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Advanced Research on Waste Management and Biomass Valorization

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioeconomy of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 January 2026 | Viewed by 418

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute for Water & Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4001, South Africa
Interests: microalgae upstream–downstream; phycoremediation; wastewater treatment; aquaculture; fish feed; bioplastics; renewable energy; CO2 sequestration
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue’s scope and goal are to observe the current developments and trends in waste management and biomass valuation study. It will introduce the most recent research and developments in waste management and valuation, which could resolve some current issues (e.g., wastewater; wastewater treatment, renewal energy, etc.) and provide new opportunities for the local provision of green technology. One of the most important study topics across the globe is waste management and biomass valuation, and encouraging new research articles or manuscripts that focus on the current problem will have additional advantages. The current topic can provide a forum for collaboration and communication, encourage research and innovation, raise awareness of important issues, and bring experts together to discuss biomass valuation and waste management. In addition, issues about sustainability, socioeconomics, science, and integrated approaches to sustainable development will be covered in this Special Issue. The goal of the current topic is to define, quantify, measure, and track sustainability, including sustainability tools, applications, and related laws and policies. Additionally, by bringing together specialists from different sectors to address complicated SDG challenges, the topic will span many SDG goals.

Dr. Faiz Ahmad Ansari
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • wastewater
  • renewable energy
  • sustainable goal
  • waste valorization
  • waste management

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 1300 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Biomass Valorization by Solid-State Fermentation with the Mutant Strain Trichoderma viride M5-2 of Forage Legumes to Improve Their Nutritional Composition as Animal Feed
by Luis Rodrigo Saa, Elaine Cristina Valiño Cabrera, Lourdes Lucila Savón Valdés, Yaneisy García Hernández, Julio César Dustet Mendoza and Maryen Alberto Vazquez
Sustainability 2025, 17(11), 4990; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17114990 - 29 May 2025
Viewed by 226
Abstract
The valorization of plant biomass is one of the main strategies for sustainable development. However, its use as energy, biofuels, fertilizers, value-added products, or even food is severely affected by the complexity of the plant cell wall. Therefore, the evaluation of fungi with [...] Read more.
The valorization of plant biomass is one of the main strategies for sustainable development. However, its use as energy, biofuels, fertilizers, value-added products, or even food is severely affected by the complexity of the plant cell wall. Therefore, the evaluation of fungi with high production of lignocellulolytic enzymes capable of efficiently degrading these substrates constitutes a viable, clean, and eco-friendly solution, allowing, for example, an increase in the digestibility and nutritional quality of alternative animal feed sources. For these reasons, the present study evaluated the ability of the mutant strain Trichodema viride M5-2 to improve the nutritional composition of the forage legumes Lablab purpureus and Mucuna pruriens through solid-state fermentation. Endo- and exoglucanase cellulolytic activity was assessed, as well as the effect of fermentation on the fiber’s physical properties and chemical composition. Molecular changes in the structure of plant fiber were analyzed using infrared spectroscopy. Increased production of the cellulolytic complex of the enzymes endoglucanase (3.29 IU/mL) and exoglucanase (0.64 IU/mL) was achieved in M. pruriens. The chemical composition showed an increase in true protein and a decrease in neutral fiber, hemicellulose, and cellulose, with a consequent improvement in nutritional quality. Fiber degradation was evident in the infrared spectrum with a significant decrease in the signals associated with cellulose and, to a lesser extent, with lignin. It can be concluded that the mutant strain T. viride M5-2 produced chemical, physical, and molecular changes in the fibrous and protein fractions of L. purpureus and M. pruriens through SSF, which improved their nutritional value as an alternative feed for animal nutrition. By promoting the use of this fungus, the nutritional quality of this source is increased through an effective and eco-friendly process, which contributes to mitigating the environmental impact of food production, in accordance with sustainability objectives and the need for more responsible agricultural practices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Research on Waste Management and Biomass Valorization)
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