From Waste to Value: Microbial Fermentation for the Sustainable Valorization of Agri-Food Residues

A special issue of Fermentation (ISSN 2311-5637). This special issue belongs to the section "Industrial Fermentation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 2

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Science and Technology Center, Coppin State University, Baltimore, MD, USA
Interests: natural sciences; biomass; waste
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Guest Editor
Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
Interests: lactic acid bacteria; fermentation; cereals; legumes; antioxidant; bioactive peptides; phenolic compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue, “From Waste to Value: Microbial Fermentation for the Sustainable Valorization of Agri-Food Residues” aims to present recent research on innovative microbial and biotechnological approaches to convert agricultural and food industry by-products into valuable resources.

The valorization of food waste represents a crucial step toward achieving global sustainability goals, as it helps reduce environmental burdens, recover valuable nutrients, and create new economic opportunities for the agri-food sector. By transforming residues into functional and marketable products, microbial fermentation offers a powerful tool to close resource loops and minimize waste generation.

This Issue seeks to highlight strategies that support a circular bioeconomy, reduce environmental impact, and promote the sustainable use of natural resources.

Some of its focal points include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Development and optimization of microbial fermentation processes for agri-food residues;
  • Engineering and selection of microorganisms for efficient bioconversion and product yield;
  • Production of bioactive compounds, biomaterials, biofuels, or other high-value products from food waste streams;
  • Utilization of bioprocessed residues for the formulation of functional foods and nutraceuticals;
  • Integration of microbial fermentation into circular economy and sustainable food system frameworks;
  • Environmental and techno-economic assessments of valorization processes.

Reviews, original research articles, and communications are welcome.

Dr. Emmanuel Atta-Obeng
Dr. Michela Verni
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. 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

  • agri-food by-products
  • microbial fermentation
  • circular bioeconomy
  • sustainable bioprocessing
  • functional foods

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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