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Sustainability
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Solid Waste Treatment and Resource Recycle
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Solid Waste Treatment and Resource Recycle

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 November 2023) | Viewed by 10464

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Khamphe Phoungthong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Industrial Ecology in Energy Research Center, Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla 90112, Thailand
Interests: solid waste treatment and utilization; resource recovery; waste valorization; environmental management; environmental sustainability
Dr. Isabella Pecorini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Energy, Systems, Territory and Constructions Engineering (DESTEC), University of Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy
Interests: MSW; EIA; solid waste management; anaerobic digestion; recycling; waste treatment; hazardous waste management; waste utilization; bioenergy; methane production; food waste; MSW treatment; biogas purification; landfill gas; biofiltration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The effective management of the solid waste generated due to human activities is a major environmental challenge globally. Increased population, urbanization, and rapid economic progress have considerably increased the quantity of daily solid waste generation. Moreover, solid waste generated in the modern world consists of a wide variety of toxic and nondegradable materials. The immediate challenge is to formulate a solid waste management plan to prevent damage or overuse of nonrenewable resources, maintain an adequate natural environment, and provide a good quality of life for future generations. At present, all new plans/projects/proposals for solid waste management should be implemented globally to achieve a sustainable bio-circular-green economy. Hence, a detailed analysis of solid waste management plans based on the 9R framework and the valorization of materials concept is essential.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the quantity, composition, and rate of solid waste generation have changed considerably. This poses a considerable challenge to the existing solid waste management systems. Moreover, the typology, quality, and functionality of the resources recovered from contaminated sites have changed considerably. Hence, new solid waste management practices need to be established with the help of public–private sector cooperation.

Therefore, this Special Issue is devoted to research on solid waste management from a wide range of disciplines. It encourages researchers, practitioners, and/or policy makers who encounter technical, political, and environmental problems related to solid waste management and resource recycling to submit their work (fundamental/applied research).

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Solid waste generation, characterization, treatment, and related processes;
  • Recycling and reuse;
  • Policy planning and regulations;
  • Economic and environmental assessments;
  • Innovative processes and technology;
  • Solid waste management in the sustainable bio-circular-green (BCG) economy;
  • Waste valorization (municipal, industrial, sewage sludge, C&D, agricultural, etc.);
  • Waste to value-added products;

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Khamphe Phoungthong
Dr. Isabella Pecorini
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

  • solid waste management
  • solid waste treatment
  • solid waste recycling and utilization
  • waste valorization
  • resource recovery
  • sustainable development
  • circular economy
  • life cycle assessment
  • industrial ecology
  • zero waste

