Fermentative Biomass Upcycling: From Residual Feedstocks to Low-Carbon Products
A special issue of Fermentation (ISSN 2311-5637). This special issue belongs to the section "Industrial Fermentation".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 6
Special Issue Editor
Interests: wastewater treatment; environmental bioprocessing; ecotoxicity assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Escalating efforts to decarbonize industrial supply chains have intensified the search for processes that transform under-utilized biomass—agricultural residues, lignocellulosic wastes, algae, and CO2-rich off-gases—into fuels, platform chemicals, and high-performance materials. Fermentation is proving indispensable to this transition; cutting-edge strains for C1/C2 utilization, consolidated lignin bioprocessing, and electro- or photo-assisted reactors now achieve record yields while also closing carbon loops. Realizing their full potential, however, demands a deeper understanding of the metabolic or catalytic mechanisms involved and the development of robust scale-up strategies that carry laboratory breakthroughs into commercial reality.
This Special Issue of Fermentation, titled “Fermentative Biomass Upcycling: From Residual Feedstocks to Low-Carbon Products”, seeks contributions that achieve the following: (i) decode core mechanisms—metabolic, enzymatic, or process-coupled—for high-efficiency conversion of heterogeneous biomass; (ii) present breakthrough technologies that demonstrably reduce greenhouse-gas emissions through fermentative valorization; and (iii) bridge the lab–plant gap via pilot-scale or demonstration-scale data, intensified unit operations, digital-twin modeling, or other innovations that speed industrial deployment.
The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:
- Innovative pretreatment, saccharification, and integrated fermentation strategies for heterogeneous biomass streams.
- Engineered or evolved microbial chassis and consortia tailored to C-neutral pathways (C1/C2 gases, lignin, and mixed sugars).
- Hybrid and modular platforms—electro-, photo-, or membrane-assisted fermentation and in situ product recovery.
- Scale-up methodologies, digital-twin modeling, process intensification, and downstream purification that improve economic viability.
Original research articles, short communications, and critical reviews are welcome.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Heonseop Eom
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 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. Fermentation 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 2100 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
- fermentative upcycling
- residual biomass
- lignocellulosic bioprocessing
- process scale-up
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