The fact coupled with concerns regarding fossil resource limitation, sustainability, and environmental problems has motivated significant research in the valorization of this waste material for the production of valuable compounds. The use of alternative and low-cost substrates for microbial biofuel and bioenergy production leads to a circular economy in which both industry and society benefit. Agro-industrial residues are abundant, natural, and renewable resources and they represent an important source of carbon, nitrogen, and minerals. Bioproduction represents a key technology for the valorization of these raw materials. Thus, the use of these raw materials for the production of clean energy (Hydrogen, methane, electricity) is promising. The lignocellulosic biomass is mainly composed of cellulose organized in crystalline microfibrils protected by an amorphous region of hemicellulose and lignin, which make the structure more recalcitrant and less accessible for bioproduction. For this reason, despite the potential of this raw material, its complex composition may hinder microbial growth and sometimes some previous steps are required like pretreatment and/or hydrolysis. Bioprocess such as anaerobic digestion, advanced pretreatment technologies for biofuel production, dark fermentation, transesterification, microbial fuel cells, using bacteria and algae (micro) biomass are considered in this topic.
The present treatise as an editorial topic envisions concepts and fundamentals on biomass valorization, bioreactors, various state of the art of designs, and fabrication of bioreactors, and bioprocess technology with comprehensive coverage of recent updates towards energy technology. This Editorial also essentially identifies the gaps and constraints in the commercial realization of the technologies ascertaining their techno-economic feasibility. This Editorial apparently aids academicians, industrialists, and technology experts to identify and select the appropriate technology models for sustainable bioenergy production. However, many challenges still have to be faced to improve the competitiveness of the production to replace fossil resources.
In view of the rapidly depleting fossil reserves, towering environmental pollution, coupled with economic and diplomatic problems owing to limited fossil reserves and uneven distributions. There is a global concern to ascertain alternative energy sources and to tackle voluminous waste generated. In this context, there has been a heightened interest in bioreactors for sustainable clean energy and bio-waste abatement, with a thrust on devising state of the art of bioreactors and frontiers in configuration, process controlling, modeling, and simulations, biomass valorization, and wastewater treatment together with its techno-economic viability. Through the research topic, we wish to highlight numerous ongoing research and progress in bioreactors, advanced bioprocess control across types/scales/utilities with a due emphasis on both fundamental and applications of bioenergy coupled with biomass and wastewater treatment imparting scope for scale-up/fabrication at industrial level and commerciality of the technology providing global solutions to existing and future global concerns.
The fact coupled with concerns regarding fossil resource limitation, sustainability, and environmental problems has motivated significant research in the valorization of this waste material for the production of valuable compounds. The use of alternative and low-cost substrates for microbial biofuel and bioenergy production leads to a circular economy in which both industry and society benefit. Agro-industrial residues are abundant, natural, and renewable resources and they represent an important source of carbon, nitrogen, and minerals. Bioproduction represents a key technology for the valorization of these raw materials. Thus, the use of these raw materials for the production of clean energy (Hydrogen, methane, electricity) is promising. The lignocellulosic biomass is mainly composed of cellulose organized in crystalline microfibrils protected by an amorphous region of hemicellulose and lignin, which make the structure more recalcitrant and less accessible for bioproduction. For this reason, despite the potential of this raw material, its complex composition may hinder microbial growth and sometimes some previous steps are required like pretreatment and/or hydrolysis. Bioprocess such as anaerobic digestion, advanced pretreatment technologies for biofuel production, dark fermentation, transesterification, microbial fuel cells, using bacteria and algae (micro) biomass are considered in this topic.
The present treatise as an editorial topic envisions concepts and fundamentals on biomass valorization, bioreactors, various state of the art of designs, and fabrication of bioreactors, and bioprocess technology with comprehensive coverage of recent updates towards energy technology. This Editorial also essentially identifies the gaps and constraints in the commercial realization of the technologies ascertaining their techno-economic feasibility. This Editorial apparently aids academicians, industrialists, and technology experts to identify and select the appropriate technology models for sustainable bioenergy production. However, many challenges still have to be faced to improve the competitiveness of the production to replace fossil resources.
In view of the rapidly depleting fossil reserves, towering environmental pollution, coupled with economic and diplomatic problems owing to limited fossil reserves and uneven distributions. There is a global concern to ascertain alternative energy sources and to tackle voluminous waste generated. In this context, there has been a heightened interest in bioreactors for sustainable clean energy and bio-waste abatement, with a thrust on devising state of the art of bioreactors and frontiers in configuration, process controlling, modeling, and simulations, biomass valorization, and wastewater treatment together with its techno-economic viability. Through the research topic, we wish to highlight numerous ongoing research and progress in bioreactors, advanced bioprocess control across types/scales/utilities with a due emphasis on both fundamental and applications of bioenergy coupled with biomass and wastewater treatment imparting scope for scale-up/fabrication at industrial level and commerciality of the technology providing global solutions to existing and future global concerns.
