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Recent Developments in Renewable Biomass for Sustainable Energy: Current Status and Future Prospects

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 September 2023) | Viewed by 9236

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ponraj Mohanadoss

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biological sciences, School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, The Copperbelt University, Riverside, Jambo Drive, P.O. Box 21692, Kitwe, Zambia
Interests: biopolymers; biodegradable plastics; bioethanol; waste water treatment; bioremediation
Dr. Ashokkumar Veeramuthu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Technology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Interests: biofuel; bioenergy; microalgal biochar

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Today, with rapid economic development and the continuous growth of the world population, energy consumption is sharply increasing. However, fossil fuel resources still dominate the energy market, accounting for 87% of global energy consumption. In response to the climate crisis and environmental pollution, many countries have revised their energy schemes, in which process renewable energy plays an important role. In this context, energy production from renewable biomass is one of the most attentive topics and currently seems to be a potential alternative to replace fossil fuels and reduce hazardous gas emissions. Among the different forms of renewable energy, biomass has been considered a crucial resource that can provide a variety of energy needs, including generating electricity, fuelling vehicles, and providing heat. According to some estimations, biomass is considered the fourth largest energy source in the world after coal, petroleum, and natural gas, accounting for 14% of the world’s primary energy consumption. The main advantage of biomass, as the only renewable carbon source, over all other renewable resources, is the possibility to be converted into solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels through different conversion routes. Although the process of conversion of renewable biomass to energy production has many advantages, the process still fails at a commercial scale due to several challenges.

This Special Issue aims to publish recent advances in the basic research and technological development of renewable energy through the high-value utilization of different biomass feedstock, mainly focusing on biowaste. Additionally, it aims to provide a comprehensive and cutting-edge multi-disciplinary analysis of the issues related to selecting a suitable conversion method for different biomass feedstock and the associated problem of biomass conversion.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Ponraj Mohanadoss
Dr. Ashokkumar Veeramuthu
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

  • biomass conversion
  • bioprocessing
  • novel feed stock investigation
  • bio-energy
  • sustainable technology
  • low-cost production estimation
  • future technology advancement
  • energy sustainability

