Microbial Biotechnology in Biofuels and Bioproducts

Dear Colleagues,

Residues from food processing and agro-industrial chains can be transformed into high-value bioproducts and renewable energy sources with the help of microbial biotechnology. Anaerobic digestion allows for the parallel production of biogas within integrated biorefinery schemes, while microorganisms and microbial consortia can specifically convert complex waste streams into polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and other bioplastics, as well as bioactive compounds and functional ingredients. By utilizing these processes, waste is reduced, resource efficiency is increased, and a circular bioeconomy built on plant industrial residues is developed.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue, “Microbial Biotechnology in Biofuels and Bioproducts”, which will focus on microbial processes for the generation of high value-added bioproducts and biogas from agro-industrial and food-derived residues.

This Special Issue aims to gather recent advances in the design, optimization, and scale-up of microbial processes that valorize industrial residues into (i) high value-added bioproducts such as PHAs and other bioplastics, as well as bioactive and functional compounds; and (ii) biofuels, with a particular emphasis on biogas and biomethane. The scope covers microbial pathways and consortia involved in the conversion of side streams from food and agro-industrial processing (e.g., fruit and vegetable wastes, cereal and nut by-products, residues from hops, chestnuts, pistachios, and other crops) and their integration into biorefinery concepts that couple bioproduct synthesis with anaerobic digestion. This subject is fully aligned with the scope of Microorganisms, as it addresses microbial diversity, physiology and engineering, and their application in sustainable industrial biotechnology and environmental processes.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and review papers are welcome. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Microbial production of PHAs and other bioplastics from agro-industrial and food-processing residues;
• Recovery and microbial transformation of bioactive compounds and functional ingredients from industrial side streams;
• Biogas and biomethane production from residues using defined or natural microbial consortia, including co-digestion strategies;
• Integrated biorefineries coupling high value-added bioproduct formation with anaerobic digestion of remaining residues;
• Metabolic engineering, process optimization, and systems biology approaches to enhance microbial conversion of complex plant waste streams;
• Valorization of digestate and other by-products from anaerobic digestion within residue-based biorefineries.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Silvia González-Rojo
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.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 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.