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Exploitation of Wastes and Residues via Biological Processes in the Concept of Bioeconomy

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 22064

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ioanna Ntaikou

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Foundation for Research and Technology, Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences (FORTH/ ICE-HT), Patra, Greece
Interests: fermentation; biofuels and biomolecules production via microbial processes (biohydrogen, bioethanol, polyhydroxyalkanoates, antioxidants), biological and thermochemical fractionation of lignocellulose; recovery of nutrients from wastes; risk assessment
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Dr. Georgia Antonopoulou

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Department of Sustainable Agriculture, University of Patras, 2 Georgiou Seferi St., Agrinio, Greece
Interests: microbial fuel cells (MFCs); microbial electrolysis cells (MECs); biofuel production via microbial processes (anaerobic digestion, fermentative hydrogen production and bioethanol production)
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Assist. Prof. Dr. Athanasia Tekerlekopoulou

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Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Patras, Agrinio, Greece
Interests: technologies of drinking water/toxic wastewater treatment using physicochemical and biological processes; supervision of treatment plants for the biological removal of water pollutants (ammonia, iron, manganese); biological treatment of industrial wastewaters (dairy, olive mill, table olive, winery, hexavalent chromium, etc.); application of microalgae for wastewater treatment and biofuel production or other valuable products; process modeling leading to the design of effective and economic systems for drinking water and wastewater treatment
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Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

The transition of the economy from a linear to a circular model has been among the top priorities of the EU in recent years. Regarding the circular economy concept, efforts should be focused on the minimization of wastes generation by elongating the lifetime of materials through actions such as recycling and reuse. However, the generation of wastes and residues is inevitable at some point, and as such a new concept of circular economy—the bioeconomy—has recently gained great attention. In a bioeconomy, the wastes and residues of anthropogenic activities are approached as resources of valuable molecules and compounds via various methodologies such as extraction, recovery, and conversion, thus tackling environmental and economic issues at the same time.

For the combined management and exploitation of wastes and residual biomass, various methodologies have been suggested and can be employed, based on physical, chemical, thermal, and biological processes, or even combinations of these.

This Special Issue aspires to gather novel research papers covering the topic of exploitation/valorization of wastes and residual biomass using biological processes (i.e., processed by living organisms of different evolutionary levels—microorganisms, plants, and animals—or by enzymes). The target feedstocks include but are not necessarily limited to municipal, agroindustrial, and industrial wastes and wastewaters, agricultural and forestral residues etc. could be fractionated, bioconverted, or biotransformed for the generation of high-added-value substances, compounds, and molecules

Dr. Ioanna Ntaikou
Dr. Georgia Antonopoulou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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.

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Keywords

wastes/wastewater valorization
residual biomass conversion
biofuels
bioplastics
organic acids
biosurfactants
composting
vermicomposting

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 7078 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Food Waste Condensate Concentration on the Performance of Microbial Fuel Cells with Different Cathode Assemblies

by Theofilos Kamperidis, Pavlos K. Pandis, Christos Argirusis, Gerasimos Lyberatos and Asimina Tremouli

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2625; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052625 - 24 Feb 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2280

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of food waste condensate concentration (400–4000 mg COD/L) on the performance of two microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Food waste condensate is produced after condensing the vapors that result from drying and shredding of household food waste (HFW). Two identical single-chamber MFCs were constructed with different cathodic assemblies based on GoreTex cloth (Cell 1) and mullite (Cell 2) materials. Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements were carried out to measure the maximum power output and the internal resistances of the cells. High COD removal efficiencies (>86%) were observed in all cases. Both cells performed better at low initial condensate concentrations (400–600 mg COD/L). Cell 1 achieved maximum electricity yield (1.51 mJ/g COD/L) at 500 mg COD/L and maximum coulombic efficiency (6.9%) at 400 mg COD/L. Cell 2 achieved maximum coulombic efficiency (51%) as well as maximum electricity yield (25.9 mJ/g COD/L) at 400 mg COD/L. Maximum power was observed at 600 mg COD/L for Cell 1 (14.2 mW/m²) and Cell 2 (14.4 mW/m²). Impedance measurements revealed that the charge transfer resistance and the solution resistance increased significantly with increasing condensate concentration in both cells. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploitation of Wastes and Residues via Biological Processes in the Concept of Bioeconomy)

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14 pages, 2287 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Zeolite on the Methane Production from Chicken Manure Leachate

by Apostolos Spyridonidis, Ioanna A. Vasiliadou and Katerina Stamatelatou

Sustainability 2022, 14(4), 2207; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042207 - 15 Feb 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2083 | Correction

