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Dr. Nana Peng

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Guest Editor

College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: biomass waste to energy; biomass energy policy; climate policy; carbon capture; utilization and storage (CCUS)

Dr. Chao Gai

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Guest Editor

Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
Interests: biomass; waste recycling; carbon materials; environmental catalysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Green chemistry aspires to reduce consumption of nonrenewable resources and at the same time produce high-quality biofuels in an environmental-friendly manner from renewable resources. To achieve the goal of sustainable biofuel production, the dependence away from fossil-fuels to renewable alternatives, such as biomass resources, is a step in the right direction. Thermochemical conversion of biomass resources is one of the promising sustainable approaches for sustainable biofuel production. Sustainable, efficient, and affordable thermochemical conversion technology can provide a competitive edge for biofuel production over conventional methods.

This Special Issue is designed to collect original research and review articles focusing on thermochemical conversion of biomass resources. This Special Issue brings together emerging approaches, challenges, and opportunities related to new developments in biofuel production aiming to enhance utilization efficiency of biomass resources and explore energy in a more sustainable approach.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

Valorisation of renewable biomass for chemicals/biofuels production
Hydrothermal processing of wet biomass for biofuel production
Synthesis of nanostructured materials from biomass resources for heterogeneous/homogeneous catalysis
Modelling and simulation of thermochemical conversion of biomass resources
Renewable energy economics and policy
Solid waste management and recycling

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Nana Peng
Dr. Chao Gai
Guest Editors

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Keywords

biomass energy
waste management
environmental science
environmental engineering
ecological science
bioenergy policy

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2159 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Biodiesel Production from a New Oleaginous Fungus, Aspergillus carneus Strain OQ275240: Biomass and Lipid Production Optimization Using Box–Behnken Design

by Amany G. Ibrahim, Alaa Baazeem, Mayasar I. Al-Zaban, Mustafa A. Fawzy, Sedky H. A. Hassan and Mostafa Koutb

Sustainability 2023, 15(8), 6836; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086836 - 18 Apr 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1515

Abstract

Due to their low cost and ability to synthesize lipids for sustainable biodiesel production, oleaginous fungus has recently gained more prominence than other microorganisms. The new oleaginous fungus Aspergillus carneus OQ275240’s dry biomass, lipid content, and lipid yield were all optimized in this work, using the response surface methodology-based Box–Behnken design. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also used to examine the experimental data, and multiple regression analysis was used to fit the data to a second-order polynomial equation. Three independent variables, such as the concentration of yeast, glucose, and phosphorus, were examined for their mutual impacts. Maximum dry biomass (0.024 g/50 mL), lipid content (36.20%), and lipid yield (8.70 mg/50 mL) were achieved at optimal concentrations of 2.68 g/L of yeast, 20.82 g/L of glucose, and 0.10 g/L of phosphorus, respectively, showing that the actual data and predictions of the models were in good agreement. A. carneus OQ275240 has a favorable fatty acid profile that can be used to successfully create biodiesel, as shown by the presence of palmitic acid (C16:0), stearic acid (C18:0), and oleic acid (C18:1) in its fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) profile. Furthermore, the qualities of the biodiesel were investigated, and it was found that they fell within the parameters established by the international specifications EN 14214 (Europe) and ASTM D6751-08 (United States). These findings point to the newly evaluated filamentous fungal strain as a potential feedstock for the production of high-quality biodiesel. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Biofuel Production from Biomass Resources)

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13 pages, 1793 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Field Study and Chemical Analysis of Plant Waste in the Fez-Meknes Region, Morocco

by Ahmed Bendaoud, Amal Lahkimi, Mohammed Kara, Tarik Moubchir, Amine Assouguem, Abdelkhalek Belkhiri, Aimad Allali, Anouar Hmamou, Rafa Almeer, Amany A. Sayed, Ilaria Peluso and Noureddine Eloutassi

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 6029; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106029 - 16 May 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1953

Abstract

Throughout the entire world, the biomass plant remains an important source of renewable energy. However, in Morocco, the energy recovery of this biomass is little or badly exploited compared to other solar, hydraulic, and wind resources. The aim of this study is to know the extent to which Moroccan companies are involved in the valorization of green waste and to identify among the latter those that have great energy and industrial value. The field investigation was carried out with the use of a questionnaire to different sectors of activity. The chemical analyses of the waste samples were carried out by different methods: Van Soest to investigate the fiber content, dinitrosalicylic acid and phenol-sulfuric acid to determine sugars, while the Folin–Ciocalteu method was employed for the determination of phenolic compounds. These are the ASTM standard methods to determine elemental, proximate composition, and calorific value (CV). The results of this survey showed that solid vegetable waste is diverse and represents 68.4% of the total green waste, of which 98% is not treated. Moreover, the chemical analysis displayed that forestry waste (FW), extracted parts wastes (EPW), and unused parts wastes (UPW) of medicinal and aromatic plants have high contents of cellulose (respectively 34.75, 48.44, and 54.19%) and hemicelluloses (28.44, 27.19 and 28.50%) and containing low amounts of lignin and phenolic compounds compared to olive waste (OW), olive pomace (OP), and household waste (HW). Almost all biomass wastes, except HW, have a low moisture (<12%), ash content less than 5.1%, a significant percentage of C and H, and CV between 14.5 and 21.6 MJ/Kg. The PCA analysis showed a discrepancy in terms of components between the set formed by FW, UPW, and EPW with other solid waste. In conclusion, FW, UPW, and EPW, specially can be potentially energetic biomass and valorized together in the form of a mixture. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Biofuel Production from Biomass Resources)

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