Search Results (3,244)

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), the fifth-most important cereal crop globally, serves as a cornerstone crop for food security, forage production, and bioenergy feedstock on arid and semi-arid marginal lands, owing to its high water use efficiency derived from C4 photosynthesis and exceptional tolerance to abiotic stresses. Conventional sorghum breeding has long been constrained by insufficient genetic dissection of complex traits, the “black box” of genotype-to-phenotype mapping, and poorly understood genotype-by-environment interactions, resulting in stagnant genetic gain. In recent years, rapid advances in multi-omics technologies—including genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, single-cell omics, and microbiomics—have propelled sorghum research from single-gene mapping to systems-level dissection of regulatory networks, providing a novel paradigm for elucidating the molecular basis of agronomic traits across all molecular layers and breaking through the bottlenecks of conventional breeding. This review systematically synthesizes recent advances in sorghum multi-omics research, dissecting the molecular basis of key agronomic traits across distinct omics layers. We summarize the integrated multi-omics precision breeding technology system and elaborate on the practical applications of multi-omics approaches for four core breeding objectives: stress tolerance, yield, quality, and nutrient use efficiency. Finally, we discuss current challenges and future perspectives, aiming to provide a theoretical framework and technical reference for molecular design breeding in sorghum. Full article

Wood-processing residues can support both circular material use and bioenergy, but gross residue generation is not equivalent to additional energy availability. This review develops a literature-derived sequential framework for allocating four major fractions generated during primary mechanical wood processing—wood chips, solid offcuts, sawdust and shavings, and bark—among material uses, pellets and briquettes, industrial heat, and combined heat and power (CHP). A structured qualitative synthesis identified five decision criteria: feedstock quality and admissibility; retained material value; realistic material-use opportunity; suitability for a specific bioenergy pathway; and relevance to a fuel market or plant energy demand. The framework was applied illustratively to Polish data reporting 7.928 million m³ of residues and approximately 36.37 petajoules (PJ) of gross energy content. Results show that solid offcuts retain the strongest geometric value, chips face competition for fibre, sawdust and shavings can support both material and densified-fuel pathways, and bark combines specialised material opportunities with broader heat potential. Industrial heat has the broadest conditional suitability, whereas CHP is the most scale-dependent. The framework distinguishes technical feasibility from realistic availability and provides a screening step before detailed techno-economic, life-cycle, spatial, or optimisation analysis. Full article

The increase in the volume of organic household waste and the transition to a circular economy require the development of reliable forecasting tools capable of ensuring effective planning of waste recycling and bioenergy production systems. Despite significant advances in machine learning methods, most current research focuses on improving forecasting accuracy, while paying insufficient attention to model interpretation and the use of the results to support management decisions. The aim of this study is to develop and validate, using empirical municipal data, an explainable machine learning framework for forecasting the generation of organic household waste to support decision-making regarding the development of biogas and biomethane systems. The proposed framework combines data preprocessing, feature engineering, ensemble machine learning algorithms, prediction quality assessment, Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) methods, and bioenergy potential assessment into a unified decision support system. The study was conducted using an empirical dataset comprising 10,800 observations for 20 local communities, obtained from the monitoring and accounting records of LKP “Green City” (Lviv, Ukraine) and covering the period from 1 January 2024 to 23 June 2025. The dataset includes demographic, socioeconomic, territorial, tourism-related, natural and climatic, infrastructural, logistical, organizational and economic, and temporal characteristics. To forecast the normalized index of organic household waste generation, we developed and compared Random Forest, Extra Trees, Gradient Boosting, XGBoost, LightGBM, and CatBoost models. A Linear Regression baseline fitted to the overlapping index-related predictors achieved MAE = 0.02339, RMSE = 0.02886, and R² = 0.96412 on the chronological holdout set, indicating that a substantial part of the constructed target is linearly reconstructible. Among the six ensemble models, CatBoost yielded the most favorable point estimates, with MAE = 0.02933, RMSE = 0.03720, and R² = 0.84958. Strict leave-one-municipality-out validation showed lower zero-shot spatial transferability, with Extra Trees achieving the highest pooled performance (MAE = 0.05198, RMSE = 0.06464, R² = 0.58159). Extra Trees-based local adaptation substantially improved transfer to previously unseen communities, reaching pooled MAE = 0.03234, RMSE = 0.04121, and R² = 0.83424 after 120 days of community-specific observations, although performance remained heterogeneous across municipalities. SHAP analysis identified tourism activity, air temperature, household income, the proportion of the urban population, weekends, and distance to water bodies as important contributors to the model predictions and revealed nonlinear model-specific associations for tourism activity, temperature, and income. Based on the predicted organic waste generation, a scenario-based assessment of the annual bioenergy potential of the investigated communities was performed, demonstrating substantial differences in potential electricity generation among communities. The scientific contribution of this study lies in the integration of ensemble forecasting, explainable artificial intelligence methods, and scenario-based bioenergy potential assessment within a single decision-support framework. The practical value of the proposed approach lies in its potential use for preliminary forecasting of organic waste resource availability and scenario-based assessment of bioenergy potential. Further operational, infrastructure, or investment applications require external validation using independent municipal datasets and verification under real operating conditions. Full article

