Integration of Thermal, Thermochemical, and Sustainable Biological Conversion Technologies
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 October 2025 | Viewed by 10
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue of Sustainability builds on the research priorities and themes developed at the “Integration of Thermal, Thermochemical, and Sustainable Biological Conversion Technologies” workshop, held in February 2025 at London South Bank University. Hosted by the Environmental Biotechnology Network’s Biochar Working Group and co-funded by the Environmental Biotechnology Network and the Biomass Biorefinery Network, the workshop brought together experts from academia and industry to examine how combining these complementary processes can unlock greater environmental and economic value from waste and biomass. The discussions highlighted both the considerable potential of integrated systems and the pressing need for further research, demonstration, and knowledge exchange in this emerging area.
The Special Issue focuses on advancing understanding of how thermal, thermochemical, and biological processes can be integrated to improve efficiency, reduce environmental impacts, and expand the range of valuable products derived from waste and biomass. Contributions may address process innovations, system modelling, feedstock preparation and product upgrading, environmental and economic performance, or policy and regulatory considerations. Examples include, but are not limited to, work on anaerobic digestion and fermentation, pyrolysis and gasification, hydrothermal carbonisation, and biological pretreatment, as well as their applications in biochar use, microbiome engineering, renewable fuel and chemical production, and environmental remediation.
The aim is to showcase high-impact opportunities for innovation and share practical insights from both research and industrial practice. Although there is an extensive literature on each of these technologies individually, studies exploring their integration remain limited, often overlooking the potential synergies in energy efficiency, carbon management, circularity, and market diversification. By presenting new research alongside perspectives informed by the workshop consensus process, this Special Issue will fill a critical gap in the literature, offering a consolidated reference point for the development and scaling of integrated waste and biomass valorisation strategies.
Dr. Rose Meredith Barr
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- environmental biotechnology
- biomass biorefinery
- industrial biotechnology
- waste valorisation
- anaerobic digestion and fermentation
- pyrolysis and gasification
- hydrothermal carbonisation
- biochar applications
- microbiome engineering
- circular bioeconomy
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