New Insights on Sludge Fermentation, 2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

The effective disposal of waste-activated sludge (WAS) has been extremely significant and urgent for the highly efficient operation of wastewater treatment plants considering the increasing amounts of WAS being generated. Meanwhile, scarcities of resources and energy are driving the public to look for more efficient and sustainable treatment approaches for WAS disposal and resource recovery. Anaerobic fermentation has been widely accepted as an effective and eco-friendly strategy for WAS disposal. Indeed, high-value products and energy could be recovered via this process. However, WAS fermentation performance is restricted by various parameters, such as pH, temperature, sludge retention time, the efficiency of solubilization and hydrolysis, etc. The best way to improve WAS fermentation efficiency through the development of novel and advanced methods is of vital importance. In parallel, WAS fermentation is mainly a biological process; hence, functional microorganisms, as well as their metabolic functions and activities, play vital roles in the transformation and valorization of WAS. It is also necessary to efficiently regulate and maintain the high metabolic activity and functions of microorganisms involved in WAS fermentation. Also, the disclosure of underlying mechanisms via advanced techniques and methods at the microbial community, metabolic pathway, and genetic expression levels also urgently need to be uncovered. This Special Issue’s studies will provide new insights into sludge fermentation and guidance for sludge disposal.

We desire research papers and reviews about novel insights into sludge fermentation. This Special Issue will provide insights into the latest findings about sludge fermentation, including biologically volatile fatty acid, hydrogen, and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production from WAS and novel and advanced methods for enhancing WAS fermentation efficiency. Moreover, the illustration of the specific microbial functions in microbial consortia, elucidation of the biological principles and main controlling factors that regulate the metabolic bioprocesses, and provision of biotechnological solutions and regulation strategies are also encouraged. If you have any questions, please contact the Guest Editor to discuss the topic.

Dr. Yang Wu
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. 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.