Submit to Sustainability Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Browser

Conversion and Utilization of Biomass Waste

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (26 March 2023) | Viewed by 10407

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Zhihui Bai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
Interests: bioremediation of polluted soil and saline alkali soil; bioconversion of waste biomass into biofertilizer and its application in sustainable agriculture; environmental biotechnology and microbial ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Zhanying Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering, Queensland Unviersity of Technology, Brisbane City, QLD 4000, Australia
Interests: biomass and waste processing; biorefinery and value-adding

Dr. Changsen Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Ecology and Environment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Interests: thermochemical conversion of biomass and plastic waste to liquid fuels, and chemicals, including pyrolysis, gasification, hydro-pyrolysis

Dr. Zhiguang Yang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Municipal and Environment Engineering, Henan University of Urban Construction, Pingdingshan 467036, China
Interests: conversion for the high-value utilization of biomass and advanced separation technology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biomass is the most abundant renewable resource, and refers to the mass of living organisms, including plants, animals and microorganisms. It has a biochemical composition, including cellulose, lignin, sugars, fats, proteins, etc. It is estimated that 200 billion tonnes of CO₂ are converted to biomass annually, and 60% by higher plants. In this context, plant-based feedstocks are considered as promising resources in achieving the goal of sustainable global carbon economy. As a result, the annual global generation of biomass waste has been threateningly increasing, which contributes to severe issues in appropriate waste conversion and utilization.

Biomass waste comes from a wide array of sources that include: agricultural residues, forestry residues, agro-industrial wastes, animal waste, municipal solid wastes and sewage, etc. The heterogeneity and crystallinity of lignocellulose in biomass waste have restricted the treatment approaches for their extensive application. Presently, the conversion of these biomass wastes into clean energy or value-added products using a variety of technologies has been deemed as a suitable approach for environmental benefits and sustainable development.

The utilization of biomass waste not only contributes to reducing pollution, but also provides an alternative way to generate bio-energy and environmental friendly products. This Special Issue aims to attract works of scientific interest to promote the conversion and utilization of biomass waste.

Therefore, we encourage you to submit articles covering the following issues:

Sustainable utilization of biomass waste.

Conversion of biomass waste into clean energy or environmental friendly products.

Bioprocessing techniques for the valorization of biomass wastes.

Sustainable aspects of biomass wastes management.

Techno-economic aspects towards sustainable biomass waste utilization.

Ecological or environmental benefit of the biomass waste utilization.

Prof. Dr. Zhihui Bai
Dr. Zhanying Zhang
Dr. Changsen Zhang
Dr. Zhiguang Yang
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

biomass waste
agro-industrial residues
food waste
bioconversion
bio/hydro-char
biogas
biofuels
biofertilizer
organic fertilizer
biorefining

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

16 pages, 3821 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Temporal Variation of Nitrogen and Sulfur Species of Food Waste and Sludge during Anaerobic Co-Digestion

by Pengzhou Kang, Yuxiu Zhang, Xiaopeng Ge and Zhi Qian

Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 4982; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14094982 - 21 Apr 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1509

Abstract

Anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) has been a widely accepted method to treat food waste (FW) and sewage sludge (SS). However, there is a knowledge gap regarding the key speciation transformation of nitrogen and sulfur in AcoD. Here, we explored the changes of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) compounds in liquid digestion and biogas, as well as the composition of microbial community structure and related metabolic functions. The results showed that H₂S in the biogas was the main form of S in the early stage, and then, it was converted into SO₄²⁻ and SO₃²⁻, while NH₃ and NH₄⁺ were the main forms of N during the AcoD. In addition, bacterial diversity was associated with N and S compounds; Syntrophomonas and Aminobacterium were positively correlated to H₂S, NH₃, NH₄⁺ and SO₃²⁻, and Saccharibacteria_genera_incertae_sedis, Candidatus_Cloacamonas and Thermomonas were positively correlated to SO₄²⁻ and NO₂⁻. Additionally, the FAPROTAX prediction showed that the functional composition related to N and S metabolism was different from SS and inoculum after the AcoD. This study provides detailed information of conversion of N and S of the AcoD, which could lay a foundation for the subsequent regulation of the mechanism of nitrogen and sulfur compounds in the methanogenic process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conversion and Utilization of Biomass Waste)

► Show Figures

Graphical abstract

14 pages, 3129 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Understanding the Implications of Predicted Function for Assessment of Rapid Bioremediation in a Farmland-Oilfield Mixed Area

by Haoyu Wang, Shanghua Wu, Yuxiu Zhang, Tsing Bohu, Zhihui Bai and Xuliang Zhuang

Sustainability 2022, 14(4), 2248; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042248 - 16 Feb 2022

Viewed by 1525

Abstract

Farmland-oilfield mixed areas are fragile ecosystems that require dynamic remediation to counteract the undesirable impact of energy development. Practicable assessment methods are pivotal to a fast and accurate evaluation of the in situ bioremediation process. Petroleum pollutants impose component-dependent effects on autochthonous microbiota before and after remediation. Here, the predicted functional response of soil microbiomes to petroleum pollutants was analyzed in a historically polluted farmland-oilfield mixed area from the perspective of developing a set of feasible biomarkers for immediate post-bioremediation evaluation. An array of microbial, genetic, systematic, and phenotypic biomarkers was proposed. Our results showed that the biomarkers could proxy the stage of the bioremediation multidimensionally. We argue that functional diversity should be considered together with microbial community dynamic to evaluate the restoration status of the microbial communities in petroleum-contaminated farmland-oilfield mixed environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conversion and Utilization of Biomass Waste)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 2628 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring the Microbial Dynamics of Organic Matter Degradation and Humification during Co-Composting of Cow Manure and Bedding Material Waste

by Haiyan Duan, Minghua Ji, Yukang Xie, Jiping Shi, Li Liu, Baoguo Zhang and Junsong Sun

