About this Research Topic
Transformation towards a sustainable environment is a key priority for many countries because of its importance in maintaining a circular economy. This requires a synergy of efforts between public services, private industry, education and research institutions in order to achieve desirable and practical outcomes with respect to energy production, waste valorisation, resource recovery from biomass, and reducing environmental pollution.
This Research Topic will publish the latest developments and initiatives in applying thermochemical and biological approaches to transforming our society towards a sustainable environment. This includes novel and current approaches that have been implemented or are being researched in energy and resource valorisation of biomass and waste materials.
The motivation for this Research Topic is a growing policy and practical requirement to recover the energy and chemical value of waste and biomass materials for further use, while simultaneously reducing waste streams to landfill sites. The initiative is driven by the development of new and advanced thermochemical and biological technologies, which go beyond the traditional volume-reducing “incineration” and instead allow the production of useful products as energy carriers or chemical feedstock. Emphasis is placed on the fundamentals and applications of the current and emerging thermochemical processes and biological processes along with the description of the design, operation, and products of these processes.
The editors encourage submissions of original research articles, perspectives, industrial and country/region case studies, and review articles that cover the following topics:
• Thermochemical application to biomass and waste (e.g. incineration, pyrolysis, gasification, torrefaction, hydrothermal liquefaction and carbonization, thermal depolymerisation, plasma, etc.).
• Biological treatment of biomass and waste (e.g. anaerobic digestion, hydrolysis, fermentation, digestion, composting, big data and bioinformatic tools, etc)
• Chemical treatment of biomass and waste (e.g. hydrolysis, transesterification, hydrotreating, catalytic application, etc.).
• Application of novel materials (e.g. catalysts) in waste and biomass to energy.
This Research Topic will publish the latest developments and initiatives in applying thermochemical and biological approaches to transforming our society towards a sustainable environment. This includes novel and current approaches that have been implemented or are being researched in energy and resource valorisation of biomass and waste materials.
The motivation for this Research Topic is a growing policy and practical requirement to recover the energy and chemical value of waste and biomass materials for further use, while simultaneously reducing waste streams to landfill sites. The initiative is driven by the development of new and advanced thermochemical and biological technologies, which go beyond the traditional volume-reducing “incineration” and instead allow the production of useful products as energy carriers or chemical feedstock. Emphasis is placed on the fundamentals and applications of the current and emerging thermochemical processes and biological processes along with the description of the design, operation, and products of these processes.
The editors encourage submissions of original research articles, perspectives, industrial and country/region case studies, and review articles that cover the following topics:
• Thermochemical application to biomass and waste (e.g. incineration, pyrolysis, gasification, torrefaction, hydrothermal liquefaction and carbonization, thermal depolymerisation, plasma, etc.).
• Biological treatment of biomass and waste (e.g. anaerobic digestion, hydrolysis, fermentation, digestion, composting, big data and bioinformatic tools, etc)
• Chemical treatment of biomass and waste (e.g. hydrolysis, transesterification, hydrotreating, catalytic application, etc.).
• Application of novel materials (e.g. catalysts) in waste and biomass to energy.
Keywords: waste, valorisation, thermochemical, biofuel, biological application
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
