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Fermentation
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Current Trends in Bioprocesses for Waste Valorization
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Current Trends in Bioprocesses for Waste Valorization

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 August 2025 | Viewed by 4105

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Octavio García-Depraect

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Institute of Sustainable Processes, Dr. Mergelina, s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
2. Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology, School of Industrial Engineering, University of Valladolid, Dr. Mergelina, s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
Interests: environmental biotechnology; biological wastewater treatment; anaerobic digestion; bioreactors
Dr. Laura Vargas-Estrada

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Institute of Sustainable Processes, Dr. Mergelina, s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
2. Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology, School of Industrial Engineering, University of Valladolid, Dr. Mergelina, s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
Interests: wastewater treatment; microalga; anaerobic digestion
Dr. Roberto Castro-Muñoz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Sanitary Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, 11/12 Narutowicza St., 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
Interests: membrane processes (MF, UF and NF); membrane gas separation; pervaporation; mixed matrix membranes; pervaporation-assisted chemical and biochemical processes; biorefining; CO2 separation; waste valorization; food technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The uncontrolled increase in the world’s population, coupled with industrialization based on fossil fuels, has led to a significant increase in waste production. This global environmental crisis requires a shift towards more sustainable material and energy production practices, emphasizing the reduction, recycling, and valorization of waste to extend its life cycle. In this context, biological processes for waste treatment and processing have emerged as promising, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly technologies, as they do not produce hazardous by-products. However, their productivity levels are  not yet competitive compared to those of conventional technologies, requiring innovative techniques to enhance their performances. The integration of various technologies, such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, membrane technology, and reactor design engineering, can play a crucial role in improving the efficiency levels of bioprocesses.

This Special Issue will focus on the current trends in diverse bioprocesses for waste treatment and processing through anaerobic digestion, fermentation, nutrient recycling, and photosynthesis. Special attention is given to the treatment and conversion of flue gas, urban waste, and wastewater into valuable products and/or biofuels under the biorefinery concept. We will provide an overview of the latest advances in bioprocesses for waste treatment and valorization. We invite authors to submit their contributions on the following subtopics:

  • Anaerobic digestion;
  • Biomaterials synthesis;
  • CO2 capture via biological processes;
  • Lignocellulosic biomass treatment;
  • Photosynthetic microorganisms;
  • Membrane-based bioprocesses;
  • Reactor design;
  • Sludge treatment;
  • Urban waste and gas fermentation;
  • Wastewater treatment.

Dr. Octavio García-Depraect
Dr. Laura Vargas-Estrada
Dr. Roberto Castro-Muñoz
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

  • waste valorization
  • algal biomass
  • microbial fermentation
  • membrane technology
  • anaerobic digestion
  • bioenergy
  • circular economy

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 540 KiB  
Article
Production of High-Value-Added Biomass by Saccharomyces cerevisiae Using Lignocellulosic Substrate
by Anelise Christ-Ribeiro, Carolina da Silva Graça, Kelly Cristina Massarolo, Débora Pez Jaeschke and Leonor Almeida de Souza Soares
Fermentation 2025, 11(5), 257; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation11050257 - 5 May 2025
Viewed by 240
Abstract
The aim of this study was to increase the availability of high-value-added compounds by applying S. cerevisiae to rice bran substrates (whole and defatted). The substrates were subjected to solid-state fermentation with yeast (3% pp−1) and water (30%) for up to [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to increase the availability of high-value-added compounds by applying S. cerevisiae to rice bran substrates (whole and defatted). The substrates were subjected to solid-state fermentation with yeast (3% pp−1) and water (30%) for up to 8 h at 30 °C. The fermentation of brown rice bran resulted in increased ash, protein, and fiber contents, while the fermentation of defatted rice bran led to higher lipid and fiber levels. Additionally, the fermentation process influenced the mineral profile. The phenolic compound content of the fermented brown rice bran increased over fermentation, reaching values of 1165 µg g−1 per sample. Brown rice bran fermented for 6 h yielded the best results in terms of nutrient and bioactive compound availability. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed correlations between variables, suggesting that modifications could further enhance the availability of various compounds. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Trends in Bioprocesses for Waste Valorization)
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17 pages, 4388 KiB  
Article
Comparative Evaluation of Ensemble Machine Learning Models for Methane Production from Anaerobic Digestion
by Dorijan Radočaj and Mladen Jurišić
Fermentation 2025, 11(3), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation11030130 - 7 Mar 2025
Viewed by 719
Abstract
This study provides a comparative evaluation of several ensemble model constructions for the prediction of specific methane yield (SMY) from anaerobic digestion. From the authors’ knowledge based on existing research, present knowledge of their prediction accuracy and utilization in anaerobic digestion modeling relative [...] Read more.
This study provides a comparative evaluation of several ensemble model constructions for the prediction of specific methane yield (SMY) from anaerobic digestion. From the authors’ knowledge based on existing research, present knowledge of their prediction accuracy and utilization in anaerobic digestion modeling relative to individual machine learning methods is incomplete. Three input datasets from compiled anaerobic digestion samples using agricultural and forestry lignocellulosic residues from previous studies were used in this study. A total of six individual machine learning methods and five ensemble constructions were evaluated per dataset, whose prediction accuracy was assessed using a robust 10-fold cross-validation in 100 repetitions. Ensemble models outperformed individual methods in one out of three datasets in terms of prediction accuracy. They also produced notably lower coefficients of variation in root-mean-square error (RMSE) than most accurate individual methods (0.031 to 0.393 for dataset A, 0.026 to 0.272 for dataset B, and 0.021 to 0.217 for dataset AB), being much less prone to randomness in the training and test data split. The optimal ensemble constructions generally benefited from the higher number of individual methods included, as well as from their diversity in terms of prediction principles. Since the reporting of prediction accuracy based on final model fitting and the single split-sample approach is highly prone to randomness, the adoption of a cross-validation in multiple repetitions is proposed as a standard in future studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Trends in Bioprocesses for Waste Valorization)
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15 pages, 3759 KiB  
Article
Diluted Acid Hydrolysate of Olive Stones: Overliming and Biomass Fermentation
by Jeanne Andary, Naïm Ouaini and Rony Abou-Khalil
Fermentation 2025, 11(2), 100; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation11020100 - 17 Feb 2025
Viewed by 657
Abstract
To valorize olive stones, this study focuses on the composition of their dilute-acid hydrolysate DAH and aims to highlight the effect of the overliming process to achieve an effective treatment that maximizes sugar concentrations while minimizing the number of toxic materials. The study [...] Read more.
To valorize olive stones, this study focuses on the composition of their dilute-acid hydrolysate DAH and aims to highlight the effect of the overliming process to achieve an effective treatment that maximizes sugar concentrations while minimizing the number of toxic materials. The study examined the impact of pH (10 and 12), temperature (25 and 60 °C), and detoxification time (15, 30, and 60 min) on the viability and vitality of M. pulcherrima and S. cerevisiae, using an experimental design of 2231. Detoxification was significantly influenced by pH and temperature, with xylose and furans probably following the same kinetic degradation. Viability improved to 52% for M. pulcherrima and 67% for S. cerevisiae in detoxified hydrolysate due to reduced toxic compounds. Optimal conditions were found to be a pH of 10 at 25 °C for 30 min, achieving 71% and 62% degradation of hydroxymethylfurfural and furfural, respectively, with a minimum polyphenol concentration of 580 mg·L−1. M. pulcherima exhibited greater vitality than S. cerevisiae because of the medium’s high xylose content and low glucose concentration. Conversely, pH 12 not only promoted sugar (xylose) loss but also generated new toxic compounds that negatively affected yeast development. To improve fermentation, further attention needs to be paid to these conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Trends in Bioprocesses for Waste Valorization)
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Review

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26 pages, 2055 KiB  
Review
Microalgae–Nanoparticle Systems as an Alternative for Biogas Upgrading: A Review
by Martín Barragán-Trinidad, Laura Vargas-Estrada, S. Torres-Arellano, Dulce M. Arias and P. J. Sebastian
Fermentation 2024, 10(11), 551; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation10110551 - 27 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1786
Abstract
Anaerobic digestion is a well-established technology for the sustainable production of biogas. However, to be used as a substitute for natural gas or as vehicle fuel, it is necessary to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) and other contaminants from biogas that can [...] Read more.
Anaerobic digestion is a well-established technology for the sustainable production of biogas. However, to be used as a substitute for natural gas or as vehicle fuel, it is necessary to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) and other contaminants from biogas that can compromise the useful life of combustion engines. Upgraded biogas is known as biomethane (>95% methane content). This work reviews the different technologies used for upgrading biogas, emphasizing microalgae–nanoparticle systems, representing a more sustainable and environmentally friendly system. Parameters affecting these systems performance are discussed, and the trends and areas of opportunity for subsequent work are evaluated through a bibliometric analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Trends in Bioprocesses for Waste Valorization)
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