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is one of the world’s most important crops for sugar production and bioenergy, with major contributions to the agro-industrial sector, yet the processes underlying nitrogen (N) acquisition, metabolism, regulation, N use efficiency (NUE), as well as the biochemical basis and molecular responses to N-related stimuli remain incompletely understood and warrant further investigation. Proteomics has emerged as a powerful approach contributing to the understanding of how plants and their associated microbiome sense, regulate, assimilate, and redistribute N across diverse biological and environmental contexts. This article provides a perspective on findings from studies relevant to sugarcane research and the plant proteome landscape, encompassing environmental stresses, plant–microbe interactions, and complementary approaches. It also highlights relevant advances, including emerging research themes, knowledge gaps and aspects for future N-related research. Here, N research encompasses both metabolic processes and their broader agronomic and applied implications. A bibliometric analysis was also conducted to characterize research trends in this field using an international bibliographic database, followed by the systematic curation of relevant research articles. Relevant aspects include the regulation of N-assimilation enzymes, information on biological nitrogen fixation-related interactions, metabolic crosstalk, and the potential of complementary experimental systems to study aspects related to this research topic. From a N-related perspective, integrating relevant molecular, metabolic, and biochemical insights with plant N status, stress mitigation, and agronomic performance, supported by integrative multi-omics strategies and improved functional annotation of the complex polyploid sugarcane genome, may help bridge mechanistic understanding with the development of more efficient and sustainable N management strategies, improved NUE, and more effective strategies for sugarcane research and crop improvement. Full article

Anaerobic digestion (AD) of agricultural and agro-industrial substrates depends on feedstock properties and degradation rate. Biochemical methane potential (BMP) gives the final methane potential, but it does not show how much methane is recovered within a given digestion time. A two-fraction kinetic model was used to estimate methane recovery and energy potential during batch digestion. The input data included total solids, volatile solids, experimental BMP, the shares of rapidly and slowly biodegradable fractions, their rate constants, and lag time. Ten substrates were assessed using archived experimental datasets from laboratory studies conducted between 2018 and 2025. The specific contribution of this study is the re-analysis of these datasets using the same two-fraction fitting and calculation procedure, enabling direct comparison of methane recovery at defined digestion times. Methane recovery after 20, 30, and 40 days was expressed per tonne of fresh matter and converted to chemical energy. An illustrative mixture of eight substrates was also analysed at 20, 25, 30, and 40 days by summing the methane contributions of the individual components, without considering interactions between substrates. After 30 days, calculated methane recovery ranged from 11.4 to 350.0 Nm³ CH₄ t⁻¹ fresh matter. The highest values were obtained for crude glycerol, food waste, maize silage, dissolved air flotation sludge, and sugar beet pulp. Animal slurries gave lower values because of their low volatile solids content. For the mixture, methane recovery increased from 60.9 to 65.7 Nm³ CH₄ t⁻¹ fresh matter between days 20 and 30 and reached 68.6 Nm³ CH₄ t⁻¹ after 40 days. Chemical energy increased from 607 to 655 kWh t⁻¹ fresh matter and reached 684 kWh t⁻¹ after 40 days. The smaller increase after day 30 resulted from the declining contribution of the rapidly biodegradable fraction. The model separates final methane potential from methane recovered at a specified batch digestion time. It allows feedstocks with different solids contents, BMP values, and degradation rates to be compared on the same basis. The approach can therefore support preliminary feedstock screening and the selection of substrate and mixture variants for further laboratory testing and detailed process assessment. Full article