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 2341 KiB  
Article
Influence of Aeration Rate on Uncoupled Fed Mixed Microbial Cultures for Polyhydroxybutyrate Production
by Alessio Castagnoli, Serena Falcioni, Eleftherios Touloupakis, Francesco Pasciucco, Erika Pasciucco, Alessandro Michelotti, Renato Iannelli and Isabella Pecorini
Sustainability 2024, 16(7), 2961; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16072961 - 2 Apr 2024
Viewed by 930
Abstract
The use of residual streams as feedstock for the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) is growing steadily, as it allows the valorization of waste and nutrients otherwise disposed of and the potential production of a biodegradable bioplastic. To date, the environmental and economic costs [...] Read more.
The use of residual streams as feedstock for the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) is growing steadily, as it allows the valorization of waste and nutrients otherwise disposed of and the potential production of a biodegradable bioplastic. To date, the environmental and economic costs associated with this process limit its scale-up, which is why it is important to identify possible solutions and optimize the costliest steps. With this in mind, a laboratory-scale sequenced batch reactor (SBR, 5 L) was constructed to allow the selection of a mixed microbial culture able to convert volatile fatty acids (VFAs) into PHA. The reactor is fed with synthetic water containing VFAs, ammonium, phosphate, and micronutrients, typical compounds of fermented streams of certain wastes, such as cheese whey, food waste, or wastewater sludge. The biomass selected and produced by this first reactor is sent to an accumulation reactor, which is fed with a solution rich in VFAs, allowing the accumulation of PHAs. The role of aeration and its impacts on the main process parameters were analyzed. Three scenarios corresponding to different aeration rates were analyzed: 0.08, 0.16, and 0.32 vvm. The SBR was operated at an organic load rate of 600 mgCOD L−1d−1, under a dynamic feeding regime (feast–famine) and a short hydraulic retention time (HRT; 1 day). The results obtained showed that a value of 0.32 enabled better selection and better settling of the sludge. Furthermore, a potential correlation between aeration rate and VFA and NH4+ consumption rates was identified. The resulting biomass was able to accumulate up to 0.15 ± 0.02 g PHAgVSS−1. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Solid Waste Treatment and Resource Recycle)
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41 pages, 5243 KiB  
Article
An Overview of Artificial Intelligence Application for Optimal Control of Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Process
by Jian Tang, Tianzheng Wang, Heng Xia and Canlin Cui
Sustainability 2024, 16(5), 2042; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16052042 - 29 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1925
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) has found widespread application across diverse domains, including residential life and product manufacturing. Municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) represents a significant avenue for realizing waste-to-energy (WTE) objectives, emphasizing resource reuse and sustainability. Theoretically, AI holds the potential to facilitate optimal [...] Read more.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has found widespread application across diverse domains, including residential life and product manufacturing. Municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) represents a significant avenue for realizing waste-to-energy (WTE) objectives, emphasizing resource reuse and sustainability. Theoretically, AI holds the potential to facilitate optimal control of the MSWI process in terms of achieving minimal pollution emissions and maximal energy efficiency. However, a noticeable shortage exists in the current research of the review literature concerning AI in the field of WTE, particularly MSWI, hindering a focused understanding of future development directions. Consequently, this study conducts an exhaustive survey of AI applications for optimal control, categorizing them into four fundamental aspects: modeling, control, optimization, and maintenance. Timeline diagrams depicting the evolution of AI technologies in the MSWI process are presented to offer an intuitive visual representation. Each category undergoes meticulous classification and description, elucidating the shortcomings and challenges inherent in current research. Furthermore, the study articulates the future development trajectory of AI applications within the four fundamental categories, underscoring the contribution it makes to the field of MSWI and WTE. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Solid Waste Treatment and Resource Recycle)
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23 pages, 5337 KiB  
Article
Multi-Objective Disassembly Depth Optimization for End-of-Life Smartphones Considering the Overall Safety of the Disassembly Process
by Zepeng Chen, Lin Li, Xiaojing Chu, Fengfu Yin and Huaqing Li
Sustainability 2024, 16(3), 1114; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031114 - 28 Jan 2024
Viewed by 955
Abstract
The disassembly of end-of-life (EoL) products is of high concern in sustainability research. It is important to obtain reasonable disassembly depth during the disassembly process. However, the overall safety of the disassembly process is not considered during the disassembly depth optimization process, which [...] Read more.
The disassembly of end-of-life (EoL) products is of high concern in sustainability research. It is important to obtain reasonable disassembly depth during the disassembly process. However, the overall safety of the disassembly process is not considered during the disassembly depth optimization process, which leads to an inability to accurately obtain a reasonable disassembly depth. Considering this, a multi-objective disassembly depth optimization method for EoL smartphones considering the overall safety of the disassembly process is proposed to accurately determine a reasonable disassembly depth in this study. The feasible disassembly depth for EoL smartphones is first determined. The reasonable disassembly process for EoL smartphones is then established. A multi-objective function for disassembly depth optimization for EoL smartphones is established based on the disassembly profit per unit time, the disassembly energy consumption per unit time and the overall safety rate of the disassembly process. In order to increase solution accuracy and avoid local optimization, an improved teaching–learning-based optimization algorithm (ITLBO) is proposed. The overall safety of the disassembly process, disassembly time, disassembly energy consumption and disassembly profit are used as the criteria for the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to evaluate the disassembly depth solution. A case of the ‘Xiaomi 4’ smartphone is used to verify the applicability of the proposed method. The results show that the searchability of the non-inferior solution and the optimal solution of the proposed method are improved. The convergence speeds of the ITLBO algorithm are 50.00%, 33.33% and 30.43% higher than those of the TLBO algorithm, and the optimal solution values of the ITLBO algorithm are 3.91%, 5.10% and 3.45% higher than those of the TLBO algorithm in three experiments of single objective optimization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Solid Waste Treatment and Resource Recycle)
