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Sustainable Biofuels Production from Biomass
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Sustainable Biofuels Production from Biomass

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 7588

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Pratibha Rani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mathematics, Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Sriperumbudur 602105, Tamil Nadu, India
Interests: fuzzy set theory and its extensions; neutrosophic sets; decision-making theory; sustainability; sustainable development; information measures and mathematical modelling of infectious diseases
Dr. Arunodaya Raj Mishra

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mathematics, Government College Raigaon, Satna 485441, Madhya Pradesh, India
Interests: fuzzy sets theory; uncertain fuzzy sets; intuitionistic fuzzy sets; interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets; Pythagorean fuzzy sets; neutrosophic sets; sustainability; sustainable supply chain management; green economy; sustainable development; multi-criteria decision making; information measures; entropy measures; divergence measures and similarity and dissimilarity measures

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Energy is the basic requirement of development in almost every aspect of society. Due to increasing population growth and industrial development, energy consumption has been increasing steadily, which generating a series of problems. At present, the continuous increase in the global consumption of energy is leading to an anticipated rise in energy demand that will not be met in the short term. Global energy demand and high fuel prices have led to the search for alternative strategies for sustainable energy production in both developing and developed countries.

In recent times, biofuels have been promoted as a sustainable energy alternative to fossil fuels as they could help to decrease negative climate change impacts and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation. Biofuels produced from biomass sources through biodegradable techniques are receiving global attention from scholars and scientists. Biomass refers to organic materials which come from microorganisms, wood, plants, agricultural wastes, the dead parts of plants and animals, the waste material of plants and animals and others. Among the choices of renewable energy resources, the energy yielded from biomass can be directly employed for transport fuel in various nations. This could be more feasible in peak demand periods, and a practicable mode at other times. Increasing concern about the climate crisis is another essential aspect that has highlighted the ecological benefits of biomass utilization.

Biofuel production and utilization are considered a carbon-neutral path as they are produced from biomass, which absorbs the majority of carbon dioxide released to the environment. Sustainability is a key concern when considering the adaptation of biomass to biofuels. The global production of biofuel from biomass has been increasing rapidly, but there is growing concern that the biofuel conversion technologies should comply with the established sustainability requirements. Thus, it is necessary to select a suitable biomass alternative for the production of biofuels from a sustainable perspective. The sustainable production of biofuel from biomass can efficiently reduce the risks of energy poverty, GHG emissions, and global warming, and contribute to economic and rural development—especially in developing countries.

In this context, the Special Issue “Sustainable biofuels production from biomass” will cover topics including but not limited to the following, in order to offer the state-of-the-art technology for generating sustainable biofuels from biomass:

  • Sustainable biofuel production from biomass wastes;
  • Sustainability impacts of first- and second-generation biofuels;
  • Sustainable production of first- and second-generation biofuels from biomass;
  • Decision-making approaches for biomass selection for sustainable biofuels;
  • Uncertainty tools for biofuels production;
  • Approaches and tools for biofuel production from a sustainability perspective;
  • Biomass waste-to-energy;
  • Biofuels sustainability;
  • Biofuels production for sustainable development;
  • Biofuels production technologies;
  • Sustainable biomass crop selection for biofuels;
  • Innovative methods for the sustainable production of biofuels from biomass

Dr. Pratibha Rani
Dr. Arunodaya Raj Mishra
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

  • sustainability
  • biofuel
  • bioenergy
  • biomass
  • lignocellulosic biomass
  • multi-criteria decision-making methods for biofuel production
  • stochastic approaches for biofuel production
  • uncertainty models for sustainable biofuel production from biomass
  • biofuel conversion technologies
  • first-, second-, and third-generation biofuel technologies

