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Toward a Circular Economy in the Agro-Industrial and Food Sectors

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 2779

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Grupo Vinculado al PROBIEN (CONICET-UNCo), Instituto de Ingeniería Química, Facultad de Ingeniería (UNSJ), San Juan, Argentina
Interests: bioenergy; circular economy; extraction of value-added product; biorefinery; thermochemical process; kinetics; exergy analysis; biomaterials; industrial ecology; production of platform molecules
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
1. Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, UNCo, Neuquén, Argentina
2. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ingeniería de Procesos, Biotecnología y Energías Alternativas, PROBIEN, CONICET-UNCo, Neuquén, Argentina
Interests: sustainable chemical and energetic valorization of biowastes; municipal solid waste thermal treatments; cuttings from the oil extraction industry; heterogeneous reactors for clean processes, fluidization engineering, modeling and simulation of fluidized beds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto de Ingeniería Química, Facultad de Ingeniería (UNSJ), Grupo Vinculado al PROBIEN (CONICET-UNCo), San Juan, Argentina
Interests: circular economy; extraction of value-added product; biorefinery; drying; biomaterials; biomimetics synthesis; production of platform molecules
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The circular economy refers to a production and consumption model that involves industrial processes and economic activities that are restorative or regenerative by design, enable resources used in such processes and activities to maintain their highest value for as long as possible, and aim for the elimination of waste through the superior design of materials, products, and systems (including business models). In practice, it implies reducing waste to a minimum and reaching the premise of “zero waste”.

This is a departure from the traditional, linear economic model, which is based on a take–make–consume–throw away pattern. This model relies on large quantities of cheap, easily accessible materials and energy.

Circularity is embraced within sustainable material management and demonstrates continuity in the emphasis on reducing lifecycle impacts of materials, including climate impacts, reducing the use of harmful materials, and decoupling material use from economic growth. The need to implement a circular economy approach for all has been identified: reducing the creation of waste with local communities in mind and implementing material management strategies that are inclusive of communities with environmental justice concerns.

At this point, to synthesize different research and compile all theoretical and empirical studies concerning the circular economy applied to the agro-industry and food sectors, researchers are invited to submit their work regarding diverse theoretical perspectives, varied empirical approaches, and multiple levels of analysis, as well as qualitative and quantitative experiments, literature reviews, and meta-analyses. This Special Issue aims to draw a comprehensive picture of the circular economy applied to the agro-industry and food sectors. We welcome submissions from various disciplines, but are not limited to the following topics:

  • Circular economy as part of the organizational strategy;
  • Circular economy as a conduit for sustainable growth;
  • Industrial ecology;
  • Biomimetics synthesis;
  • Recycling and reuse;
  • Biorefinery;
  • Biomaterials;
  • Production of platform molecules;
  • Production of added-value compounds.

Prof. Dr. Rosa Rodriguez
Prof. Dr. Germán Mazza
Prof. Dr. María Paula Fabani
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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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

  • circular economy
  • biorefinery
  • biomimetics
  • organizational strategy
  • sustainable growth
  • industrial ecology
  • biomaterials
  • platform molecules

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

23 pages, 6085 KiB  
Article
Enhancing the Fatigue Design of Mechanical Systems Such as Refrigerator to Reserve Food in Agroindustry for the Circular Economy
by Seongwoo Woo, Dennis L. O’Neal, Yimer Mohammed Hassen and Gezae Mebrahtu
Sustainability 2023, 15(8), 7010; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15087010 - 21 Apr 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1982
Abstract
To prolong the fatigue life of a product handled by machines such as refrigerators and agricultural machinery, parametric accelerated life testing (ALT) is recommended as a systemized approach to detect design inadequacies and reduce fatigue. It demands (1) an ALT strategy, (2) a [...] Read more.
To prolong the fatigue life of a product handled by machines such as refrigerators and agricultural machinery, parametric accelerated life testing (ALT) is recommended as a systemized approach to detect design inadequacies and reduce fatigue. It demands (1) an ALT strategy, (2) a fatigue type, (3) parametric ALTs with change, and (4) an estimate of whether the present product completes the BX lifetime. The utilization of a quantum-transported life-stress type and a sample size are advocated. The enhancements in the lifetime of a refrigerator ice-maker, containing an auger motor with bearings, were employed as a case study. In the 1st ALT, a steel rolling bearing cracked due to repeated loading under cold conditions (below −20 °C) in the freezer compartment. The bearing material was changed from an AISI 52100 Alloy Steel with 1.30–1.60% chromium to a lubricated sliding bearing with sintered and hardened steel (FLC 4608-110HT) because of its high fatigue strength at lower temperatures. In the 2nd ALT, a helix made of polycarbonates (PCs) fractured. In the redesign, a reinforced rib of the helix was thickened. Because no troubles in the 3rd ALT happened, the life of an ice-maker was proven to have a B1 life 10 years. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toward a Circular Economy in the Agro-Industrial and Food Sectors)
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