Abstract

This study demonstrates the leachate characteristics derived from bench-scale leach-bed reactors (LBRs) filled with chicken manure (CM) and zeolite. Zeolite was used to maintain the necessary porosity for the leaching process and to adsorb ammonia. Fresh water was added for leachate production and removed daily, in order to estimate the readily leachable organic and nitrogen matter of the CM. Tests were conducted at two ratios of zeolite to bed (10% and 3.5% v/v CM_bed). Other operating parameters studied were the amount of water added in the LBRs, the leachate recirculation rate, and the hydraulic retention time (HRT). A control LBR with river pebbles at a similar size and ratio (10% v/v) with zeolite was also studied. Some experiments were repeated with CM, which had different characteristics. Compared to the control test, the LBR with zeolite at 10% v/v yielded leachate with less NH₃ and a higher biochemical methane potential (BMP). However, free ΝH₃ in the control experiment was below the inhibition threshold, proving that zeolite contributes to the higher BMP of leachate, and that this effect is not only due to NH₃ adsorption. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploitation of Wastes and Residues via Biological Processes in the Concept of Bioeconomy)

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13 pages, 482 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploitation of Agro-Industrial Residues for the Formulation of a New Active and Cost Effective Biofungicide to Control the Root Rot of Vegetable Crops

by Mohamed Hashem, Yasser S. Mostafa, Saad Alamri, Ahmed M. Abbas and Ebrahem M. Eid

Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9254; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169254 - 18 Aug 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2109

Abstract

This study aimed to produce an economic and stable biofungicide based on a new effective antagonistic strain (Trichoderma harzianum JF419706) via the exploitation of agro-industrial lignocellulosic residues as carriers for fungal growth to control the root rot diseases of vegetable crops. Trichoderma harzianum JF419706 showed a good resistance to a chemical fungicide with two-fold of the recommended dose. It was able to propagate on corn stovers amended with 20% of date molasses, as a very cheap substrate, up to 2.90 × 10¹⁶ CFU/g after 30 days. Formulation of the bioagent on the substrate as a fine powder (FTB) increased the shelf-life up to 8 months with good viability (9.37 × 10¹¹ CFU/g). The bioagent propagated itself in the rhizospheric soil about two-fold of the initial inoculum. Application of the FTB, as a seed treatment, suppressed the root rot disease severity percentage of cucumber, lettuce, and tomato plants to 70.0%, 61.5%, and 53.8%, respectively, from the control. The crop yield increased by 50%, 35%, and 30% in the same order of the three crops. FTB promoted the growth and physiological processes of the plants significantly compared with the control. Our study recommends the application of the FTB as a cost-effective biofungicide and biofertilizer in crop management, singly or as a part of integrated pest management, to ensure the sustainability of green farming and reduce the chemical input in cultural practices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploitation of Wastes and Residues via Biological Processes in the Concept of Bioeconomy)

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13 pages, 1498 KiB

Open AccessArticle

On the Optimization of Fermentation Conditions for Enhanced Bioethanol Yields from Starchy Biowaste via Yeast Co-Cultures

by Mohamed Hashem, Saad A. Alamri, Tahani A. Y. Asseri, Yasser S. Mostafa, Gerasimos Lyberatos and Ioanna Ntaikou

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1890; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041890 - 9 Feb 2021

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 4348

Abstract

The present study aims to assess the impact of the type of yeast consortium used during bioethanol production from starchy biowastes and to determine the optimal fermentation conditions for enhanced bioethanol production. Three different yeast strains, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Pichia barkeri, and Candida intermedia were used in mono- and co-cultures with pretreated waste-rice as substrate. The optimization of fermentation conditions i.e., fermentation time, temperature, pH, and inoculum size, was investigated in small-scale batch cultures and subsequently, the optimal conditions were applied for scaling-up and validation of the process in a 7-L fermenter. It was shown that co-culturing of yeasts either in couples or triples significantly enhanced the fermentation efficiency of the process, with ethanol yield reaching 167.80 ± 0.49 g/kg of biowaste during experiments in the fermenter. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploitation of Wastes and Residues via Biological Processes in the Concept of Bioeconomy)

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16 pages, 3059 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Second-Generation Bioethanol Production from Enzymatically Hydrolyzed Domestic Food Waste Using Pichia anomala as Biocatalyst

by Ioanna Ntaikou, Georgia Antonopoulou and Gerasimos Lyberatos

Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 259; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010259 - 30 Dec 2020

