešimir Mastanjević and Kristina Habschied
Environments 2026, 13(3), 164; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13030164 - 14 Mar 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2458
Abstract
The rapid expansion of the craft brewing sector has increased the number of small breweries, leading to rising organically rich waste across aquatic, terrestrial and atmospheric ecosystems. Although brewery by-products are frequently discussed in terms of valorisation and resource efficiency, their environmental implications [...] Read more.
The rapid expansion of the craft brewing sector has increased the number of small breweries, leading to rising organically rich waste across aquatic, terrestrial and atmospheric ecosystems. Although brewery by-products are frequently discussed in terms of valorisation and resource efficiency, their environmental implications remain insufficiently examined. The present review synthesises current knowledge on waste generated by small breweries (i.e., operations with annual production volumes typically below 20,000 hL of beer), including their composition and management, with an emphasis on the potential environmental consequences of inadequate handling. Waste, including wastewater, solid by-products, gaseous emissions, odours, and noise, is considered, and their mechanistic effects on aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric compartments are discussed. Particular attention is given to cumulative and localised impacts in ecosystems, such as oxygen depletion, nutrient enrichment, altered microbial processes, and downstream effects on soil biota, aquatic food webs, and biodiversity. Commonly proposed mitigation and valorisation strategies are critically evaluated, with attention to ecological trade-offs and constraints related to scale, infrastructure, and regulatory thresholds. The review highlights a pronounced bias in the research literature towards chemical and toxicological characterisation, alongside a lack of field-based and long-term monitoring studies. By identifying key knowledge gaps and framing small brewery waste within an environmental context, this review emphasises the need for biomonitoring, scale-appropriate management approaches, and regulatory frameworks tailored to small breweries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Assessment for Circular Waste and Wastewater Treatment)
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