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Sustainability
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Recent Advances and Progress on Renewable and Sustainable Alternative Fuels
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Recent Advances and Progress on Renewable and Sustainable Alternative Fuels

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 3862

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Stavros Michailos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK
Interests: conceptual design, process modelling and optimisation of low-carbon technologies; life cycle (LCA) and techno-economic assessments (TEA) of energy systems; carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS); sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production technologies, power to liquids, biomass to liquids, gas to liquids; direct air capture (DACCS) and bioenergy with carbon capture (BECCS); decentralised energy solutions
Dr. Vasiliki Skoulou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK
Interests: biomass waste/other waste characterisation, pre-treatments and alternative ways of exploitation; thermochemical treatments (carbonization-torrefaction-pyrolysis-gasification-combustion) of food-woody biomass waste, fossil fuels and other waste for waste to energy (WtE), bioenergy-biofuels, biochar production; bioenergy/solid-gaseous biofuels systems design/repurposing of existing technologies to adapt new types of waste to fuels/feedstock; advanced cycles and alternative processes for biomass, fossil fuels and waste exploitation for biofuels-bioenergy-biochars under the circular economy scenario; combined renewable energy sources (RES) energy production systems, emphasized in lignocellulosic biomass/other waste sources for net zero carbon centralised and decentralized solutions; 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation feedstock for biofuels production; biorefineries/waste-refineries and integration of thermochemical and biochemical processing routes of biomass/waste; artificial intelligence (AI)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The resilience and sustainability of our future energy mix will require the development and deployment of low-carbon and cost-effective technologies that utilise renewable and sustainable energy sources to produce alternative fuels. Solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels can be utilised in multiple sectors of the economy, ranging from agriculture to hard-to-abate emission industries (e.g., aviation, heavy industries). Development of technologies for such fuel generation can assist in achieving ambitious net-zero targets that are globally implemented and eventually lead to a quick transition to a resilient 100% renewable energy systems society.

This Special Issue invites original and review research that reports recent advances and progress on promising alternative fuels such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), all types of biofuels, e-fuels, and ammonia. The purpose of the issue is multidisciplinary, aiming to include research dealing with process design, experimental studies, modelling, optimisation, and techno-economic and lifecycle assessments (TEA/LCA) of resilient and alternative fuel production technologies of a variety of technology readiness levels (TRLs). Suggested themes include, but are not limited to:

  • Process design, modelling, and optimisation of alternative fuel routes;
  • Applications of Artificial Intelligence in low-carbon fuel generation;
  • Whole system assessments including TEA/LCA;
  • Advances in catalysis and reactor design;
  • Fuelwood, wood residues, wood pellets, animal waste, vegetal material;
  • Biomethane, H2, e-fuel, ammonia;
  • Integration of thermochemical and biochemical processing routes;
  • Integration of fuel generation with other low-carbon technologies such as wind, solar, and nuclear.

We encourage submissions from diverse disciplines, including engineering, environmental studies, social sciences, chemistry, and physics. In addition, we welcome interdisciplinary papers that deal with different fields, such as overviews of international ongoing and collaborative results of laboratory- and field-scale research projects, technology transfer, and policy development in the field, to offer a thorough understanding of the sustainable production of fuels.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Stavros Michailos
Dr. Vasiliki Skoulou
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. Sustainability 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 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

  • alternative fuels
  • resilient energy systems
  • aviation fuels
  • ammonia
  • LCA/TEA

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

Published Papers (2 papers)

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17 pages, 2142 KiB  
Article
Public Perception and Awareness of Sustainable Aviation Fuel in South Central United States
by Brooke E. Rogachuk, Sadie M. Prigmore, Chukwuma C. Ogbaga and Jude A. Okolie
Sustainability 2025, 17(9), 4019; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17094019 - 29 Apr 2025
Viewed by 505
Abstract
The aviation sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and with the increasing demand for air travel these emissions are projected to continue rising in the coming years. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) could greatly help reduce these emissions and make the [...] Read more.
The aviation sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and with the increasing demand for air travel these emissions are projected to continue rising in the coming years. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) could greatly help reduce these emissions and make the aviation industry more eco-friendly. SAF is a renewable, low-carbon alternative to conventional jet fuel produced from sustainable resources. A key step to bringing the fuel into regular use is studying how people view it. Understanding what the public think and feel about biofuels, including aviation fuel, is very important. This is because public opinion can shape consumer interest, demand for products, and the willingness of governments to back green energy policies and invest in clean technologies. The study systematically evaluates the public opinion, perception and awareness of SAF in the South Central United States and its utilization to decarbonize the aviation industry. This is performed through a series of multiple-choice survey questions and interviews. The study results show that while there is some recognition of the environmental impact of aviation and the potential role of biofuels in reducing this impact, there is still a need for greater public education and awareness regarding alternative fuels and their benefits for sustainable aviation. The findings of the study underscore a pivotal challenge in addressing aviation-related carbon emissions: the gap in public knowledge about potential solutions like biofuels and SAF. This gap not only reflects a lack of awareness but also hints at the possible skepticism or uncertainty among the public regarding the effectiveness and viability of these alternatives. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances and Progress on Renewable and Sustainable Alternative Fuels)
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20 pages, 970 KiB  
Case Report
An Industrial Perspective for Sustainable Polypropylene Plastic Waste Management via Catalytic Pyrolysis—A Technical Report
by Andromachi Chasioti and Anastasia Zabaniotou
Sustainability 2024, 16(14), 5852; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16145852 - 9 Jul 2024
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2558
Abstract
Recycling plastics on an industrial scale is a key approach to the circular economy. This study presents a techno-economic analysis aimed at recycling polypropylene waste, one of the main consumer plastics. Specifically, it evaluates the technical and economic feasibility of achieving a large-scale [...] Read more.
Recycling plastics on an industrial scale is a key approach to the circular economy. This study presents a techno-economic analysis aimed at recycling polypropylene waste, one of the main consumer plastics. Specifically, it evaluates the technical and economic feasibility of achieving a large-scale cracking process that converts polypropylene waste into an alternative fuel. Pyrolysis is considered as a promising technique to convert plastic waste into liquid oil and other value-added products, with a dual benefit of recovering resources and providing a zero-waste solution. This study concerns a fast catalytic pyrolysis in a fluidized bed reactor, with the presence of a fluid catalytic cracking catalyst of low acidity for high heat transmission, for an industrial plant with a capacity of 1 t/h of polypropylene waste provided by the Greek Petroleum Industry. From the international literature, the operational conditions were chosen pyrolysis temperature at 430 °C, pressure at 1atm, heating rate at 5 °C/min, and yields of products to 71, 14, and 15 wt.%, for liquid fuel, gas, solid product, respectively. The plant design includes a series of apparatuses, with the main one to be the pyrolyzer. The catalytic method is selected over the non-catalytic because the presence of catalyst increases the quantity and quality of the liquid product, which is the main product of the plant. The energy loops of recycling pyrolysis gas and char as a low-carbon fuel in the plant were considered. The production cost, annual revenue, for 2023, are anticipated to reach €13.7 million (115 €/t) and €15 million (15 €/t), respectively, with an estimated investment equal to €5.3 million. The Payback Time is estimated to 2.4 years to recover the cost of investment. The endeavor is rather economically sustainable. A critical parameter for large scale systems is securing feedstock with low or negligible price. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances and Progress on Renewable and Sustainable Alternative Fuels)
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