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) has significant economic value as a vital source of food, feed, and bio-energy. However, the production of cassava is severely restricted by cassava bacterial blight (CBB). Sirtuins (SRTs) are conserved histone deacetylases that play essential roles in the plant energy metabolism and stress response. However, the family of SRTs has not been identified in cassava. In this study, we isolated and identified three MeSRTs in response to CBB infection and found that they were negative regulators of cassava resistance using a transient gene-silencing assay. Further studies found that MeSRT1 physically interacted with the transcription factor Nuclear Factor YC15 (MeNF-YC15). Transient silencing and overexpression assays suggested that MeSRT1 negatively regulated the transcription of gibberellin 2-oxidases 1/2 (MeGA2ox1/2), which promoted the accumulation of gibberellic acid 1 (GA1). However, MeNF-YC15 promoted the transcription of MeGA2ox1/2 and further increased the metabolism of GA1. Taken together, MeSRT1 and MeNF-YC15 antagonistically regulated the GA1 content and resulted in an antagonistic effect on cassava disease resistance. This study identified a MeSRT1-MeNF-YC15 molecular module in CBB resistance responses by regulating the GA1 content in cassava. Full article

Phytoremediation is a promising technique for remediation of cadmium (Cd)-contaminated soils, while the derived Cd-rich phytoremediation biomass should be appropriately disposed of. In this work, anaerobic digestion was employed as a synergistic strategy to simultaneously address these challenges by converting Cd-rich Sedum alfredii biomass into biogas energy and stabilized digestate without external chemical amendments. The process maintained robust stability, achieving a methane yield of 237 mL/g VS with kinetics well described by the modified Gompertz model (R² > 0.99). Microbial community succession revealed that Chloroflexota and Pseudomonadota dominated hydrolysis and acidogenesis, while Desulfobacterota enriched in the mid-to-late phase drove Cd immobilization via sulfide precipitation, and acetoclastic Methanothrix became the dominant methanogen. Over 83% of total Cd was retained in the solid digestate, where the exchangeable fraction dropped sharply from 80% to 22%, and Cd was transformed into stable Fe-Mn oxide-bound, organic-bound, and residual forms. Leachates from both TCLP and SPLP tests were far below U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulatory limits, and the biogas slurry met China’s fertilizer standards. This study establishes a sustainable anaerobic digestion-based strategy for the concurrent recovery of bioenergy and heavy metal stabilization from phytoremediation biomass, offering a feasible pathway toward safe resource utilization and environmental risk mitigation of phytoremediation residues. Full article

