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Green Chemistry and Sustainable Biomass Conversion

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Chemical Engineering and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (19 July 2024) | Viewed by 2468

Special Issue Editors

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 4, Singapore 117585, Singapore
Interests: waste; thermochemical conversion; machine learning; kinetics and thermodynamics; LCA
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Guest Editor
CAS Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
Interests: functionalized biochar; soil amendment; wastewater treatment; adsorption

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Guest Editor
College of Water Resources and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: agricultural waste; food waste; anaerobic digestion; composting; life cycle assessment; dairy bedding; digestate utilization

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues:

Biomass stands as an exemplary, sustainable feedstock with the potential to revolutionize the energy, biofuels, and materials sectors, steering us toward a greener society. The pursuit of efficient biomass treatment and utilization remains pivotal in bridging the gap between research endeavors and practical applications.

This Special Issue delves into the multifaceted realm of biomass conversion, exploring not only the intricate processes but also the diverse applications of the resultant products. Within this Special Issue, we extend a warm invitation for the submission of original research articles and reviews. We particularly encourage contributions that delve into various biomass conversion techniques, including pyrolysis, torrefaction, gasification, hydrothermal conversion, and biological conversion. The scope encompasses not only experimental investigations and applications but also modelling and simulation studies, encompassing process simulations, machine learning applications, life cycle assessments (LCA), and more.

Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

  • Innovative approaches to pyrolysis, torrefaction, gasification, hydrothermal, and biological conversion of biomass;
  • Pioneering catalysts and catalytic processes aimed at enhancing biomass conversion efficiency;
  • Strategies for enhancing and customizing the products derived from biomass;
  • Green products derived from biomass used for environmental applications;
  • In-depth kinetic and thermodynamic analyses of biomass conversion processes, uncovering the underlying mechanisms;
  • Machine learning models for a better understanding and utilization of biomass conversion processes;
  • Life cycle assessments and techno-economic analyses of emerging biomass conversion methodologies.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Yuming Wen
Dr. Yuhao Fu
Prof. Dr. Na Duan
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

  • pyrolysis
  • gasification
  • hydrothermal conversion
  • biological conversion
  • sustainable energy and materials
  • green chemistry
  • biofuel
  • biochar
  • biomass
  • agricultural and forestry waste

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 3461 KiB  
Article
Biosorption of Copper (II) Ions Using Coffee Grounds—A Case Study
by Anna Młynarczykowska and Monika Orlof-Naturalna
Sustainability 2024, 16(17), 7693; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16177693 - 4 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1021
Abstract
Industrial and domestic human activities have a significant impact on the environment, contributing, among other things, to the increased pollution of natural waters. The spread of heavy metals is particularly dangerous to the health and life of living organisms due to the high [...] Read more.
Industrial and domestic human activities have a significant impact on the environment, contributing, among other things, to the increased pollution of natural waters. The spread of heavy metals is particularly dangerous to the health and life of living organisms due to the high accumulation potential of, among others, Cr (VI), Zn (II), Cu (II), Cd (II), Fe (II), and Ni (II). In order to remove, concentrate, and/or recover ions of these metals, various physical and/or chemical methods are commonly used. In this study, spent coffee grounds (SCGs) efficiently removed copper ions from simulated aqueous solutions, especially at low metal ion concentrations. Without additional modification, coffee grounds performed comparably to traditional adsorbents like activated carbon or ion exchangers. It was found that used ground coffee grounds effectively removed Cu (II) ions at a wide range of concentrations, with the highest efficiency (over 85%) obtained for dilute solutions. On the other hand, regeneration tests performed using a 10% hydrochloric acid solution successfully restored the coffee residue adsorbent, achieving a desorption efficiency of about 35%. This method concentrated the solution and facilitated efficient metal recovery by minimizing acid usage. The sorbent used is an innovative, cheap, and easy-to-use material with high sorption capabilities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Chemistry and Sustainable Biomass Conversion)
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14 pages, 1900 KiB  
Article
Thermal and Oxidative Stability of Biocrude Oil Derived from the Continuous Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Spirulina
by Yingxian Wang, Maojiong Cao, Weijuan Lan and Dongxue Yin
Sustainability 2024, 16(12), 4884; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16124884 - 7 Jun 2024
Viewed by 999
Abstract
The stability of biocrude oil is a significant challenge for its storage, transportation, and refining. In this investigation, the thermal and oxidative stability of Spirulina-biocrude oil derived from a plug-flow continuous hydrothermal reactor was systematically studied. The biocrude oil was stored at [...] Read more.
The stability of biocrude oil is a significant challenge for its storage, transportation, and refining. In this investigation, the thermal and oxidative stability of Spirulina-biocrude oil derived from a plug-flow continuous hydrothermal reactor was systematically studied. The biocrude oil was stored at three temperatures to simulate the winter (4 °C), spring and autumn (15 °C), and summer (35 °C) seasons, and in two atmospheres (air and N2) to simulate the conditions of a storage tank being sealed or kept open. Results demonstrated that the physicochemical properties of biocrude oil were highly influenced by the storage environment. The viscosity of biocrude oil increased with increasing storage temperature and time. The maximum viscosity (17,577 mPa·s) was observed when biocrude oil was stored at 35 °C and in an air condition over 84 days, 145% higher than fresh biocrude oil (7164.2 mPa·s). The viscosity increased by 10.9% when biocrude oil was sorted at 4 °C in an N2 atmosphere after being stored for 28 days. After long-term storage, biocrude oil still exhibited comparable characteristics to petroleum, with a slight decrease in HHV (31.36–33.97 MJ·kg−1) and the nitrogen-to-carbon ratio (0.087–0.092). This study indicated that the viscosity and HHV of the biocrude oil derived from a continuous reactor stored at 4 °C in an N2 atmosphere condition remained relatively unchanged, which enables the scheduling of oil refining production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Chemistry and Sustainable Biomass Conversion)
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