Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.8
3.3
Journals
Sustainability
Special Issues
Sustainability with Biofuel Production: Opportunities and Challenges
sustainability-logo
Submit to Sustainability Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Sustainability with Biofuel Production: Opportunities and Challenges

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2024) | Viewed by 7798

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Omar Aboelazayem

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Computing, Engineering & Digital Technologies, Teesside University, Middlesbrough TS1 3BX, UK
Interests: biofuel production; waste to energy; thermochemical conversion of biomass; process simulation and energy integration; process intensification; process optimisation; hydrogen production

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite submissions to a Special Issue of the “Sustainability” journal on the topic of “Sustainability with Biofuel Production: Opportunities and Challenges”. The growing energy demand and the increase in the world’s population together with the depletion of fossil fuel resources have triggered the necessity to find alternative renewable and sustainable energy sources. Sustainable bioenergy has a key role in the green economy plans to support the climate change agenda in addition to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Biofuels are among the promising alternative energy sources that can mitigate environmental concerns as they are generally carbon neutral and produce less harmful emissions than fossil fuels.

This Special Issue aims to publish high-quality research and review articles addressing recent advances in biofuels. Research involving recent developments, and novel and emerging technologies in this field are highly encouraged. Experimental and numerical studies on the development of new biorefinery for biofuel processes, technologies and applications are welcomed. In addition, studies on the impact of biofuel combustion emissions on climate change and air pollution are particularly encouraged. Potential topics include but are not limited to the following: advanced biofuels; biofuel blends; biofuel combustion emissions; engine performance; lignocellulosic feedstock utilisation; integrated thermo/biochemical conversion of biomass; biodiesel; bioethanol; biopolymers; integrated biorefinery; intensified bioprocessing; energy conservation; energy efficiency; socio-economic and political impacts; life cycle assessment (LCA); energy systems; supply chains; and techno-economic analysis (TEA).

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Omar Aboelazayem
Guest Editor

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

  • biofuel
  • bioenergy
  • biorefinery
  • waste to bioenergy
  • biomass conversion technologies
  • biofuel combustion emissions
  • life cycle assessment (LCA)
  • policies for sustainable development
  • bioenergy for a circular economy

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

16 pages, 3425 KiB  
Article
Glycerol-Free Biodiesel via Catalytic Interesterification: A Pathway to a NetZero Biodiesel Industry
by Omar Youssef, Esraa Khaled, Omar Aboelazayem and Nessren Farrag
Sustainability 2024, 16(12), 4994; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16124994 - 12 Jun 2024
Viewed by 444
Abstract
Conventional biodiesel manufacturing uses alcohol as an acyl acceptor, resulting in glycerol as a side product. The increased demand for biodiesel has led to the production of a substantial surplus of glycerol, exceeding the market need. Consequently, glycerol is now being regarded as [...] Read more.
Conventional biodiesel manufacturing uses alcohol as an acyl acceptor, resulting in glycerol as a side product. The increased demand for biodiesel has led to the production of a substantial surplus of glycerol, exceeding the market need. Consequently, glycerol is now being regarded as a byproduct, and in some cases, even as waste. The present study aims to suggest an economically viable and ecologically friendly approach for maintaining the viability of the biodiesel sector. This involves generating an alternative byproduct of higher value, rather than glycerol. Triacetin is produced through the interesterification of triglycerides with methyl acetate, and is a beneficial ingredient to biodiesel, reducing the need for extensive product separation. The primary objective of this research is to improve the interesterification reaction by optimising process parameters to maximise biodiesel production while using sulphuric acid as an economically viable catalyst. The study utilised the Box–Behnken design (BBD) to investigate the influence of various process variables on biodiesel yield, such as reaction time, methyl acetate to oil molar ratio, and catalyst concentration. An optimisation study using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) focused on key process reaction parameters, including the methyl acetate to oil (MA:O) molar ratio, catalyst concentration, and residence time. The best conditions produced a biodiesel blend with a 142% yield at a 12:1 MA:O molar ratio, with 0.1 wt% of catalyst loading within 1.7 h. The established technique is deemed to be undeniably effective, resulting in an efficient biodiesel production process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability with Biofuel Production: Opportunities and Challenges)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 3091 KiB  
Article
Life Cycle Assessment of the Sugarcane Supply Chain in the Brazilian Midwest Region
by Thamine G. Rodrigues and Ricardo L. Machado
Sustainability 2024, 16(1), 285; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16010285 - 28 Dec 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1292
Abstract
The sugarcane supply chain is one of the main contributors to economic development in many countries. However, it is necessary to consider the relationship of this supply chain with the environment in order to reduce/mitigate adverse environmental impacts. Life cycle assessment (LCA) supports [...] Read more.
The sugarcane supply chain is one of the main contributors to economic development in many countries. However, it is necessary to consider the relationship of this supply chain with the environment in order to reduce/mitigate adverse environmental impacts. Life cycle assessment (LCA) supports improving the relationship between production systems and the environment, increasing process efficiency, and reducing costs. The main objective of this research was to identify the extent to which the sugarcane supply chain impacts environmental and human health aspects as well as the use of resources through LCA. This analysis focused on a supply chain in Brazil’s Midwest region, considering the stages of cultivation, transportation, and production. The results indicated that using fertilizers and pesticides and burning crops during harvest severely threaten the sustainability of this supply chain. Also, using crude oil, natural gas, coal, and other chemical products in ethanol production is a critical threat to the sustainability of the sugarcane supply chain. The obtained results cooperate with the decarbonization goals assumed by Brazil at the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP 21). A multidimensional approach is necessary to assess the sugarcane production chain results, and the LCA method is appropriate for performing this analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability with Biofuel Production: Opportunities and Challenges)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