Soil salinization threatens global agriculture, yet the mechanisms of salt tolerance in bioenergy crops like Miscanthus remain poorly understood. While root surface electrochemistry has been studied in crop species, its effect on salt tolerance among Miscanthus accessions remains underexplored. Therefore, this study examined whether root surface electrochemical properties are associated with differential salt tolerance and Na⁺ adsorption in eight Miscanthus accessions. Hydroponically grown plants were subjected to 1% NaCl for three weeks. Salt-tolerant accessions (394, 390, 422, 401) showed significantly higher relative growth parameters (81.49–89.21%) than salt-sensitive accessions (403, 1143, 01293, 11024; 61.82–66.87%; p < 0.05). Root surface zeta potential measurements revealed that salt-tolerant accessions carried less negative charge (ζ = −16.30 mV at pH 6.0) than salt-sensitive accessions (ζ = −30.90 mV; p < 0.01). Also, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy revealed a trend toward fewer ionizable functional groups, particularly carboxylates, on salt-tolerant root surfaces. Consequently, salt-sensitive accessions adsorbed significantly more Na⁺ (6847 mg kg⁻¹) than salt-tolerant accessions (5163 mg kg⁻¹; p < 0.05). Moreover, significant correlations among zeta potential, Na⁺ adsorption, and growth indices (R² = 0.56, p < 0.5 for zeta potential vs. Na⁺ adsorption; R² = 0.85, p < 0.01 for zeta potential vs. RRDW; R² = 0.65, p < 0.05 for Na⁺ adsorption vs. RRDW) were consistent with the mechanistic link. This shows that fewer functional groups result in less negative charge and consequently reduced Na⁺ adsorption and enhanced salt tolerance. Therefore, salt-tolerant Miscanthus accessions possess fewer ionizable functional groups and less negative root surface charge, resulting in reduced Na⁺ adsorption, a mechanism not previously described in this bioenergy crop. These findings establish root surface electrochemical properties as a determinant of salt tolerance in Miscanthus and provide a rapid phenotyping tool for germplasm screening. Full article

The transition toward sustainable energy systems requires the identification of renewable biomass resources capable of replacing fossil fuels while minimizing environmental impacts. Among microalgae, diatoms are an attractive feedstock for advanced biofuel production due to their rapid growth, high photosynthetic efficiency, and remarkable lipid accumulation capacity. This study investigated the diversity, spatial distribution, and bioenergy potential of diatom communities in the Nador Lagoon (Marchica), Morocco, one of the largest Mediterranean coastal lagoons. Samples were collected at 13 sampling stations during three sampling campaigns in March, April, and June 2024, using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Diatom identification was performed by microscopic observation, while abundance was estimated using the Utermöhl sedimentation method. Species richness, frequency of occurrence, presence–absence patterns, hierarchical cluster analysis, and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to characterize the diatom community. A total of 22 diatom taxa belonging to 11 taxonomic orders were identified. The total recorded diatom abundance was 23,360 cells mL⁻¹, with Bacillariales contributing the highest relative abundance (38.87%), followed by Rhizosoleniales (15.92%), Chaetocerotales (13.36%), and Naviculales (11.64%). Rhizosoleniales and Fragilariales were the most represented orders in terms of species richness, with four taxa each. Eight taxa with biofuel-related potential reported in the scientific literature were identified, among which Chaetoceros decipiens and Pseudo-nitzschia sp. occurred at six sampling stations, while Nitzschia sigma occurred at five stations. Hierarchical clustering and PCA revealed consistent patterns of spatial co-occurrence among these taxa. These findings highlight Nador Lagoon as a valuable reservoir of indigenous diatom diversity and provide a basis for prioritizing native taxa for future isolation, cultivation, biochemical characterization, and biofuel-related evaluation. Full article

Crop residues are important renewable biomass resources with considerable potential for regional energy supply and low-carbon transition. However, existing biomass resource datasets often lack sufficient spatial resolution, crop-level information, and long-term consistency, limiting their applications in regional resource assessments and bioenergy planning. This study develops a crop-residue biomass resource and bioenergy-potential dataset for Anhui Province, China, by systematically transforming agricultural production information into spatially explicit biomass resource indicators. The dataset comprises two complementary panels: a 2020–2024 province-wide city- and county-level panel covering rice, wheat, corn, beans, and tubers, and a 2015–2024 long-term panel covering rice, wheat, corn, and beans in 47 major grain-producing counties. Considering crop-specific characteristics, resource accessibility, and energy-conversion properties, four indicators were developed: theoretical residue biomass, collectible residue biomass, theoretical bioenergy potential, and collectible bioenergy potential. The dataset integrates spatial resolution, temporal continuity, and crop heterogeneity, providing fundamental data support for biomass resource assessment, bioenergy planning, life-cycle analysis, and low-carbon scenario studies. Full article

Agricultural residues, municipal organic waste, animal manure, and food-processing residues represent promising resources for sustainable waste-based bioenergy production. In addition to serving as renewable energy sources, these biomass resources can contribute to improved waste management, rural development, and environmental protection. In the context of global efforts to accelerate the transition toward sustainable energy systems, biomass and bioenergy are increasingly being investigated alongside other renewable energy technologies. Jordan faces significant challenges related to its dependence on imported fossil fuels and the associated economic and environmental impacts. Fluctuations in international oil prices, energy security concerns, and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have encouraged Jordan to explore alternative and renewable energy options. Bioenergy offers a potential pathway to diversify the national energy mix while also addressing organic waste management and supporting rural and agricultural sectors. This study assesses the current status of bioenergy in Jordan and reviews the potential of available biomass resources, including agricultural residues, municipal organic waste, animal manure, olive-industry residues, sewage sludge, and food-processing waste. It matches these resources with suitable conversion technologies and provides a qualitative, literature-based discussion of their environmental and socioeconomic implications and the principal conditions affecting implementation. The study also identifies the main technical, logistical, financial, institutional, and regulatory barriers to bioenergy deployment and proposes practical recommendations for policy development, pilot projects, financing mechanisms, and local capacity building. The harmonized results indicate a combined energy potential of approximately 25.3 PJ/year for animal manure and agricultural residues reported on a comparable basis, with animal manure contributing approximately 73% of this total. A screening-level recoverability assessment estimates that approximately 2.55 Mt/year of biomass could potentially be recoverable under the central scenario, compared with 1.94 and 3.17 Mt/year under the low and high scenarios, respectively, excluding sewage sludge. A published theoretical estimate indicates a biogas-derived electricity potential of approximately 960.9 GWh/year, equivalent to about 5.1% of Jordan’s electricity consumption in 2019. The results identify animal manure, source-separated organic municipal waste, sewage sludge, and concentrated food-processing residues as the most relevant near-term resources. These findings can support policymakers, researchers, and industry stakeholders in prioritizing locally appropriate waste-based bioenergy pathways. Full article

The use of algae-based bioenergy platforms in establishing circular bioeconomy systems is due to their capacity to generate biomass of renewable origin, using solar energy and carbon dioxide (CO₂), while the process also involves remediation and recovery of resources. The introduction of algae to bioenergy systems is still limited by obstacles related to biomass productivity, efficiency of harvesting, and energy demands of further utilization of biomass, not to mention lack of system integration. The present paper provides a review of the new developments in the area of algal bioenergy platforms, focusing on the use of algae-assisted microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and biotech solutions based on nanotechnology. The combination of algae with MFC technology allows for the generation of bioelectricity and the use of algal systems for carbon fixation, nutrient removal, bioconversion of biomass, etc. Meanwhile, nanotechnology has become an important approach to enhance the development of algal bioenergy technologies by providing better cultivation activity, light absorption, nutrient transport, biomass extraction, catalysis, and electrodes. Advanced nanomaterials, such as magnetic nanoparticles, metal oxides, carbon-containing nanostructures, and combined nanomaterials, have allowed the industry to overcome the most important problems in algal biomass processing and bioelectrochemical energy production. At the same time, integrated algal biorefineries make it possible to transform a variety of biomass forms into biofuels or something even more valuable. Nevertheless, despite achieving significant resolution of many concerns, the scalability of technologies and the safety of the nanoparticles are still among major challenges to industrial implementation. The further development of algae-based technologies should allow sufficient integration of advanced nanomaterials, genetically engineered microbes, and scaling of reactor technologies. This review provides a unique integrated framework connecting algae cultivation, microbial fuel cell technologies, and nanotechnology-enabled biorefineries toward scalable circular bioenergy systems. Full article

The global fish industry is an essential contributor to food security and the economy; however, it produces considerable quantities of fish waste. Depending on species and processing methods, 20–80% of fish biomass is discarded as waste, amounting to almost 64 million tons annually. Conventional disposal methods such as landfilling, incineration, and wastewater discharge cause environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, for sustainable development, it is important to valorize fish waste into renewable energy and value-added products. Hence, this review aims to encourage the technical development of fish waste into bioenergy and bioresources by thoroughly studying key technologies for converting it into biogas, biodiesel, fertilizer, animal feed, and biochar. Although several studies have explored these technologies, most remain disjointed and lack a systematic assessment. Therefore, this work attempted to critically evaluate the technological principles, advantages, limitations, and optimization strategies of current valorization approaches. Furthermore, several recommendations have been proposed, including conducting pilot-scale trials, producing higher value-added products within a biorefinery system. Overall, this review provides a holistic outlook on the energy and resource conversion of fish waste, supporting sustainable waste management. Full article

Curcuma longa L. (turmeric) is an economically and medicinally important species widely utilized as a spice, traditional medicine, and source of bioactive compounds. Although research and commercial exploitation have predominantly focused on the rhizome and its major curcuminoids, evidence increasingly shows that other plant parts also contain chemically diverse and biologically active constituents. This review integrates current knowledge of the botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities, industrial applications, and sustainable utilization of C. longa, with particular emphasis on whole plant utilization. Unlike previous reviews that have largely focused on the rhizome and curcuminoids, this review synthesizes evidence across underutilized plant organs and links their tissue-specific phytochemistry with biological activities, industrial applications, and circular-bioeconomy potential. Rhizomes are rich in curcuminoids and turmerone-dominated essential oils, whereas leaf, flower, root, and root tuber contain diverse phenolics, flavonoids, terpenoids, and other specialized metabolites. However, these non-rhizome tissues remain substantially less studied, and their distinct phytochemical and functional value has not yet been systematically established. Preclinical studies have linked these constituents to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiviral, anticancer, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, and wound-healing effects. However, clinical evidence remains variable across these activities. Beyond therapeutic applications, underutilized aerial parts and processing residues may serve as source of essential oils, natural preservatives, fibers, biodegradable materials, fermentation products, and bioenergy. Cascading biorefinery approaches that integrate tissue-specific phytochemistry may broaden turmeric utilization beyond the rhizome, reduce agricultural waste, and contribute to circular-bioeconomy development. Further research should prioritize underexplored plant organs, standardized phytochemical characterization, safety assessment, well-designed clinical studies, and techno-economic and life-cycle assessments. Full article

Hybrid breeding exploits heterosis from genetically complementary parents to develop desirable products, including in Eucalyptus. The aim of this review is to present integrative techniques for hybrid breeding in Eucalyptus based on conventional methods such as phenotypic selection and controlled hybridization, and modern genomic-assisted approaches to guide product development. Molecular breeding tools such as marker-assisted selection (MAS), quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping, genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) and next-generation sequencing (NGS) have enhanced the precision of selection in Eucalyptus for traits such as growth rate, wood density, fibre quality, disease resistance, drought tolerance and adaptability. Modern approaches have enabled the identification of trait-specific QTL and genes in popular Eucalyptus species such as Eucalyptus grandis, E. urophylla, E. camaldulensis, and E. nitens, thereby accelerating hybrid development. Genome editing techniques offer new opportunities for genetic modification of traits, especially in Eucalyptus, where the final product may not require stringent regulatory oversight. In Eucalyptus breeding, the key market-preferred traits are pulp and paper, lumber, and bioenergy, requiring high-performance and better biomass hybrids. For successful hybrid breeding, a multidisciplinary approach is required that integrates genetic and genomic resources. Furthermore, investment in forest genomics and multi-institutional collaboration will be needed to keep up with advances in Eucalyptus breeding. The review may serve as a framework to guide Eucalyptus breeding and genetics, aiming to develop next-generation hybrids that adapt to environmental changes and meet market demands. Full article