Processes

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zorica Lopičić

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Guest Editor

Institute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials (ITNMS), 86 Franchet d'Esperey Boulevard, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: waste biomass; thermochemical conversion; biofuels; sorption; chemical engineering

Prof. Dr. Mirjana Kijevcanin

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: energy conversion; heat and process integration; thermodynamics; biofuels

Dr. Tatjana Šoštarić

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Guest Editor

Institute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials (ITNMS), 86 Franchet d'Esperey Boulevard, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: food processing waste; biochar; biosorbents; remediation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The era of population growth and resources depletion has brought serious environmental threats that reflect on every aspect of human life. The global demand for food is continuously increasing, making food processing industries one of the fastest growing industry sectors in the world. Along with this, significant amounts of waste are generated. This kind of waste is, in most cases, landfilled, representing an unsustainable practice with significant environmental hazards. The complex structure of agricultural and food processing waste allows it to be converted into carbon-rich materials with multi-scale applications, ensuring carbon sequestering and reducing GHG emissions. Therefore, it is necessary to apply solutions based on a circular (bio)economy which might offer tools in approaching a sustainable future. One of the possible solutions is the application of thermochemical conversion in order to yield efficient materials with diverse functions such as biofuels, chemicals, sorbents, fertilizers, etc.

The scope of this Special Issue is to collect and present new findings in the development of carbonaceous materials from agricultural and food processing wastes, which are obtained via thermochemical conversion of raw waste biomass. The focus of these findings is related to thermochemical techniques such as torrefaction, pyrolysis, hydrothermal carbonization, steam explosion, etc. used to synthesize and functionalize the carbonaceous materials along with detailed description of the chemical and functional characterization induced by this conversion.

The Special Issue, “Thermochemical Conversion of Agricultural and Food Processing Waste”, aims to gather contributions that deal with the following topics:

Sustainable development;
Environmental protection;
Circular economy;
Waste management;
Renewable energy;
Green chemicals.

Dr. Zorica Lopičić
Prof. Dr. Mirjana Kijevcanin
Dr. Tatjana Šoštarić
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. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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

thermochemical conversion
torrefaction
pyrolysis
hydrothermal conversion
biochar
hydrochar
energy potential
soil enrichment
sorption
degradation
nutrients
microbiological activity

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 2463 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Efficient Removal of Water Soluble Fraction of Diesel Oil by Biochar Sorption Supported by Microbiological Degradation

by Zorica R. Lopičić, Tatjana D. Šoštarić, Jelena V. Milojković, Anja V. Antanasković, Jelena S. Milić, Snežana D. Spasić and Jelena S. Avdalović

Processes 2024, 12(5), 964; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12050964 - 9 May 2024

Viewed by 554

Abstract

The contamination of the water bodies by diesel oil (DO) and its water-soluble fraction (WSF) represents one of the most challenging tasks in the management of polluted water streams. This paper contains data related to the synthesis and characteristics of the plum stone biochar material (PmS-B), which was made from waste plum stones (PmS), along with its possible application in the sorption of the WSF of DO from contaminated water. Techniques applied in sample characterisation and comparisons were: Elemental Organic Analysis (EOA), Scanning Electron Microscopy−Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), pH (pH_sus) and point of zero charge (pH_pzc). In order to increase the overall efficiency of the removal process, sorption and bioremediation were subsequently combined. Firstly, PmS-B was used as a sorbent of WSF, and then the remaining solution was additionally treated with a specific consortium of microorganisms. After the first treatment phase, the initial concentration of diesel WSF was reduced by more than 90%, where most of the aromatic components of DO were removed by sorption. The sorption equilibrium results were best fitted by the Sips isotherm model, where the maximum sorption capacity was found to be 40.72 mg/g. The rest of the hydrocarbon components that remained in the solution were further subjected to the biodegradation process by a consortium of microorganisms. Microbial degradation lasted 19 days and reduced the total diesel WSF concentration to 0.46 mg/L. In order to confirm the non-toxicity of the water sample after this two-stage treatment, eco-toxicity tests based on a microbial biosensor (Aliivibrio fischeri) were applied, confirming the high efficiency of the proposed method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermochemical Conversion of Agricultural and Food Processing Waste)

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Review

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24 pages, 2025 KiB

Open AccessReview

Management of Agri-Food Waste Based on Thermochemical Processes towards a Circular Bioeconomy Concept: The Case Study of the Portuguese Industry

by Cristina V. Berenguer, Rosa Perestrelo, Jorge A. M. Pereira and José S. Câmara

Processes 2023, 11(10), 2870; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11102870 - 29 Sep 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1479

Abstract

Sustainable biomass production has a significant potential for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, providing an alternative to produce eco-friendly biofuels, biochemicals, and carbonaceous materials for biological, energetic, and environmental applications. Biomass from agroforestry and agricultural wastes is the richest natural carbon source and a sustainable option for woody biomass from a circular economic perspective. The European Union (EU) is estimated to produce 1.3 billion tons of agri-food waste annually. Portugal has a large supply of residual biomass, as well as other byproducts and wastes from forestry, agriculture, and the food industry, and has a high availability of residual biomass. By using biomass waste to create high-value products, Portugal envisages an improvement in its economic performance, while reducing its dependence on energy imports and fossil fuel use. This review explores the potential of agri-food waste obtained from Portuguese industries through thermochemical conversion technologies as a promising sustainable substitute for wood-based biomass for the development of eco-friendly biofuels, biochemicals, and high-value carbonaceous materials, and their applications. This strategy, based on the circular bioeconomy concept, can help reduce reliance on fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, fulfil the needs of the growing population, and offer a sustainable waste management solution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermochemical Conversion of Agricultural and Food Processing Waste)

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