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3393

Abstract

In the current study, a domestic food waste containing more than 50% of carbohydrates was assessed as feedstock to produce second-generation bioethanol. Aiming to the maximum exploitation of the carbohydrate fraction of the waste, its hydrolysis via cellulolytic and amylolytic enzymatic blends was investigated and the saccharification efficiency was assessed in each case. Fermentation experiments were performed using the non-conventional yeast Pichia anomala (Wickerhamomyces anomalus) under both separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF) and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) modes to evaluate the conversion efficiencies and ethanol yields for different enzymatic loadings. It was shown that the fermentation efficiency of the yeast was not affected by the fermentation mode and was high for all handlings, reaching 83%, whereas the enzymatic blend containing the highest amount of both cellulolytic and amylolytic enzymes led to almost complete liquefaction of the waste, resulting also in ethanol yields reaching 141.06 ± 6.81 g ethanol/kg waste (0.40 ± 0.03 g ethanol/g consumed carbohydrates). In the sequel, a scale-up fermentation experiment was performed with the highest loading of enzymes in SHF mode, from which the maximum specific growth rate, μ_max, and the biomass yield, Yx/s, of the yeast from the hydrolyzed waste were estimated. The ethanol yields that were achieved were similar to those of the respective small scale experiments reaching 138.67 ± 5.69 g ethanol/kg waste (0.40 ± 0.01 g ethanol/g consumed carbohydrates). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploitation of Wastes and Residues via Biological Processes in the Concept of Bioeconomy)

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14 pages, 1771 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does Acid Addition Improve Liquid Hot Water Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass towards Biohydrogen and Biogas Production?

by George Dimitrellos, Gerasimos Lyberatos and Georgia Antonopoulou

Sustainability 2020, 12(21), 8935; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218935 - 27 Oct 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3150

Abstract

The effect of liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment with or without acid addition (A-LHW) on the production of hydrogen—through dark fermentation (DF)—and methane—through anaerobic digestion (AD)—using three different lignocellulosic biomass types (sunflower straw (SS), grass lawn (GL), and poplar sawdust (PS)) was investigated. Both pretreatment methods led to hemicellulose degradation, but A-LHW resulted in the release of more potential inhibitors (furans and acids) than the LHW pretreatment. Biological hydrogen production (BHP) of the cellulose-rich solid fractions obtained after LHW and A-LHW pretreatment was enhanced compared to the untreated substrates. Due to the release of inhibitory compounds, LHW pretreatment led to higher biochemical methane potential (BMP) than A-LHW pretreatment when both separated fractions (liquid and solid) obtained after pretreatments were used for AD. The recovered energy in the form of methane with LHW pretreatment was 8.4, 12.5, and 7.5 MJ/kg total solids (TS) for SS, GL, and PS, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploitation of Wastes and Residues via Biological Processes in the Concept of Bioeconomy)

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28 pages, 4175 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Biotreatment of Poultry Waste Coupled with Biodiesel Production Using Suspended and Attached Growth Microalgal-Based Systems

by Vasiliki Patrinou, Olga N. Tsolcha, Triantafyllos I. Tatoulis, Natassa Stefanidou, Marianna Dourou, Maria Moustaka-Gouni, George Aggelis and Athanasia G. Tekerlekopoulou

Sustainability 2020, 12(12), 5024; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12125024 - 19 Jun 2020

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3259

Abstract

Poultry litter extract (PLE) was treated using a microbial consortium dominated by the filamentous cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya sp. in synergy with heterotrophic microorganisms of the poultry waste. Laboratory- and pilot-scale experiments were conducted under aerobic conditions using suspended and attached growth photobioreactors. Different dilutions of the extract were performed, leading to different initial pollutant (nitrogen, phosphorus, dissolved chemical oxygen demand (d-COD), total sugars) concentrations. Significant nutrient removal rates, biomass productivity, and maximum lipid production were determined for all the systems examined. Higher d-COD, nitrogen, phosphorus, and total sugars removal were recorded in the attached growth reactors in both laboratory- (up to 94.0%, 88.2%, 97.4%, and 79.3%, respectively) and pilot-scale experiments (up to 82.0%, 69.4%, 81.0%, and 83.8%, respectively). High total biomass productivities were also recorded in the pilot-scale attached growth experiments (up to 335.3 mg L⁻¹d⁻¹). The produced biomass contained up to 19.6% lipids (w/w) on a dry weight basis, while the saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids accounted for more than 70% of the total fatty acids, indicating a potential biodiesel production system. We conclude that the processing systems developed in this work can efficiently treat PLE and simultaneously produce lipids suitable as feedstock in the biodiesel manufacture. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploitation of Wastes and Residues via Biological Processes in the Concept of Bioeconomy)

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