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Processes
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Processes in Sustainable Waste Management and Environmental Protection
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Processes in Sustainable Waste Management and Environmental Protection

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 862

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Marija Šljivić-Ivanović

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Radiation and Environmental Protection Department, Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: water treatment; circular economy; sorption processes; radioactive waste treatment
Dr. Ivana Jelic

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
Radiation and Environmental Protection Department, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: water treatment; circular economy; sorption processes; radioactive waste treatment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue seeks to explore the latest advancements and innovations in the processes involved in sustainable waste management and environmental protection. As the global demand for effective waste treatment solutions grows, the need for environmentally responsible processes has never been more critical. This Issue will cover a broad range of topics, including but not limited to the following:

  • Innovative Waste Treatment Processes: Novel technologies and methodologies for recycling, waste-to-energy, and resource recovery that promote sustainability;
  • Waste Valorization: Processes that transform waste into valuable products, contributing to a circular economy and reducing environmental impact;
  • Biological and Chemical Processes: Bioremediation, enzymatic processes, and other eco-friendly approaches to waste management;
  • Processes for Pollution Control: Effective strategies for minimizing pollutants and reducing the environmental footprint of waste disposal;
  • Integrated Systems for Waste Management: Holistic approaches that combine multiple processes to optimize efficiency and reduce the adverse effects of waste on ecosystems and human health.

The goal of this Special Issue is to highlight transformative research that advances sustainable waste management practices and offers practical solutions for environmental protection. Submissions from researchers, practitioners, and innovators are encouraged, particularly those that offer novel insights into the integration of sustainable processes for waste handling, treatment, and resource recovery.

Dr. Marija Šljivić-Ivanović
Guest Editor

Dr. Ivana Jelic
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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

  • sustainable waste management
  • waste treatment processes
  • waste-to-energy
  • resource recovery
  • circular economy
  • waste valorization
  • pollution control
  • environmental protection
  • enzymatic waste processing
  • recycling technologies

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  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
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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

35 pages, 5245 KB  
Article
Activated Carbon Derived from Plane Tree (Platanus) Fruits by Ba(OH)2 Activation and Its Possible Application as Catalyst Support in Reforming Processes: Kinetic and Thermodynamic Study of Thermal Reactivation with Mechanistic Investigation
by Bojan Janković, Milena Marinović-Cincović, Jovana Bukumira, Milena Pijović-Radovanović and Vladimir Dodevski
Processes 2025, 13(12), 3835; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13123835 - 27 Nov 2025
Viewed by 249
Abstract
In this study, a novel activated carbon (AC) (AC-Ba(OH)2) was synthesized through a three-step process (including hydrothermal carbonization (at 250 °C), alkali activation by Ba(OH)2, and pyrolysis (at 850 °C)), from Plane tree fruits (PTFs). By using various experimental [...] Read more.
In this study, a novel activated carbon (AC) (AC-Ba(OH)2) was synthesized through a three-step process (including hydrothermal carbonization (at 250 °C), alkali activation by Ba(OH)2, and pyrolysis (at 850 °C)), from Plane tree fruits (PTFs). By using various experimental methods for material characterization, it was established that the resulting material possesses a variety of oxygen functional groups, rich in alkaline earth oxides (BaO/CaO), SiO2, consisting of graphitized carbon with graphene structures. A detailed kinetic and thermodynamic analysis of AC-Ba(OH)2 thermal restoring was also carried out. Thermodynamic analysis revealed the existence of a true thermodynamic compensation effect (TCE) during restoration. Restoration was controlled by entropy, where experimental temperatures are above the iso-entropic temperature, i.e., the temperature where contributions of enthalpy and entropy to activation free energy are balanced. Kinetic modeling has shown that restoration allows carbon material to be significantly modified by removing oxygen-containing groups via diffusion, changing active sites on the surface, and preparing material for catalyst support. CaO and SiO2 act as catalysts, while BaO alters graphene surface properties. Isothermal prediction tests have shown an extremely high long-term stability of modified AC-Ba(OH)2, supporting an elevated activity, selectivity, and lifetime, as well. The restoring process resulted in an energy consumption of 0.762 kWh, which is equivalent to the reactivation of AC with a lower specific surface area. Manufactured AC and its thermally modified counterpart can be used as both a catalyst support and catalyst for reforming processes, such as methanol synthesis, biogas purification, and dry reforming of methane. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processes in Sustainable Waste Management and Environmental Protection)
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14 pages, 1078 KB  
Article
Modeling of Medical Waste Generation in Dental Clinics Affiliated to the Provincial Health Directorate in Kastamonu: PLS and Gradient Boosting Approaches
by Ergin Kalkan, İbrahim Budak, Gürkan Kaya and Elif Gül Aydın
Processes 2025, 13(12), 3820; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13123820 - 26 Nov 2025
Viewed by 261
Abstract
Effective medical waste planning relies on the reliable estimation of waste volumes. As operational factors diversify, traditional linear regressions often fail to capture the underlying structure, whereas latent variable–based and ensemble approaches can better represent this complexity. In this study, fine-tuned Partial Least [...] Read more.
Effective medical waste planning relies on the reliable estimation of waste volumes. As operational factors diversify, traditional linear regressions often fail to capture the underlying structure, whereas latent variable–based and ensemble approaches can better represent this complexity. In this study, fine-tuned Partial Least Squares (PLS), scikit-learn–based Gradient Boosting regression (GBR), and a baseline Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model were compared for estimating medical waste generation using 48 months (2021–2024) of approximate data from Dental Clinics affiliated with the Provincial Health Directorate in Kastamonu. The model inputs were the monthly procedure counts for endodontics, treatment, prosthetics, periodontology, orthodontics, pedodontics, and surgery. Performance was evaluated using Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and R-squared (R2). All models produced accurate predictions; however, PLS provided the strongest fit (R2 = 0.979; MAE = 30.488; RMSE = 37.043), outperforming GBR (R2 = 0.962; MAE = 36.544; RMSE = 48.990) and the OLS baseline (R2 = 0.927; MAE = 41.762; RMSE = 59.013). The findings demonstrate that modern, data-driven waste-management planning is feasible in healthcare institutions and highlight PLS as a robust option, particularly under conditions of small sample size and collinearity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processes in Sustainable Waste Management and Environmental Protection)
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