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Processes
Special Issues
Biomass, Coal and Other Solid Fuels: Thermal Conversion, Emission and...
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Biomass, Coal and Other Solid Fuels: Thermal Conversion, Emission and Pollutant Control

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 September 2025 | Viewed by 1042

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hengda Han

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Coal Combustion, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Interests: biomass; waste; coal; hydrogen; fine chemicals
Dr. Zhifeng Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Interests: biomass; waste; hydrogen; syngas; chemical looping technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Shuai Guo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin, China
Interests: waste to energy; co-combustion; pyrolysis and gasification; desulfurization and denitration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Mohamed Moustafa Saad

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Coal Combustion, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Interests: biomass; kinetics; pyrolysis; combustion; pellets

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Solid fuels, encompassing biomass, coal and other solid waste, are indispensable as energy and chemical resources in numerous regions worldwide. Promoting the thermal conversion of these fuels in a safe, efficient and targeted manner holds utmost importance for achieving sustainability and economic prosperity. Furthermore, it is imperative to effectively manage emissions and pollutants, including CO2, NOx, SOx, VOCs and trace elements, to safeguard the environment and human health.

This Special Issue on “Biomass, Coal and Other Solid Fuels: Thermal Conversion, Emission and Pollutant Control” seeks high-quality research focusing on the latest novel conversion, emission and pollutant control technology for solid fuels.

Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Experimental research on incineration, pyrolysis, gasification, reforming and chemical looping combustion.
  • Economic and life cycle evaluation of thermal conversion process.
  • Reviews and comments on latest and advanced thermal conversion development.
  • Emission and pollutant control during the thermal conversion

Dr. Hengda Han
Dr. Zhifeng Hu
Dr. Shuai Guo
Dr. Mohamed Elsayed Moustafa Saad
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
  • coal
  • solid waste
  • conversion
  • emission

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  • 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

18 pages, 3170 KiB  
Article
Optimized Torrefaction of Corn Straw in a Screw Reactor: Energy Balance Analysis and Biochar Production Enhancement
by Yulu Wang, Jiyou Mu, Xin Zhang, Xueqiang Ding, Mingmin Zheng and Tiankuo Guo
Processes 2025, 13(5), 1302; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13051302 - 24 Apr 2025
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Abstract
Torrefaction is a promising pretreatment method to enhance the physical and chemical properties of corn straw for bioenergy applications. In this study, torrefaction experiments were conducted in a continuous screw reactor under varying temperatures and feed rates. The quality of the resulting biochar [...] Read more.
Torrefaction is a promising pretreatment method to enhance the physical and chemical properties of corn straw for bioenergy applications. In this study, torrefaction experiments were conducted in a continuous screw reactor under varying temperatures and feed rates. The quality of the resulting biochar was assessed using color difference analysis, with a defined threshold to determine product qualification (i.e., compliance rate). Results showed that the compliance rate dropped from 78% to 61% as the feed rate increased from 0.5 kg/h to 1.5 kg/h. To address this, process parameters were optimized. Increasing the flow of the hot carrier gas significantly improved product quality: at a carrier gas temperature of 550 °C, a flow rate of 9.4 kg/h, and a feed rate of 1 kg/h, the compliance rate reached 81%. An energy balance was established through proximate and ultimate analyses and measurements of the higher heating value (HHV). Under optimized conditions, the mass yield (MY) and energy yield (EY) were 58.84% and 66.48%, respectively. Maintaining the carrier gas temperature above 550 °C ensured a stable and self-sustaining torrefaction process. These findings provide practical insights for the design and operation of energy-efficient, continuous biomass torrefaction systems, contributing to the advancement of sustainable biochar production at industrial scales. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass, Coal and Other Solid Fuels: Thermal Conversion, Emission and Pollutant Control)
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18 pages, 6647 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Identification and Functional Characterization of the Glycosyltransferase 43 (GT43) Gene Family in Sorghum bicolor for Biofuel Development: A Comprehensive Study
by Rehana Rehana, Muhammad Anwar, Sarmad Frogh Arshad, Muhammad Usman and Imran Ahmad Khan
Processes 2025, 13(3), 709; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13030709 - 28 Feb 2025
Viewed by 461
Abstract
Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is an essential bioenergy crop. Cellulosic and non-cellulosic polysaccharides, which can be transformed into biofuels, comprise most of its biomass. Many glycosyltransferases (GT) families, including GT43, are involved in the biosynthesis of xylan in plants’ [...] Read more.
Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is an essential bioenergy crop. Cellulosic and non-cellulosic polysaccharides, which can be transformed into biofuels, comprise most of its biomass. Many glycosyltransferases (GT) families, including GT43, are involved in the biosynthesis of xylan in plants’ primary and secondary cells. In this study, the GT43 gene family was identified, and its secondary structure and a three-dimensional (3D) model were constructed. Additionally, subcellular localization, detection of motifs, and analyses of its phylogenetic tree, physiochemical properties, protein–protein interaction network, gene structure, functional domain, gene duplication, Cis-acting elements, sequence logos, multiple sequence alignment, and gene expression profiles were performed based on RNA-sequence analyses. As a result, eleven members of the GT43 gene family were identified, and the phylogenetic tree of the GT43 gene family showed that all GT43 genes had evolutionary relationships with sorghum. Analyses of gene structure, motifs, sequence logos, and multiple sequence alignment showed that all members of the GT43 protein family were highly conserved. Subcellular localization showed all members of the GT43 protein family were localized in different compartments of sorghum. The secondary structure of the GT43 genes comprised different percentages of α-helices, random coils, β-turns, and extended strands. The tertiary structure model showed that all GT43 proteins had similar 3D structures. The results of the current study indicated that members of the GT43 gene family (Sobic.010G238800, Sobic.003G254700, and Sobic.001G409100) were highly expressed in internodes of the sorghum plant, based on RNA-Sequencing. The framework used in this study will be valuable for advancing research aligned with modern technology requirements and for enhancing understanding of the relationships among GT43 genes in Sorghum bicolor. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass, Coal and Other Solid Fuels: Thermal Conversion, Emission and Pollutant Control)
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