Sustainable Waste Valorization and Biotechnological Innovations

A special issue of Environments (ISSN 2076-3298).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 December 2026 | Viewed by 886

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Laboratory of Microbial Biotechnology and Vegetal Protection, Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco
Interests: biogas production; waste management; biotechnology; sustainable development

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Guest Editor
Laboratory of Biotechnologies and Valorization of Natural Resources, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir 8106, Morocco
Interests: environmental biotechnology; waste valorization

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Universidade da Coruña, A Coruna, Spain
Interests: circular economy; education for sustainability; separate collection at source; composting; anaerobic digestion
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue, “Sustainable Waste Valorization and Biotechnological Innovations”, aims to explore integrated and multidisciplinary solutions to address the challenges related to waste recovery, renewable energy production, and sustainable development.

This area encompasses four key axes: The first axis emphasizes waste recovery and bioenergy, focusing on optimizing the conversion of organic waste into high-value products like biogas, biofuel, and biofertilizers, thereby contributing to the circular economy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The second axis encompasses biotechnological innovations, which involve developing new technologies and biological processes to enhance resource recovery efficiency, lower costs, and maximize environmental benefits. The third axis is based on different behavioral strategies and awareness, which presents the integration of educational and behavioral approaches to promote sustainable waste management at the individual, industrial, and community levels. And finally, axes that bring together studies of responsible production and consumption models, aimed at extending resource life cycles and reducing negative environmental impacts, to emphasize the principles of the circular economy and sustainability.

Therefore, we invite researchers, teachers, practitioners, and decision-makers to share their work, experimental results, case studies, or theoretical analyses on these topics in this Special Issue. This volume will serve as a platform for scientific exchange, collaborative solution development, and the promotion of sustainable and innovative practices in the fields of bioenergy, waste recovery, and biotechnological innovations.

Dr. El Asri Ouahid
Prof. Dr. Mohamed Ben El Caid
Prof. Dr. Manuel Soto
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • waste recovery
  • bioenergy
  • biotechnological solutions
  • organic waste valorization
  • environmental management
  • sustainable innovation
  • renewable resources
  • resource efficiency

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 5332 KB  
Article
Integrating Cyanobacterial Biomass, Biodiesel, and Bioethanol Production During Municipal Wastewater Treatment Towards a Cleaner and Greener Approach
by Ravikumar Ragul, Ponnusamy Ramesh, Arunachalam Ganeshmani, Sumathy Shunmugam, Markandan Manickavasagam, Nooruddin Thajuddin, Chelliah Koventhan, Gangatharan Muralitharan and An-Ya Lo
Environments 2026, 13(6), 309; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13060309 - 2 Jun 2026
Viewed by 446
Abstract
This study assesses the aptitude of heterocystous cyanobacterial strain Dolichospermum spiroides MBDU 903 in integrated wastewater treatment and biofuel production at a laboratory scale. The efficiency of the strain was assessed based on pigment accumulation, growth kinetics, nutrient remediation efficiency, and biodiesel fuel [...] Read more.
This study assesses the aptitude of heterocystous cyanobacterial strain Dolichospermum spiroides MBDU 903 in integrated wastewater treatment and biofuel production at a laboratory scale. The efficiency of the strain was assessed based on pigment accumulation, growth kinetics, nutrient remediation efficiency, and biodiesel fuel quality. The results demonstrated that the biomass productivity of D. spiroides MBDU 903 ranged from 69.27 to 167.08 mg L−1 day−1 across various nutrient regimes, achieving a maximum lipid content of 31% (w/w). Cultivation in municipal wastewater with BG11+ (50% v/v) yielded the highest pigment production biomass. The physicochemical properties of the derived biodiesel were estimated from gas chromatography-derived fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles. Furthermore, the biorefinery potential was explored as a proof-of-concept by fermenting the post-transesterification residual biomass with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, yielding 14.5 mg/g of bioethanol from the pretreated residue. While a 10 L pilot-scale trial was conducted, significant productivity drops suggest that further optimization is required to bridge the gap between laboratory results and practical application. This study provides a baseline evaluation of the dual-fuel potential of a heterocystous cyanobacterium under wastewater-integrated conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Waste Valorization and Biotechnological Innovations)
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