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Processes
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Research on Conversion and Utilization of Waste Biomass
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Research on Conversion and Utilization of Waste Biomass

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental and Green Processes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 August 2025 | Viewed by 1261

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Marcos Alberto Coronado Ortega

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Institute of Engineering, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexicali 21100, Mexico
Interests: biomass valorization; biofuels
Dr. José Ramón Ayala Bautista

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Engineering, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexicali 21100, Mexico
Interests: biomass valorization; biofuels

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The valorization and utilization of biomass have taken a leading role on the international stage. This Special Issue of Processes focuses on innovative research on the conversion and use of waste biomass, with an emphasis on both its energy and non-energy applications.

Biomass represents a renewable and diverse resource of plant and animal origin, whose versatility allows its application in key sectors such as the production of biofuels, biochemicals, bioproducts, advanced materials, and functional additives. This Special Issue aims to gather cutting-edge research exploring new methods for converting waste biomass, emerging technologies in biorefineries, and innovations that maximize its utilization in both energy applications and the production of high-value-added products.

Key topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

Energy Applications of Waste Biomass

  • Mechanical, thermal, chemical, and biochemical conversion of biomass.
  • Processes for sustainable biofuels.
  • Integration, optimization, and simulation of biorefineries.
  • Logistics processes for the recovery and utilization of waste biomass.

Non-Energy Applications of Waste Biomass

  • Production, extraction, and development of biopolymers, biochemicals, and nanomaterials from biomass.
  • Development and application of functional additives with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.
  • Modeling, simulation, and life cycle analysis of biomass-based technologies.
  • Innovations in the valorization of agro-industrial and urban waste.

This Special Issue offers a platform for researchers and professionals interested in addressing the technical, economic, and environmental challenges where biomass plays a key role. We invite the scientific community to contribute original research articles, reviews, and case studies that advance this field of research and accelerate the path toward a more sustainable future.

Dr. Marcos Alberto Coronado Ortega
Dr. José Ramón Ayala Bautista
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. Processes 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 2400 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

  • biomass
  • bioenergy
  • biofuels
  • bioproducts
  • biochemicals
  • biorefinery
  • conversion processes

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 2569 KiB  
Article
Hydrolysis Assessment of Orange Peel and Brewer’s Spent Grain for Bioethanol Production
by Jesús M. Armenta, Edson E. Armenta, José R. Ayala, Marcos A. Coronado, Daniela G. Montes and Lisandra Quintana
Processes 2025, 13(7), 1974; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13071974 - 23 Jun 2025
Viewed by 683
Abstract
Bioethanol is a promising alternative to fossil fuels. This study evaluated bioethanol production from orange peel (OP) and brewer’s spent grain (BSG) through acid hydrolysis, followed by fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A factorial design was applied to assess the influence of temperature, [...] Read more.
Bioethanol is a promising alternative to fossil fuels. This study evaluated bioethanol production from orange peel (OP) and brewer’s spent grain (BSG) through acid hydrolysis, followed by fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A factorial design was applied to assess the influence of temperature, acid concentration, and time on sugar release. Hydrolysis of OP at 125 °C with 0.5% H2SO4 yielded 52.14 g/L of glucose and 15.70 g/L of xylose. For BSG, the best results were obtained with 2.5% H2SO4 at 160 °C, producing 27.10 g/L of glucose and 14.22 g/L of xylose. Fermentation at 30 °C achieved 5.25% v/v bioethanol in OP and 1.5% v/v in BSG, representing 41.4 g/L and 11.8 g/L of bioethanol, respectively. The kinetic models showed high predictive accuracy (R2 > 0.98). These findings demonstrate the potential of OP and BSG as viable substrates for bioethanol production under mild processing conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Conversion and Utilization of Waste Biomass)
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Review

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25 pages, 1107 KiB  
Review
Microalgae Cultivation in Wastewater: How Realistic Is This Approach for Value-Added Product Production?
by Rosangela Rodrigues Dias, Mariany Costa Deprá, Cristiano Ragagnin de Menezes, Leila Queiroz Zepka and Eduardo Jacob-Lopes
Processes 2025, 13(7), 2052; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13072052 - 28 Jun 2025
Viewed by 143
Abstract
Microalgae cultivation in wastewater is a production approach that combines wastewater treatment with biomass generation for various applications. This strategy aligns with the concept of a circular bioeconomy, which aims to transform waste into valuable resources. However, although this is true, this synergy’s [...] Read more.
Microalgae cultivation in wastewater is a production approach that combines wastewater treatment with biomass generation for various applications. This strategy aligns with the concept of a circular bioeconomy, which aims to transform waste into valuable resources. However, although this is true, this synergy’s potential bumps into obstacles that still limit the consolidation of the commercial cultivation of microalgae using wastewater. This review analyzed how close or far we are from achieving the successful integration of commercial microalgae cultivation with wastewater treatment for the production of value-added products. The analysis of the scientific literature highlighted that certain strains, such as Chlorella, Arthrospira, and Scenedesmus, can remove up to 90% of nitrogen and phosphorus from effluents while maintaining productivities of up to 45 g/m2/day. The techno-economic analyses presented here indicate that production costs range between 1.98 and 9.69 EUR/kg, depending on the effluent composition and biomass productivity. From an environmental perspective, replacing synthetic media with wastewater can significantly reduce input use, but the environmental impacts associated with energy consumption remain a challenge. This paper also discusses the technological readiness level (TRL), which currently remains between levels 4 and 6, concentrated on demonstration and pilot scales. By gathering and critically analyzing the current literature, this work seeks to answer how realistic and sustainable this integration is today. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Conversion and Utilization of Waste Biomass)
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