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26 pages, 4674 KiB  
Article
Online Combustion Status Recognition of Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Process Using DFC Based on Convolutional Multi-Layer Feature Fusion
by Xiaotong Pan, Jian Tang, Heng Xia and Tianzheng Wang
Sustainability 2023, 15(23), 16473; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152316473 - 30 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1124
Abstract
The prevailing method for handling municipal solid waste (MSW) is incineration, a critical process that demands safe, stable, and eco-conscious operation. While grate-typed furnaces offer operational flexibility, they often generate pollution during unstable operating conditions. Moreover, fluctuations in the physical and chemical characteristics [...] Read more.
The prevailing method for handling municipal solid waste (MSW) is incineration, a critical process that demands safe, stable, and eco-conscious operation. While grate-typed furnaces offer operational flexibility, they often generate pollution during unstable operating conditions. Moreover, fluctuations in the physical and chemical characteristics of MSW contribute to variable combustion statuses, accelerating internal furnace wear and ash accumulation. Tackling the challenges of pollution, wear, and efficiency in the MSW incineration (MSWI) process necessitates the automatic online recognition of combustion status. This article introduces a novel online recognition method using deep forest classification (DFC) based on convolutional multi-layer feature fusion. The method entails several key steps: initial collection and analysis of flame image modeling data and construction of an offline model utilizing LeNet-5 and DFC. Here, LeNet-5 trains to extract deep features from flame images, while an adaptive selection fusion method on multi-layer features selects the most effective fused deep features. Subsequently, these fused deep features feed into DFC, constructing an offline recognition model for identifying combustion status. Finally, embedding this recognition system into an existing MSWI process data monitoring system enables online flame video recognition. Experimental results show remarkable accuracies: 93.80% and 95.08% for left and right grate furnace offline samples, respectively. When implemented in an online flame video recognition platform, it aptly meets recognition demands. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Solid Waste Treatment and Resource Recycle)
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16 pages, 5704 KiB  
Article
Improvement of Biogas Production Using Biochar from Digestate at Different Pyrolysis Temperatures during OFMSW Anaerobic Digestion
by Shakib Alghashm, Lin Song, Lulu Liu, Chuang Ouyang, John L. Zhou and Xiaowei Li
Sustainability 2023, 15(15), 11917; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151511917 - 3 Aug 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2448
Abstract
Anaerobic digestion (AD) was utilized to treat the ever-growing amount of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) generated due to population growth and the expansion of the global economy. The widespread application of AD has led to a continuous increase in residual [...] Read more.
Anaerobic digestion (AD) was utilized to treat the ever-growing amount of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) generated due to population growth and the expansion of the global economy. The widespread application of AD has led to a continuous increase in residual solid digestate that necessarily requires further disposal. Improving AD efficiency and reducing the large amount of digestate is necessary. This study investigated the chemical and physical characteristics of biochar derived from digestate at different pyrolysis temperatures (300 °C, 500 °C, and 700 °C), as well as corn stover biochar at 500 °C, and their effects on AD performance. The pH value of the biochar increased with an increase in pyrolysis temperature while the electrical conductivity decreased. Macropores dominated the biochar’s pore size, and decreased with an increased pyrolysis temperature. The biochar preparation temperature significantly influenced the AD efficiency. Biochar prepared at 700 °C outperformed the other groups, improving the biogas production yields by 10.0%, effectively shortening the lag time, and increasing the average chemical oxygen demand (COD) degradation rate by 14.0%. The addition of biochar (700 °C) and corn stover biochar increased the relative abundance of the volatile fatty acid (VFAs)-oxidizing bacteria Syntrophomonadaceae, which expedited the acid conversion in AD systems. Biochar facilitated direct interspecies electron transfer between DMER64 and Trichococcus with Methanosaeta, enhancing the biogas production performance. These findings confirmed that the biochar derived from digestate promoted biogas production and acid conversion in the AD system of OFMSW. Furthermore, biochar has an improved AD stability, which represents a promising approach to recycling digestate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Solid Waste Treatment and Resource Recycle)
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Review

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22 pages, 4419 KiB  
Review
Activation Method and Reuse of Waste Concrete Powder—A Review
by Changming Bu, Baolin Tan, Qiutong Wu, Yingying Qiao, Yi Sun, Linwen Yu and Qian Yang
Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5451; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065451 - 20 Mar 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2304
Abstract
With an emphasis on environmental protection and the sustainable development of resources, the reuse of waste concrete has long been a research hotspot, and the study of WCP is the key to improving the efficiency of waste concrete utilization. In this study, in [...] Read more.
With an emphasis on environmental protection and the sustainable development of resources, the reuse of waste concrete has long been a research hotspot, and the study of WCP is the key to improving the efficiency of waste concrete utilization. In this study, in which we reviewed the relevant literature at home and abroad in recent years, we first used Citespace software to visualize and analyze the research on the reuse and activation methods of WCP in recent years. In this paper, we explain the characteristics of WCP and the influence of different activation methods on the activity index of WCP. We summarize the mechanical properties and working properties of WCP mortar products, and finally, the optimal activation method of WCP and the optimal amount of WCP in mortar preparation are analyzed. In addition, some problems in the current research are determined. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Solid Waste Treatment and Resource Recycle)
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