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

33 pages, 5434 KiB  
Article
Biodiesel Production from Jatropha: A Computational Approach by Means of Artificial Intelligence and Genetic Algorithm
by Abhirup Khanna, Bhawna Yadav Lamba, Sapna Jain, Vadim Bolshev, Dmitry Budnikov, Vladimir Panchenko and Alexandr Smirnov
Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9785; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129785 - 19 Jun 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1590
Abstract
In the past couple of years, the world has come to realize the importance of renewable sources of energy and the disadvantages of excessive use of fossil fuels. Numerous studies have been conducted to implicate the benefits of artificial intelligence in areas of [...] Read more.
In the past couple of years, the world has come to realize the importance of renewable sources of energy and the disadvantages of excessive use of fossil fuels. Numerous studies have been conducted to implicate the benefits of artificial intelligence in areas of green energy production. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms are believed to be the driving forces behind the fourth industrial revolution and possess capabilities for interpreting non-linear relationships that exist in complex problems. Sustainable biofuels are derived from renewable resources such as plants, crops, and waste materials other than food crops. Unlike traditional fossil fuels such as coal and oil, biofuels are considered to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly. The work discusses the transesterification of jatropha oil into biodiesel using KOH and NaOH as alkaline catalysts. This research aims to examine and optimize the nonlinear relationship between transesterification process parameters (molar ratio, temperature, reaction time, and catalyst concentration) and biodiesel properties. The methodology employed in this study utilizes AI and machine learning algorithms to predict biodiesel properties and improve the yield and quality of biodiesel. Deep neural networks, linear regression, polynomial regression, and K-nearest neighbors are the algorithms implemented for prediction purposes. The research comprehensively examines the impact of individual transesterification process parameters on biodiesel properties, including yield, viscosity, and density. Furthermore, this research introduces the use of genetic algorithms for optimizing biodiesel production. The genetic algorithm (GA) generates optimal values for transesterification process parameters based on the desired biodiesel properties, such as yield, viscosity, and density. The results section presents the transesterification process parameters required for obtaining 72%, 85%, and 98% biodiesel yields. By leveraging AI and machine learning, this research aims to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of biodiesel production processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Biofuels Production from Biomass)
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18 pages, 2899 KiB  
Article
Hybrid Intuitionistic Fuzzy Entropy-SWARA-COPRAS Method for Multi-Criteria Sustainable Biomass Crop Type Selection
by Abbas Mardani, Sarita Devi, Melfi Alrasheedi, Leena Arya, Mrigendra Pratap Singh and Kiran Pandey
Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 7765; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15107765 - 09 May 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1768
Abstract
To select a biomass crop type of the highest sustainability for the purpose of producing biofuel is recognized as a problem of the multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) type, as it comprises different conflicting criteria. To effectively address this problem, the present paper introduces [...] Read more.
To select a biomass crop type of the highest sustainability for the purpose of producing biofuel is recognized as a problem of the multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) type, as it comprises different conflicting criteria. To effectively address this problem, the present paper introduces a novel integrated approach using the complex proportional assessment (COPRAS) method under the intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFSs). The proposed approach works based on the IFSs operators as well as an innovative process utilized in evaluating the attributes’ weights. To evaluate these weights, the subjective weights using the step-wise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) model are integrated with the objective weights achieved using an entropy-based approach in order to attain more realistic weights. As MCDA problems inevitably suffer from different degrees of uncertainty, the proposed approach could be of great help to those who are required to make decisions in uncertain settings. The paper took into consideration a sustainable biomass crop selection problem to exemplify the effectiveness of the presented approach in handling real MCDA problems. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis with respect to the diverse values of the attributes is presented in order to assess the stability of the introduced model. This study reveals that the combination of the objective and subjective weights enhances the stability of the introduced approach with diverse attribute weights. Finally, the results of the introduced model are compared to some existing intuitionistic fuzzy information-based methods. The findings of the comparison confirm the efficiency of the present approach in performing the defined tasks under uncertain environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Biofuels Production from Biomass)
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24 pages, 2065 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Biofuel Industry Sustainability Factors Based on the Intuitionistic Fuzzy Symmetry Point of Criterion and Rank-Sum-Based MAIRCA Method
by Ibrahim M. Hezam, Naga Rama Devi Vedala, Bathina Rajesh Kumar, Arunodaya Raj Mishra and Fausto Cavallaro
Sustainability 2023, 15(8), 6749; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086749 - 17 Apr 2023
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1096
Abstract
Biofuel production from biomass resources can significantly contribute to greenhouse gas mitigation and clean energy generation. This paper aims to develop a new decision analysis approach under an intuitionistic fuzzy set (IFS) setting to rank suitable biomass resources for biofuel production. For this [...] Read more.
