Energy Efficiency and Management in Sustainable Food Industry
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Resources and Sustainable Utilization".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 3084
Special Issue Editors
Interests: industrial energy management; industrial energy efficiency; energy benchmarking; energy efficiency assessment; compressed air systems; industrial waste heat recovery; industrial ecology; industrial symbiosis; cleaner production; industrial sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: industrial energy efficiency; energy efficiency assessment; industrial waste heat recovery; waste heat recovery technologies; renewable energy technologies; thermal power plants; analysis and optimization of power plant performances; control strategies for flexible power plant operation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
According to recent estimates, the food industry is one of the largest and most energy-consuming sectors, accounting for around 30% of global energy consumption and 20% of greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, a great deal of energy, mainly in the form of heat and electricity, is required to transform edible raw materials into finished products. The most energy-intensive manufacturing processes include cooking, pasteurization and sterilization, evaporation and drying, chilling and freezing, washing, cleaning, etc.
Since food demand is expected to rise substantially by 2050 due to population growth and improved living standards, food production needs to be increased accordingly. In this context, the improvement of energy efficiency and the management of food manufacturing processes represent two key strategies to meet the ambitious challenges of reducing the energy consumption and reliance on fossil fuels, as well as reversing anthropogenic global climate changes.
Several technologies and solutions offer great potential for reducing energy consumption and environmental impacts all long the food production chain. However, the identification of the most effective option or combination of options is not a trivial task, since it involves several (often contrasting) factors related to technical, economic and organizational criteria. Thus, a systematic approach to the subject is needed, in which modeling, optimization, monitoring and control of energy efficiency measures play a major role.
This Special Issue welcomes review papers, original research articles and case studies dealing with the vital role of energy efficiency and management in shaping a sustainable food industry. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Characterization and assessment of energy uses in food industry;
- Methods and tools for energy performance benchmarking in food processing;
- Best practices for energy efficiency enhancement in food industry;
- Key trends and innovations for energy efficiency in food processing industry;
- Assessment of energy efficiency improvement via waste heat recovery and valorization;
- Consolidated and cutting-edge solutions for low- and medium-grade waste heat recovery in food industry;
- Monitoring and control tools of energy efficiency measures;
- Valorization of wastes from industrial food processing;
- Industrial symbiosis to support the energy efficiency and sustainability of food production processes;
- Innovative management practices for sustainable food production.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Miriam Benedetti
Dr. Lorena Giordano
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
- food industry
- industrial energy uses
- energy performance benchmarking
- energy efficiency
- sustainable food production
- waste heat recovery and valorization
- industrial symbiosis