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Recycling
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Biomass Revival: Rethinking Waste Recycling for a Greener Future
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Biomass Revival: Rethinking Waste Recycling for a Greener Future

A special issue of Recycling (ISSN 2313-4321).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 October 2025 | Viewed by 1196

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Salustiano Mato De La Iglesia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Environmental Biology Group, Universidade de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain
Interests: waste management; biodiversity; emergent contaminant; waste valorization; ecotoxicology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is increasingly important in today’s world to optimize the use of our precious resources. We live on a planet with limited resources and an ever-increasing population, so it is essential to ensure the future of the upcoming generations by developing our production processes around the concept of a circular economy. A fundamental aspect of this is to give new life to residual biomass. Therefore, rethinking the recycling of such waste is the main idea behind this Special Issue. We invite you to make original scientific contributions that address new paths for the recycling of organic waste derived from all types of industrial, agricultural, livestock, and forestry activities. By considering the conversion of this waste into new products or by-products and it management to obtain final metabolites, we can give it a second life in a sustainable and environmentally responsible way. Of special interest are studies and reviews that link the processes that will allow us to establish a complete cycle of production waste management with the goal of a zero-waste future.

Dr. Salustiano Mato De La Iglesia
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 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. Recycling 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 1800 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
  • recycling
  • waste
  • circular economy

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 4764 KiB  
Article
Hydrothermal Carbonization of Biomass Waste for Solid Biofuel Production: Hydrochar Characterization and Its Application in Blast Furnace Injection
by Guangwei Wang, Junyi Wu, Haibo Li, Andrey Karasev, Xiaojun Ning and Chuan Wang
Recycling 2025, 10(3), 89; https://doi.org/10.3390/recycling10030089 - 4 May 2025
Viewed by 297
Abstract
Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) technology converts biomass into a carbon-rich, oxygen-containing solid fuel. Most studies have focused on hydrochar produced under laboratory conditions, leaving a gap in understanding the performance of industrially produced hydrochar. This study comprehensively analyzes three types of industrially produced hydrochar [...] Read more.
Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) technology converts biomass into a carbon-rich, oxygen-containing solid fuel. Most studies have focused on hydrochar produced under laboratory conditions, leaving a gap in understanding the performance of industrially produced hydrochar. This study comprehensively analyzes three types of industrially produced hydrochar for blast furnace (BF) injection. The results indicate that hydrochar has a higher volatile and lower fixed carbon content. It has a lower high heating value (HHV) than coal and contains more alkali matter. Nevertheless, hydrochar exhibits a better grindability and combustion performance than coal. Blending hydrochar with anthracite significantly enhances the combustion reactivity of the mixture. The theoretical conversion rate calculations reveal a synergistic effect between hydrochar and anthracite during co-combustion. Environmental benefit calculations show that replacing 40% of bituminous coal with hydrochar can reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 145 kg/tHM, which is equivalent to an annual reduction of 528 kton of CO2 and 208 kton of coal in BF operations. While industrially produced hydrochar meets BF injection requirements, its low ignition point and high explosivity necessitate the careful control of the blending ratio. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass Revival: Rethinking Waste Recycling for a Greener Future)
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17 pages, 5103 KiB  
Article
Bioeconomy in Textile Industry: Industrial Residues Valorization Toward Textile Functionalization
by Ana M. Fernandes, Ana Isabel Pinheiro, Catarina Rodrigues and Carla J. Silva
Recycling 2025, 10(2), 78; https://doi.org/10.3390/recycling10020078 - 16 Apr 2025
Viewed by 378
Abstract
Industrial residues are sources of functional biopolymers with interesting properties for textile applications. This study aims to evaluate the impact of enzymatic pre-treatment on oil yield and phenolic compounds’ content in an aqueous extraction process, as well as the functional properties incorporated into [...] Read more.
Industrial residues are sources of functional biopolymers with interesting properties for textile applications. This study aims to evaluate the impact of enzymatic pre-treatment on oil yield and phenolic compounds’ content in an aqueous extraction process, as well as the functional properties incorporated into textiles. This research investigated the influence of residue granulometry, biomass percentage, and the application of enzymatic pre-treatment with different enzymes (cellulase, pectinase, xylanase) individually or in combination. Chestnut hedgehog (CH), tobacco plant stems (TPSs), vine shoot trimmings (VSTs), and beer spent grain (BSG) were explored. For textile functionalization, the extracted oils were incorporated into a bio-based formulation and applied on cotton fabric through pad-dry-cure. For CH, the pre-treatment with cellulase and xylanase achieved an oil yield of 149 and 148 mg oil/mL extract, respectively. With the combination of both enzymes, the richest oil in phenolic compounds was extracted: 1967.73 ± 16.86 mg GAE/g biomass. CH and TPS oils presented an antioxidant activity above 60%, and the functionalized textiles also showed the highest antioxidant potential and a UPF of 30. The textiles presented water repellence and washing fastness. This study demonstrates a sustainable oil extraction method and its potential application in the development of functional textiles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass Revival: Rethinking Waste Recycling for a Greener Future)
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16 pages, 11180 KiB  
Article
Packed-Bed Pyrolysis of Alkali Lignin for Value-Added Products
by Carmen Branca and Colomba Di Blasi
Recycling 2025, 10(2), 66; https://doi.org/10.3390/recycling10020066 - 9 Apr 2025
Viewed by 264
Abstract
Lignin is the largest renewable source of aromatic biopolymers on Earth, and it is commercially available as by-product of biorefineries and pulp/paper industries. It is mainly burned for heat and power, but pyrolysis can provide high-value-added products. In this study, the pyrolysis characteristics [...] Read more.
Lignin is the largest renewable source of aromatic biopolymers on Earth, and it is commercially available as by-product of biorefineries and pulp/paper industries. It is mainly burned for heat and power, but pyrolysis can provide high-value-added products. In this study, the pyrolysis characteristics of alkali lignin pellets are investigated using a packed-bed reactor at a laboratory scale for heating temperatures of 800–900 K. Conversion dynamics are analyzed by means of the thermal field and the rates of gaseous species release, which is a very innovative aspect of the study. The yields of the lumped product classes do not vary significantly in the range of heating temperatures examined (biochar yields around 58–63 wt%, together with gas and liquid yields around 9–12 and 28–30 wt%, respectively). Carbon dioxide is the most abundant gaseous product, followed by methane and carbon monoxide (smaller amounts of C2 hydrocarbons and hydrogen), while bio-oil is rich in phenolic compounds, especially guaiacols, cresols, and phenol. A comparison with the conversion dynamics of fir, beech, and straw reveals that, mainly as a consequence of softening and melting, the lignin heat- and mass-transfer rates as well as actual reaction temperatures are profoundly different. In fact, the characteristic process size becomes the diameter of the reactor rather than that of the pellets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass Revival: Rethinking Waste Recycling for a Greener Future)
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