Sustainability 2021, 13(23), 13035; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132313035 - 25 Nov 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2137

Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of bedding material (BM) waste on physicochemical properties, organic matter (OM) degradation, microbial community structure and metabolic function during composting. The results showed that bedding material (CK-0, S1-40%, S2-25%) optimized the composting conditions for lignocellulose and OM biodegradation. The highest OM degradation and humic substance (HS) synthesis rates were observed in the 40% BM addition group. Firmicutes was more abundant in the bedding material addition groups, whereas Proteobacteria was more abundant in the group without bedding material. Functional prediction showed higher carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism in the BM groups than that in control group. Animal and plant pathogens were almost eliminated, and saprotrophs were the dominant fungal trophic modes after 40% BM addition composting. Cellulose, hemicellulose, and organic matter had strong associations with microbial communities, such as Lysinibacillus and Corynebacterium (bacteria), compared to the associations of Aspergillus, Candida, and Sordariomycetes (fungi) (p value < 0.05). Network analysis revealed closer microbial community interactions in 40% BM addition group than in other groups. These findings provide detailed information about the coupling of material conversion, of bacterial and fungal succession during composting, and that bedding materials waste can also be used as an effective compost amendment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conversion and Utilization of Biomass Waste)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 1035 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Mass Balance of C, Nutrients, and Mineralization of Nitrogen during Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Rice Straw with Cow Manure

by Furqan Muhayodin, Albrecht Fritze and Vera Susanne Rotter

Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 11568; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111568 - 20 Oct 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2624

Abstract

Anaerobic co-digestion technology (AcoD) can be used to process rice straw (RS) and cow manure (CoM) to produce energy and a digestate rich in nutrients, while the improper disposal of RS and CoM causes environmental problems. The overall effectiveness of the anaerobic digestion technology can be improved by utilizing the nutrients available in the digestate. It is also a way to reduce the usage of mineral fertilizer by recycling the nutrients available in the digestate. The co-digestion of RS with CoM was performed in a newly developed digester (F1) and in a mesophilic digester (F2) used as a reference. The mass balance of C, macronutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and S), and their distribution into a liquid digestate (LD) and a solid digestate (SD) was investigated in both digesters. The mass balance was used to evaluate the carbon available in the biogas and in the digestate. It was also used to investigate the recovery potential of the macronutrients after the AD process. Moreover, the assessment of the resulting digestate was carried out to suggest its potential use in agriculture. The amount of C measured in the biogas was the same in both digesters (41.0% and 38.0% of the initial C). Moreover, the conversion efficiency of C from the substrate into methane was 23.4% for F1 and 21.0% for F2. The Ca, Mg, K, and P were conserved in the digestate because their recovery rates (RR) were close to 100%. However, a relatively low RR was observed for N (84.1% in F1 and 86.8% in F2) and S (87.1% in F1 and 86.5% in F2) in both the digesters. After separation n of the SD, from 79.1 to 83.4% (in F1) and 75.0 to 82.4% (in F2) of the final nutrients were available in the LD. The assessment of the SD suggested its use in agriculture not only for soil amendment but also as a K-providing organic fertilizer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conversion and Utilization of Biomass Waste)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 3413 KiB

Open AccessArticle

External Carbon Source Facilitates Indirect Cr (VI) Bioreduction Process by Anaerobic Sludge Produced from Kitchen Waste

by Hui Han, Jinju Hou, Dalei Zhang, Yuanning Zhong, Chao Chen and Qiuzhuo Zhang

Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 4806; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13094806 - 25 Apr 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1398

Abstract

This study presented the investigation on indirect Cr (VI) bioreduction process by anaerobic sludge produced from kitchen waste (ASKW) using an external source of glucose and sulfate to favor the reducing environment. These compounds were added at the beginning of the experiment along with 500 mg·L⁻¹ Cr (VI). The system containing 1 g of glucose and 2 g of sulfate attained a higher reduction, which was 10% higher than that of the control experiment. This study indicated that a neutral environment (pH ~7), along with a high release of polysaccharides (PS), improved the removal efficiency by Cr (VI) bioreduction process. Desulfovibrio and Sulfurospirillum (genus level), which accounted for 3% and 1% of the whole microorganism, respectively, were responsible for the sulfidogenic reaction. Additionally, Thermovirga (genus level) reduced from 14% to 11% and 10%. These microorganisms contributed to dominating the indirect Cr (VI) bioreduction process. SEM and FTIR analysis of the sludges obtaining from the indirect Cr (VI) bioreduction systems indicated that the external glucose could facilitate the formation of looser porous structures and richer functional groups of sludges, thus adsorbing more Cr (III) to reduce its toxicity. Meanwhile, the intensity of the hydroxyl bond, which possesses strong reducibility, was much higher after adding external glucose. Chromate reductase gene (chrR) and sulfite reductase gene (dsrA) contributed to the indirect Cr (VI) bioreduction process. These might be the main mechanisms of the external glucose acting on indirect Cr (VI) bioreduction by ASKW. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conversion and Utilization of Biomass Waste)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Conversion and Utilization of Biomass Waste

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (5 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI