Dear Colleagues,

Point solutions, pairing specific wastes with local needs, are nice but do not generalize well. For this Special Issue, we seek, specifically, those solutions and technologies with broad, perhaps universal, applicabilities. Furthermore, the sought approaches should be applicable at small- to medium-scales, where there is a shortage of available economically-viable choices. Where specific materials enable such technologies, or provide the ability to process a wider range of feedstock than previously possible, the articles in this issue shall describe tangible and measurable progress towards these goals. Responsive topics should address the conversion into energy (chemical, electrical, mechanical, or thermal) of low- or negative-value materials comprised of biomass (naturally recurring sources of non-food, plant-based residues) or waste (expected steady streams of municipal solid waste, landfill products, sewer sludge or animal manure). Papers should address technoeconomic analysis, and should include sufficient thermodynamics or kinetics to convey the thermophysical, chemical, or biological pathways of energy production from renewable biomass and waste. Methods should be described sufficiently for other practitioners to reproduce the work and the results section should include numeric and tabular summaries with engineering units and appropriate representation of assumptions and error estimates. Papers should conclude with statements of the applicability to the broadest range of feedstocks and energy outputs, and an outline of suggested next steps for research and development of the technology or solutions described.

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• Renewable energy
• waste
• biomass
• thermophysical conversion
• thermodynamics kinetics