Biofuel production from biomass resources can significantly contribute to greenhouse gas mitigation and clean energy generation. This paper aims to develop a new decision analysis approach under an intuitionistic fuzzy set (IFS) setting to rank suitable biomass resources for biofuel production. For this purpose, an intuitionistic fuzzy Symmetry Point of Criterion (IF-SPC) tool was introduced to obtain the objective weight of the indicators and an IF-rank sum (IF-RS) was applied to find the subjective weight of the indicators under an IFS setting. Then, an integrated multi-attributive ideal real comparative assessment (MAIRCA) approach was introduced using aggregation operators and a proposed weight-determining tool to rank suitable biomass resources for biofuel production. Further, the usability of the proposed model was tested with a case study of the selection of biomass resources for biofuel production under the context of IFS. From the obtained outcomes, we found that the most important indicators for selecting suitable biomass resources for biofuel production are cost of biomass supply (EC-3), maturity (T-3), local acceptability (SP-1), cost of the biomass conversion process (EC-2), and reduction of GHG emissions (EN-1), respectively. From this perspective, globally existing sustainable biomass resources for biofuel production were recognized and then ranked over thirteen diverse indicators including environmental, economic, technical, and social-political pillars of sustainability. It was found that municipal solid waste and sewage, forest and wood farming waste, and livestock and poultry waste achieve higher overall utility scores over the other biomass resources for biofuel production in India. Furthermore, comparison with extant models and sensitivity analysis are discussed to present the usefulness and stability of the presented model. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Biofuels Production from Biomass)
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19 pages, 1745 KiB  
Article
Biofuel Production Plant Location Selection Using Integrated Picture Fuzzy Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment Framework
by Ibrahim M. Hezam, Fausto Cavallaro, Jyoti Lakshmi, Pratibha Rani and Subhanshu Goyal
Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 4215; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054215 - 26 Feb 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1182
Abstract
As an alternative for sustainable transportation and economic development, biofuels are being promoted as renewable and climate-friendly resources of energy which can help to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, some pollutant emissions and mitigate the climate change impact from transport. With the [...] Read more.
As an alternative for sustainable transportation and economic development, biofuels are being promoted as renewable and climate-friendly resources of energy which can help to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, some pollutant emissions and mitigate the climate change impact from transport. With the successful development of the biofuel industry, the location selection for biofuel production plant is one of the major concerns for the governments and policymakers. Finding locations for the construction of new biofuel production plants includes several dimensions of sustainability, including economic, social and environmental; therefore, this selection process can be considered a complex multi-criteria decision-making problem with uncertainty. As an advanced version of fuzzy set, picture fuzzy set (PiFS) is one of the comprehensive tools to handle the uncertainty with the account of truth, abstinence and falsity membership degrees. Thus, this work proposes a new decision-making methodology based on the weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) approach and similarity measure with picture fuzzy information. By using picture fuzzy numbers, the proposed methodology can effectively address the uncertain information and qualitative data that often occurs in practical applications. In this methodology, a picture fuzzy similarity measure-based weighting model is proposed to find the criteria weights under picture fuzzy environment. For this purpose, a new similarity measure is introduced to measure the degree of similarity between picture fuzzy numbers. Moreover, the rank of the options is determined based on an integrated WASPAS approach under a PiFS context. To illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework, a case study of biofuel production plant location selection is presented from the picture fuzzy perspective. Further, a comparison with existing methods is conducted to test the validity and applicability of the obtained results. The sensitivity analysis is performed with respect to different values of decision parameter, which proves the stability, robustness, and practicality of the proposed approach. The presented picture fuzzy WASPAS approach feasibly enables the policymakers to identify the most desirable location for a biofuel production plant by considering the social, environmental and economic aspects of sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Biofuels Production from Biomass)
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21 pages, 1528 KiB  
Article
A Novel Integrated q-Rung Fuzzy Framework for Biomass Location Selection with No Apriori Weight Choices
by Raghunathan Krishankumar, Arunodaya Raj Mishra, Pratibha Rani, Fausto Cavallaro and Kattur Soundarapandian Ravichandran
Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3377; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043377 - 12 Feb 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1200
Abstract
Biomass is a promising form of clean energy that could be utilized worldwide for huge household demand. As the world is constantly fighting climate change and carbon emissions, the adoption of biofuels for households minimizes the ill effects on the ecosystem from households. [...] Read more.
Biomass is a promising form of clean energy that could be utilized worldwide for huge household demand. As the world is constantly fighting climate change and carbon emissions, the adoption of biofuels for households minimizes the ill effects on the ecosystem from households. A recent report from IndiaSpend shows that Indian households bring approximately 3.78 tonnes/capita of carbon, which includes electricity, consumables, and food sources. To bring a balance between utilization demand and ecofriendliness within the household, biomass is an attractive option. Location for producing biomass is a crucial decision problem as it involves multiple criteria that are competing and conflicting with one another. Previous studies on location selection for biomass cannot promptly model uncertainty and consider hesitation and interactions of experts and criteria. To handle these issues, a novel integrated decision approach is put forward. Initially, a generalized orthopedic structure is adapted to model uncertainty from three dimensions. Further, the weights of experts and criteria are determined via variance measure and the CRITIC method. A ranking procedure is put forward with combined compromise solution formulation for rational selection of biomass production location. The usefulness of the developed framework is testified by using a case example and comparison with extant approaches, revealing the superiorities and limitations of the framework. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Biofuels Production from Biomass)
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