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New Directions in Sustainable Organic Synthesis: The Role of Natural Raw Materials and Heterogeneous Catalysts

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 738

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Catalytic and Sorbent Materials Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Technology and Engineering, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, 70-322 Szczecin, Poland
Interests: research on modern and sustainable oxidation and isomerization processes of organic compounds on heterogeneous catalysts (especially on catalysts of natural origin, e.g., zeolites), including processes in which are used organic raw materials derived from biomass, obtaining raw materials for synthesis in organic chemistry from plant material, searching for new applications of compounds of natural origin and their derivatives, chromatographic analyses (GC, GC/MS, column chromatography, TLC), FTIR and UV–vis

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Guest Editor
Department of Energy and Technical Safety, Technical Department, Jakub’s from Paradyż Academy in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Teatralna 25, 66-400 Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland
Interests: research on modern methods of heterogeneous catalysis, with a particular focus on the use of naturally derived catalysts in synthetic processes, as well as the topic of sustainable chemistry; exploring ways to use natural raw materials in organic synthesis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this Special issue will be to present the latest directions of research on “green and sustainable organic processes” conducted both on a laboratory and an industrial scale (low-volume productions) using raw materials of plant origin and heterogeneous catalysts. Among the heterogeneous catalysts, special attention will be paid to catalysts of natural origin, including also their modified and synthetic equivalents. Research on the processes of transformation of compounds of natural origin will be related to determining the most favorable parameters for conducting these processes, making it possible to obtain the highest values of functions describing these processes such as the conversion of organic raw materials or the selectivity and yield of products. Organic processes conducted using raw materials of natural origin are environmentally friendly and are often cheaper and less energy-consuming; therefore, it is worth developing research on them. Moreover, it should be emphasized that the use of these processes makes it possible to obtain valuable compounds with numerous applications in many branches of industry.

Contemporary directions in the development of “green and sustainable processes” enables the synthesis of organic compounds, both on a laboratory and an industrial scale, are related to the constant search for cheap raw materials and effective catalysts for these syntheses. Raw materials for organic syntheses may be obtained from plants, for example terpene compounds, and, thanks to this, such raw materials are renewable and the new methods for the synthesis organic compounds that are being developed on the basis such raw materials meet the requirements of sustainable development. Examples of such compounds that can be obtained from biomass, often waste products, are: limonene, a-pinene, or geraniol. Catalysts used in organic syntheses may be heterogeneous catalysts of natural origin (for example, minerals, including zeolites), which are relatively easily available and cheap. Their great advantage is that they can be relatively easily modified. Knowing the structure of these materials of natural origin, it is also possible to obtain their synthetic equivalents with increased catalytic activity. Products obtained as a result of the catalytic transformations of natural compounds also meet the principle of sustainable development and are the basis for the development of many branches of industry. This Special Issue focuses on modern methods of carrying out syntheses of organic compounds based on materials of plant origin and heterogeneous catalysts. Moreover, this Special Issue seeks to reveal possible directions of application for the compounds obtained using these methods. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome and research areas may include, but are not limited to:

  • Processes of synthesis of organic compounds based on compounds of natural origin and heterogeneous catalysts;
  • Obtaining raw materials of plant origin for organic syntheses;
  • Materials of natural origin for applications as catalysts in organic syntheses;
  • Modified materials of natural origin for use as catalysts in organic syntheses;
  • Synthetic equivalents of materials of natural origin for use as catalysts in organic syntheses;
  • Applications of products of catalytic transformations of natural compounds.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Agnieszka Wróblewska
Dr. Anna Fajdek-Bieda
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

  • raw materials of plant origin
  • minerals
  • heterogeneous catalysts
  • catalytic transformations of compounds of plant origin

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 3564 KiB  
Article
Avocado Seed Waste as a Green Catalyst for the Sustainable Oxidation of Limonene with Molecular Oxygen
by Sylwia Gajewska, Joanna Siemak, Agnieszka Wróblewska and Beata Michalkiewicz
Sustainability 2025, 17(9), 3923; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17093923 - 27 Apr 2025
Viewed by 273
Abstract
Avocado is a rich source of numerous nutrients, such as micro- and macroelements, essential unsaturated fatty acids, and vitamins essential for the correct functioning of the body. Consequently, its consumption has significantly increased in recent years. The primary edible part of the fruit [...] Read more.
Avocado is a rich source of numerous nutrients, such as micro- and macroelements, essential unsaturated fatty acids, and vitamins essential for the correct functioning of the body. Consequently, its consumption has significantly increased in recent years. The primary edible part of the fruit is the flesh, while the seed is still considered biowaste. Currently, various methods for utilization of this biowaste are being explored, prompting the authors of this work to investigate the catalytic properties of ground avocado seeds. Dried, ground avocado seeds were used as the catalyst in the environmentally friendly oxidation of limonene with oxygen. The process was carried out in mild conditions, without the use of any solvent and at atmospheric pressure. The studies examined the influence of temperature (70–110 °C), the amount of the catalyst (0.5–5.0 wt%), and the reaction time (15–360 min). The analyses of the post-reaction mixtures were performed using the gas chromatography method (GC). The maximum value of the conversion of limonene obtained during the tests was 36 mol%. The main products of this process were as follows: 1,2-epoxylimonene, carveol, and perillyl alcohol. Also, the following compounds were determined in the post-reaction mixtures: carvone and 1,2-epoxylimonene diol. The studied process is interesting, taking into account both the management of waste in the form of avocado seeds and possible wide applications of limonene transformation products in medicine, cosmetics and the food industry. Given that limonene is now increasingly being extracted from waste orange peels, this is also a good way to manage the future naturally derived limonene and reduce the amount of waste orange peels. The presented studies fit perfectly with the goals of sustainable development and circular economy and may be the basis for the future development of “green technology” for obtaining value-added oxygenated derivatives of limonene. These studies show the use of waste biomass in the form of avocado seeds to obtain a green catalyst. In this context, our research presents an effective way of waste valorization. Full article
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