Life Cycle and Utilization of Lignocellulosic Materials

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue on the “Life Cycle and Utilization of Lignocellulosic Materials” is devoted to disseminating high-quality original research articles or comprehensive reviews in this interdisciplinary field.

The life cycle of lignocellulosic materials—containing three basic natural polymers: cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin—highlights their potential as abundant renewable resources, particularly in the context of sustainable energy, material production, and carbon sequestration. It refers to the stages that these plant-based materials go through, from their growth in nature to their processing, use, and eventual disposal or recycling. Utilizing lignocellulosic materials is a key area of innovation with the potential to provide alternatives to petroleum-based products, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, minimize waste, reduce carbon footprints, and promote circular economies. While there are challenges to overcome in terms of processing and cost, ongoing research and technological advancements hold promise for expanding the scope of lignocellulose applications in the industrial, environmental, and energy sectors.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Growth and harvesting (deciduous and coniferous trees, plant-based biomaterials for fiber, starch, sugar, cellulose or oil production, etc.);
• Pretreatment and conversion (enzyme optimization, biofuels, bio-based chemicals, etc.);
• Development, features, and uses (wood-based construction materials, pulp and paper, lignin-based materials, bioplastics, adhesives, biocomposites, textile, medicine, animal feed, soil amendments, );
• End of life processing (the degradation, recycling, and reuse of lignocellulosic materials, including energy recovery).

Authors are welcome to submit their latest research findings on related topics focused on biopolymers. We look forward to our future collaboration.

Prof. Dr. František Kačík
Guest Editor

Dr. Tereza Jurczyková
Guest Editor Assistant

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. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 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.