Special Issue

Global concerns on climate-related sustainability issues are on the rise. Along with the quest of finding efficient solutions for improved recycling methods for various types of waste materials, the emphasis on carbon footprint (CF) measurements has become an essential approach to determine potential GHG reduction benefits. A better environmental performance of waste recycling and management can be obtained in many ways: enhanced productivity of recycling operations, converting waste to valuable materials, using renewable energy in waste treatment, and many more.

The recommended way to systematically and scientifically evaluate the carbon footprint—and the overall environmental performance of waste and recycling methods—is the use of the life cycle assessment (LCA). To determine the overall CF of waste treatment activities, the LCA methodology plays a crucial role by considering within its system boundaries the stages involved in waste recycling and management.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• LCA
• waste recycling
• waste management
• biomass management
• waste-to-energy
• carbon footprint
•  

The current water crisis can be overcome by prioritising proper conservation and management of naturally available fresh water in conjunction with the generation of fresh water to meet the demand of all sectors. The generated fresh water must be free from all kinds of pollutants and should be of low cost. Saline water is becoming one of the most important resources, which is available for the production of potable water through desalination. The quality of saline water influences the performance of desalination plants. The resources for saline water vary from surface (sea water, brackish) to ground (brackish and oil produced water) with variable compositions depending upon the geological factors. In addition, industrially generated saline water is another potential resource. The technologies used to desalinate the saline water are costly and also energy intensive. The energy requirement for the production of potable water depends on the quality of feed water, levels of water treatment and the technologies involved. This Special Issue mainly focuses on the current innovative strategies for treatment and management of saline water/wastewater.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Characteristics of saline water/wastewater.
• Green technologies for saline water/wastewater treatment and management.
• Advanced oxidation processes for saline water/wastewater treatment.
• Biological treatment processes for saline water/wastewater treatment.
• Optimization and modelling of treatment process.
• Renewable energy applications for treatment process.
• Nanotechnology applications for treatment process.
• Environmental impact assessment.
• Thermal and membrane technologies.
• Economic analysis on treatment technologies. 
•  

The aim of this topical virtual special issue is to publish novel research contributions in innovative approaches in bioengineering and biotechnology toward a circular economy, with the aim of transforming our society towards a sustainable and circular economy. Emphasis is placed on the fundamentals and applications of the current/emerging approaches and management, along with the description of the design, operation, and desired products.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Contaminants of emerging concerns like biowaste and/or their biological, ecological, or human health effects;

• Recovery of bioproducts and bioenergy from biowaste;

• Interlinks between contaminant exposure and biological, ecological, and human health effects, including those of climate change from biowaste;

• Cleaner biotechnologies with minimization of the environmental impact and towards sustainable zero-waste environment;

• Integrated biorefinery systems for waste management;

• Waste minimization and recycling through advanced bioprocessing and biotechnologies;

• Novel technologies for the management of solid waste, effluents and waste gases

The theme of the Special Issue is “Green Industrial Revolution toward Sustainable Development – 6th Postgraduate Colloquium in Environmental Research 2022 (Green Industry POCER 2022)”, which covers the deep, broad, meaningful convergence between Energy, Water, and Agriculture. This Special Issue will provide a multi-disciplinary, comprehensive, and insightful analysis of the issues that need to be considered in the environmental-related research sector for better development of society. This Special Issue also welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN’s sustainable development goals, in particular SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy) and SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities). This will be a collection of research work related to advances as well as contextualize the results by considering the relevant issues related to sustainability; economic feasibility; social impact and policy recommendations; and any other topics linked to environmental research that will be discussed as part of the POCER 2022.

This Special Issue aims at drawing together current progress on green technologies for sustainable development, considering technical sustainability, economic feasibility, market competitiveness and environmental sustainability.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Air pollution monitoring and control
• Carbon emission reduction
• CO2 capture and sequestration
• Computational tools for environmental applications
• Energy and environmental policy
• Industry 4.0 in environmental monitoring, assessment and management
• Process system engineering
• Renewable energy
• Solid/biomass waste treatment, management and recycling
• Waste minimization
• Water & wastewater treatment, recycling and management

Rapid recent advances in genomic and synthetic biology technologies have fuelled a paradigm shift in industrial microbiology. Micro-organisms are being modified, optimised, and utilised for the large-scale synthesis of an expanding list of products – including food, fuels, and pharmaceuticals – as well as for waste remediation and pollution control. With more than 99.9% of the Earth’s microbial species awaiting discovery, the yet untapped potential of industrial microbiology seems almost limitless. The harnessing of microorganisms does however carry significant risks, given how readily they propagate and exchange genetic material, which also need to be considered and mitigated. This Collection welcomes submissions on all aspects of industrial microbiology, from microbe characterisation and engineering to risk assessment and mitigation.

Sustainable bioenergy has tremendous potential to reduce carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere – simply by switching from fossil-based petroleum to bio-based fuels as our primary energy source. In order to achieve that, recent technologies and approaches that can convert biomass feedstock to bio-based fuels such as biogas, crude bio-oil, bioethanol and biodiesel have been extensively studied. However, the main challenge is how to increase global production and utilization of bio-based fuels without creating distortionary incentives that might pose risks to food security and the environment, particularly in developing countries as well as a non-sustainable use of biomass. The answer may involve the selection of a wider array of non-edible biomass feedstock, including those available from the forestry, and agricultural waste as well as waste recycling sectors.

This special issue aims to draw together current progress on alternative strategies for biofuel production from different kinds of biomass materials and their utilization, taking into account technical suitability, economic feasibility, market competition and environmental sustainability. The special issue will focus also on the integrated and sequential biofuel production in order to achieve the full biomass conversion and reduce the waste by-products.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• State-of-the-art biodiesel and bioethanol conversion technology
• Biogas and biohydrogen
• Algae-based biofuels
• Biofuel applications in domestic, industrial and transport sector
• Waste recycling for biofuel production
• Recent technologies for separation and conversion of biomass
• Nanomaterials and nanotechnology for bioenergy and biofuels production
• Enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass
• Genetic and metabolic engineering for biofuels
• Microbial fuel cells
• Kinetic-based modelling of biofuel production
• Integrated catalytic and biochemical pathways for biofuel production
• Process optimization, integration and scale-up in biofuels industry
• Integrated bio-refinery routes for bioenergy production
• Computer-aided approaches (i.e., deep learning, machine learning, density functional theory calculation, molecular dynamics simulation and artificial neural networks) in biorefineries

The 2022 International Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) report has confirmed a definitive increase in surface air temperature and permafrost thaw, with sizable social and economic impacts. The report also calls for “immediate and deep emission reductions across all sectors” to limit the temperature increase to <1.5 ℃. Net-zero carbon emission or carbon neutrality is the ultimate goal to attain and maintain pre-industrial level global temperature, and the sooner it is attained, the lower the temperature rise.

Biomass has tremendous potential as a net-zero feedstock. Phototrophic organisms, such as algae, could also serve as carbon sink or flue-gas carbon capture pathways. In this context, bioresource technology plays a crucial role in climate change mitigation and attaining net-zero emissions through the invention of potential technologies for biomass conversion and utilization. Net-zero or carbon neutrality has been discussed across the full spectrum, including economic models, transport, energy, sustainability, and integrated technologies. Nevertheless, literature regarding self-sustaining carbon-neutral systems powered by bioresource technology is scant. The articles showcased in this special issue will provide concepts and ideas pertaining to the design and development of carbon-neutral energy and chemical production systems.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Bioenergy combined with carbon capture
• Bioresource technology for carbon capture, sequestration, and utilization (CCS & CCU)
• Bioremediation and phycoremediation of pollutants coupled with circular economy
• Synthetic biology, genetic engineering, and multi-omics approaches for carbon neutrality
• Sustainable carbon-neutral energy and microbial fermentation systems
• Possible integration scenarios for attaining net-zero emissions in existing systems

This focus issue is showcasing high quality fundamental and applied advances in bioenergy and biofuels processing and utilisation. We welcome submissions on biomass conversion, biorefinery and energy processes and systems, where this is related to energy applications and not infrastructure and policy.

The thematic issue will focus on but is not limited to the following interesting and significant topics:

• Biomass: sources, energy crop production processes, genetic improvements, composition
• Biological Residues: residues/rests from agricultural production, forestry and plantations, processing industries, and municipal sources
• Bioenergy Processes: fermentations, thermochemical conversions, liquid and gaseous fuels, and petrochemical substitutes
• Bioenergy Utilisation: direct combustion, gasification, electricity production, chemical processes, and by-product remediation
• Biomass and the Environment: carbon cycle, the net energy efficiency of bioenergy systems, assessment of sustainability, and biodiversity issues
• Harnessing energy from biological resources and feedstock development, including 1st – 4th generation biofuels, residual biomass and municipal waste
• Chemical, biochemical, bioelectrochemical and thermochemical conversion processes that produce mechanical energy, electricity or fuels (gaseous, liquid or solid)

Water is an essential resource that is required to sustain life. Its availability has to be adequate, safe and easily accessible. Current trends in climate change and rise in human population has compromised water adequacy, availability and safety. Wastewater managers around the world have the responsibility to ensure that the effluent that is eventually released into the environment does not degrade the quality of the recipient water bodies. Attaining sustainability in wastewater management is top in the of Sustainable Development Goals’ Agenda. The realization of a more sustainable wastewater management will require a highly holistic and balanced approach in evaluating a particular management strategy’s overall sustainability. Promoting the use of safe, affordable and adequately available wastewater treatment techniques is a step towards wastewater management for sustainability. Wastewater treatment and management is the overall process that involves the improvement of the quality of wastewater between points of production and points of discharge. Generally the improving process are physical, biological and chemical properties of wastewater to eliminate both the known and emerging contaminants from the water eventually available for release into the environment. This Special issue of the Elsevier Journal of Chemosphere is primed as the multidisciplinary studies of some of the currently known and emerging wastewater management techniques that are considered as an essential in attaining sustainability in water resource management.

The thematic issue will focus on but is not limited to the following interesting and significant topics:

• Climate Impacts on Water Resources and Water Crisis
• Effects on Water Resources, Water Cycle and Water Quality
• Drinking Water and Wastewater Systems
• Safety and Quality of Underground Water
• Industrial Waste / Wastewater Valorization and Reuse
• Industrial Waste and Wastewater Treatment
• Micro Pollutants in Water and Wastewater
• Environmental Assessments
• Removal of Industrial Pollutants
• Waste Treatment (mechanical, biological, chemical, thermal, etc.)
• Environmental Toxicology

Sustainable Integrated Approaches (SIA) depicts an integrated approach consisting of various techniques integrated to form a more sustainable processing. This integrated approach performed with public planning will consist of the environmental components, social and economic development projects, to engage the possible production of bioenergy and clean sources of energy. The sectoral and cross-sectoral balance between social development, sustained economic growth and sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems will also be emphasized. SIA is particularly known as a systematic and general method to develop an interconnected system ranging from individual processes to Total Sites and maximising synergies across targets. The development of SIA will bring positive impacts on several SDGs and promote the generation of bioenergy for a low carbon bioeconomy which can help to reduce the carbon footprint and environmental impacts.

The shift to a low carbon bioeconomy for renewable energy generation is essential as a long-term strategy for sustainable bioenergy production. This Special Issue aims to enhance the adaptation of scientific and technological success to a scale of paradigm shift for clean energy production. The topics of interest includes:

• Integrated approaches and renewable energy technologies
• Biomass and biogas technologies with CO2 reduction and low carbon processing
• Process optimization with carbon reduction in industry
• Energy and life cycle analysis for sustainable energy technologies
• Advanced energy storage technologies for effective heat management
• Renewable energy management, environmental impact, policies and economics
• Sustainability impact assessments and tools for renewable energy
• Sustainable development criteria for use in environmental assessment

Currently, emerging contaminants (ECs) have become a severe concern due to their wide distribution in water body and potential risk for human health. As known, the emerging contaminants mainly involve microplastics, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), antibiotic resistance, etc. With dramatic growing of ECs emissions from the effluents, it is of great importance to upgrade the corresponding wastewater treatment technologies to overcome the approaching environmental pollution. Among, biological treatment technologies often provide novel strategies for both futuristic sustainability and cost-effective removal. Meanwhile, biological treatment technologies are usually applied as the well-trusted procedure for efficient ECs remediation, including activated sludge, membrane bioreactor (MBR), microalgae-bacteria symbiosis, constructed wetland, etc. Thus, it is essential to in-depth discuss and update the recent advancement of newly engineered process, mechanisms of ECs’ removal, and perspectives for large-scale application. This virtual special issue aims to attract the excellent manuscript on related aquatic biotechnology for treating emerging contaminants, and provide the latest scientific advancements for future development and application.

Topics (but not limited to):

• New technologies for zero-carbon/low-carbon biological ECs’ treatment in water;
• Aerobic and anaerobic biodegradation technologies for treating ECs in water;
• Mechanisms for ECs removal verified via some innovative technologies like machine learning, isotope labeling, molecular probes, multi-omics, etc;
• Development and application of mathematical models for understanding the fate, transport, and removal of ECs during treatment;
• Novel and hybrid/integrated reactor configurations for the treatment of ECs;
• Resource recovery or pollutants conversion via biological routes during treatment.