Microbial Advances in a Sustainable Environment: Biological Waste Treatment and Bioconversion Technology

Dear Colleagues, 

Environmental pollution has increased due to intensive anthropogenic activities along with the emergence of new materials that had not been found in nature before. The occurrence of emerging diverse contaminants along with a lack of in-depth information about microbial processes are major obstacles in the application of bioconversion approaches. There is an urgent need for more research to explore different ecosystems to 1) find microbes with potential activities; 2) understand microbial behavior in various environments (such as anaerobic digesters, fermenters, and waste treatments plants); 3) integrate various technologies to improve microbes’ productivity; and 4) mediate zero-waste approaches via microorganisms for sustainable environmental development.

With this Topic, we intend to collate recent research work and critical reviews in the field of environmental microbiology and bioenergy, especially on waste treatment during bioenergy production. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Screening potential microbes for waste treatment and bioenergy production;
2. Realizing microbial conversion of waste/biomass toward a zero-waste approach;
3. Enhancing fermentation processes via co-culturing, biostimulation, and technology innovation;
4. Applying novel molecular-based techniques, changes in microbial communities, and functional genomics and/or proteomics for improved bioenergy/bioproduct yield;
5. Developing efficient bioreactor systems and integrated supply chains for scalable biohydrogen production;
6. Deciphering and manipulating microbial hydrogen metabolism and regulatory networks through multi-omics and synthetic biology approaches.

Dr. Guangli Cao
Dr. Lili Dong
Topic Editors