Recent Developments on Waste-to-Energy Conversion: Biomass, Waste Gasification, Pyrolysis and Combustion Processes

Dear Colleagues,

In light of worsening problems in recent years, such as the rises in temperature, drought, land-use change, deforestation, biodiversity loss, heritage loss, and social transformations, it is necessary to put humanistic, scientific, technological, and innovative advances at the service of society to safeguard the environment. One of the current challenges lies in establishing comprehensive, multisectoral, and multidimensional processes that meet present needs without compromising those of future generations. This is no easy task, as it represents a paradigm shift in society’s daily life; researchers, technologists, and the entire academic community can contribute to building solutions to current problems through multidisciplinary approaches. The world requires substantial changes in daily life, including energy transitions towards fairer, more democratic, and sustainable forms. The construction of circular processes that allow for the optimal use of natural resources, minimizing energy and economic costs and environmental impacts, must be a part of local agendas and global transformations. Therefore, biomass utilization for energy purposes has many areas of opportunity. In a world where millions of people meet their energy needs with biomass resources, and where the production of organic waste associated with forests, agriculture, and agroindustry, to cite a few examples, is highly abundant, it is clear that bioenergy holds an important place in energy systems on a multiscalar level. In this context, bioenergy production from waste can offer sustainable alternatives to meet energy demand across many sectors, given the appropriate management processes.

In light of the above, the special edition “Recent Developments on Waste-to-Energy Conversion: Biomass, Waste Gasification, Pyrolysis and Combustion Processes” seeks high-quality papers focused on the efficient and sustainable energy use of biomass waste. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Diagnostic processes, potential, and energy use from forest, agricultural, and agro-industrial waste.
• Processes for the production of solid, liquid, and gaseous biofuels from residual biomass.
• Analysis of combustion and pyrolysis processes to meet the energy demand of technologies, processes, and systems using biomass waste.
• Nanobiotechnology in the production and implementation of biofuels.
• Catalytic processes in energy production from biomass waste.
• Preprocessing of lignocellulosic waste for biofuel production.
• Processes for the use of residual biomass in biorefineries and power generation plants.
• Impact analysis of advanced biofuels to promote decarbonized transport.
• Circular economy processes applied to the use of biofuels from waste.
• Development of new bioreactors for efficient energy bioconversion from organic waste.
• Management processes on the diagnosis, development, and use of biofuels from waste, considering sustainability indicators and highly efficient value chains.

Scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs, NGO members, and government representatives are invited to submit proposals for this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Luis Bernardo López-Sosa
Prof. Dr. Mario Morales-Máximo
Prof. Dr. Juan Carlos Corral-Huacuz
Dr. Victor Berrueta-Soriano
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.

• biofuels
• biomass waste
• sustainable energy
• energy systems
• bioenergy
• pyrolysis
• combustion
• biorefinery
• bioreactors