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1956 KiB  
Article
Box–Behnken Design-Based Optimization of the Saccharification of Primary Paper-Mill Sludge as a Renewable Raw Material for Bioethanol Production
by Vasudeo Zambare, Samuel Jacob, Mohd Fadhil Md. Din and Mohanadoss Ponraj
Sustainability 2023, 15(13), 10740; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310740 - 7 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1776
Abstract
In this study, the primary paper-mill sludge characterized as containing 51% glucan was used to optimize the enzymatic saccharification process for the production of bioethanol using a Box–Behnken design (BBD). Polyethylene glycol 4000 (PEG-4000) surfactant-assisted enzymatic saccharification of dried primary sludge (DPS) showed [...] Read more.
In this study, the primary paper-mill sludge characterized as containing 51% glucan was used to optimize the enzymatic saccharification process for the production of bioethanol using a Box–Behnken design (BBD). Polyethylene glycol 4000 (PEG-4000) surfactant-assisted enzymatic saccharification of dried primary sludge (DPS) showed a 12.8% improvement in saccharification efficiency. There was a statistically significant effect of solid enzyme loading and saccharification time on the enzymatic saccharification of DPS at a 95% confidence level (p < 0.05). The optimum levels of 10.4% w/w DPS solid loading, 2.03% enzyme loading (10 FPU g/DPS), and 1% (w/w DPS) PEG-4000 loading for a saccharification efficiency of 57.66% were validated experimentally and found to be non-significant with regard to the lack of fit with the predicted saccharification efficiency of 56.76%. Furthermore, Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermented the saccharified sugars into ethanol (9.35 g/L) with a sugar-to-ethanol conversion yield of 91.6% compared with the theoretical maximum. Therefore, DPS is a more suitable renewable biomass for determining the presence of fermentable sugar and for the production of ethanol. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Developments in Renewable Biomass for Sustainable Energy: Current Status and Future Prospects)
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13 pages, 896 KiB  
Article
Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Agricultural-Plastic Wastes for Feasibility of Solid Fuel Briquette Production
by Nurul Ain Ab Jalil, Nur Asyikin Mokhtaruddin, Chin Hua Chia, Irfana Kabir Ahmad, Mohamad Jani Saad and Mahanim Sarif
Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 15751; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315751 - 26 Nov 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4039
Abstract
In recent years, the world has witnessed an enormous effort to find a replacement energy source that is more environmentally friendly and renewable. Face masks that contain plastics lead to another management problem as they are non-biodegradable. Thus, by turning agricultural waste with [...] Read more.
In recent years, the world has witnessed an enormous effort to find a replacement energy source that is more environmentally friendly and renewable. Face masks that contain plastics lead to another management problem as they are non-biodegradable. Thus, by turning agricultural waste with plastic waste as an additive into beneficial products like briquettes, a solid waste problem can be minimized. In this study, Imperata cylindrica and mango peel commonly found in Malaysia were anticipated to boost the properties of solid fuel briquettes. Thus, the characterization of Imperata cylindrica, mango peel, and face mask waste as raw materials for the production of solid fuel briquettes is discussed in this paper. Proximate and ultimate analyses as well as Fourier transform-infrared (FTIR) were conducted to obtain the properties of the raw materials. FTIR results showed that face mask waste contained a methyl type group (CH3), and both agricultural wastes contained an oxygen type group (C–O–H). Based on the proximate analysis, face mask waste, mango peel, and Imperata cylindrica had low moisture contents, where mango peel had the highest moisture content (5.2%) followed by Imperata cylindrica (<1%) and face mask waste (<1%). Imperata cylindrica had the highest volatile matter content (94.6%) and the lowest ash content (2.3%), while mango peel contained the highest fixed carbon value, which was 16.1%. From the analyses conducted, face mask waste had the highest calorific value (26.19 MJ/kg−1). Face mask waste contained 63.6% carbon and 10% hydrogen. Meanwhile, Imperata cylindrica and mango peel contained 44% and 40% carbon and 6.15% and 6.95% hydrogen, respectively. The characteristics and properties of face mask waste, mango peel, and Imperata cylindrica are significant for the contribution of the optimal ratio of these materials to form solid fuel briquettes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Developments in Renewable Biomass for Sustainable Energy: Current Status and Future Prospects)
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18 pages, 3543 KiB  
Article
Applying Macroalgal Biomass as an Energy Source: Utility of the Baltic Sea Beach Wrack for Thermochemical Conversion
by Zane Vincevica-Gaile, Varvara Sachpazidou, Valdis Bisters, Maris Klavins, Olga Anne, Inga Grinfelde, Emil Hanc, William Hogland, Muhammad Asim Ibrahim, Yahya Jani, Mait Kriipsalu, Divya Pal, Kaur-Mikk Pehme, Merrit Shanskiy, Egle Saaremäe, Jovita Pilecka-Ulcugaceva, Armands Celms, Vita Rudovica, Roy Hendroko Setyobudi, Magdalena Wdowin, Muhammad Zahoor, Hani Amir Aouissi, Andrey E. Krauklis, Ivar Zekker and Juris Burlakovsadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 13712; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142113712 - 22 Oct 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2502
Abstract
Global resource limits and increasing demand for non-fossil energy sources have expanded the research on alternative fuels. Among them, algal biomass is designated as a third-generation feedstock with promising opportunities and the capability to be utilized for energy production in the long term. [...] Read more.
Global resource limits and increasing demand for non-fossil energy sources have expanded the research on alternative fuels. Among them, algal biomass is designated as a third-generation feedstock with promising opportunities and the capability to be utilized for energy production in the long term. The paper presents the potential for converting beach wrack containing macroalgal biomass into gaseous fuel as a sustainable option for energy production, simultaneously improving the organic waste management that the coastline is facing. Beach wrack collected in the northern Baltic Sea region was converted by gasification technology applicable for carbon-based feedstock thermal recovery, resulting in syngas production as the main product and by-product biochar. Proximate and ultimate analysis, trace and major element quantification, detection of calorific values for macroalgal biomass, and derived biochar and syngas analysis were carried out. A higher heating value for beach wrack was estimated to be relatively low, 5.38 MJ/kg as received (or 14.70 MJ/kg on dry basis), but produced syngas that contained enough high content of CH4 (42%). Due to macroalgal biomass specifics (e.g., high moisture content and sand admixture), an adjusted gasification process, i.e., the combination of thermochemical procedures, such as mild combustion and pyrolytic biomass conversion, might be a better choice for the greater economic value of biowaste valorization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Developments in Renewable Biomass for Sustainable Energy: Current Status and Future Prospects)
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