0 pages, 3872 KiB  
Article
Biodiesel Production from Waste Cooking Oil Using Extracted Catalyst from Plantain Banana Stem via RSM and ANN Optimization for Sustainable Development
by Gulzar Ahmad, Shahid Imran, Muhammad Farooq, Asad Naeem Shah, Zahid Anwar, Ateekh Ur Rehman and Muhammad Imran
Sustainability 2023, 15(18), 13599; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813599 - 12 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1666
Abstract
Biodiesel is a promising sector worldwide and is experiencing significant and rapid growth. Several studies have been undertaken to utilize homogeneous base catalysts in the form of KOH to develop biodiesel in order to establish a commercially viable and sustainable biodiesel industry. This [...] Read more.
Biodiesel is a promising sector worldwide and is experiencing significant and rapid growth. Several studies have been undertaken to utilize homogeneous base catalysts in the form of KOH to develop biodiesel in order to establish a commercially viable and sustainable biodiesel industry. This research centers around extracting potassium hydroxide (KOH) from banana trunks and employing it in the transesterification reaction to generate biodiesel from waste cooking oil (WCO). Various operational factors were analyzed for their relative impact on biodiesel output, and after optimizing the reaction parameters, a conversion rate of 95.33% was achieved while maintaining a reaction period of 2.5 h, a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 15:1, and a catalyst quantity of 5 wt%. Response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) models were implemented to improve and optimize these reaction parameters for the purpose of obtaining the maximum biodiesel output. Consequently, remarkably higher yields of 95.33% and 95.53% were achieved by RSM and ANN, respectively, with a quite little margin of error of 0.0003%. This study showcases immense promise for the large-scale commercial production of biodiesel. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability with Biofuel Production: Opportunities and Challenges)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

32 pages, 1641 KiB  
Review
Recent Advances in Seaweed Biorefineries and Assessment of Their Potential for Carbon Capture and Storage
by Katherine G. Johnston, Abdelfatah Abomohra, Christopher E. French and Abdelrahman S. Zaky
Sustainability 2023, 15(17), 13193; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151713193 - 1 Sep 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3534
Abstract
Seaweeds are among the most important biomass feedstocks for the production of third-generation biofuels. They are also efficient in carbon sequestration during growth and produce a variety of high-value chemicals. Given these characteristics together with the relatively high carbohydrate content, seaweeds have been [...] Read more.
Seaweeds are among the most important biomass feedstocks for the production of third-generation biofuels. They are also efficient in carbon sequestration during growth and produce a variety of high-value chemicals. Given these characteristics together with the relatively high carbohydrate content, seaweeds have been discussed as an ideal means for CO2 capture and biofuel production. Though third-generation biofuels have emerged as some of the best alternatives to fossil fuels, there is currently no large-scale production or mainstream use of such liquid fuels due to the many technical challenges and high production costs. The present study describes the concept of coastal marine biorefineries as the most cost-effective and sustainable approach for biofuel production from seaweeds, as well as atmospheric carbon capture and storage (CCS). The suggested refinery system makes use of marine resources, namely seawater, seaweed, and marine microorganisms. Firstly, extensive screening of the current literature was performed to determine which technologies would enable the emergence of such a novel biorefinery system and its merits over conventional refineries. Secondly, the study investigates various scenarios assessing the potential of seaweeds as a means of carbon sequestration. We demonstrate that the removal of 100 Gigatons of excess CO2 using seaweed farms can be achieved in around 4 months to less than 12 years depending on the area under cultivation and the seaweed species. The total bioethanol that could be generated from the harvested biomass is around 8 trillion litres. In addition, high-value chemicals (HVC) that could potentially be recovered from the process represent a considerable opportunity with multi-billion-dollar commercial value. Overall, coastal marine biorefineries have strong potential for a sustainable green economy and represent a rapid approach to climate change mitigation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability with Biofuel Production: Opportunities and Challenges)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop