Recent Advances in Green Chemistry and Sustainable Catalysis

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical and Molecular Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2024 | Viewed by 1089

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, University of Turin, Via P. Giuria 7, 10125 Turin, Italy
Interests: green chemistry; sustainable catalysis; organocatalysis; green metrics; renewable feedstocks; tannins; polymethine dyes

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy
Interests: organic synthesis; total synthesis; asymmetric catalysis; green chemistry; diazonium salts and their reactivity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The need for sustainable protocols, from both industrial and academic perspectives, has become increasingly urgent. Far from its initial interpretation as the exploitation of renewable feedstocks before the establishment of the Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry by Paul T. Anastas and John C. Warner in 1998, green chemistry now refers to the redesigning of chemical reactions, the development of sustainable industrial processes (synthesis, extraction, purification, etc.), the optimization of process parameters in terms of green metrics, biomass valorization, and light harvesting for triggering chemical reactions, among other factors.

In this context, the development of new and more sustainable catalytic systems is especially worth noting, particularly after the assignment of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry to Benjamin List and David W. C. MacMillan for “the development of asymmetric organocatalysis” in 2021. Indeed, important proofs of concept have been established based on the potential of recyclable and fully biodegradable molecules as catalysts, which are expected to pave the way to improving sustainability.

This Special Issue, entitled “Recent Advances in Green Chemistry and Sustainable Catalysis”, aims to present the latest research on this topic to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in this field. We welcome both experimental and theoretical papers, as well as literature reviews and perspectives.

Best regards,

Dr. Achille Antenucci
Prof. Dr. Stefano Dughera
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. Applied Sciences 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

  • green chemistry
  • sustainability
  • sustainable catalysis
  • organocatalysis
  • photocatalysis
  • biomass valorization
  • renewable feedstocks
  • green metrics

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 295 KiB  
Article
Hermetia illucens Frass Fertilization: A Novel Approach for Enhancing Lettuce Resilience and Photosynthetic Efficiency under Drought Stress Conditions
by Zuzanna Sawinska, Dominika Radzikowska-Kujawska, Przemysław Łukasz Kowalczewski, Monika Grzanka, Łukasz Sobiech, Grzegorz Skrzypczak, Agnieszka Drożdżyńska, Mariusz Ślachciński and Stanisław Świtek
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(6), 2386; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14062386 - 12 Mar 2024
Viewed by 665
Abstract
Agriculture is faced with the need to reduce mineral fertilizers in order to reduce costs but also to meet political goals. Resilience-enhancing climate change, especially in the face of increasingly frequent and prolonged droughts, has become another issue. The dynamically increasing production of [...] Read more.
Agriculture is faced with the need to reduce mineral fertilizers in order to reduce costs but also to meet political goals. Resilience-enhancing climate change, especially in the face of increasingly frequent and prolonged droughts, has become another issue. The dynamically increasing production of insects for feed and food purposes has become one of the answers to this challenge. This study assesses the fertilizing efficacy effect of frass derived from Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) production on lettuce (Lactuca L.) growth, including aspects such as yield, photosynthesis activity, photosystem II performance (chlorophyll fluorescence), mineral profile, and antioxidant properties. Additionally, the properties of the soil were assessed by measuring the gas exchange between the soil and the atmosphere. The lettuce plants grew under two water regimes—optimal irrigation and induced drought. The efficiency of frass fertilization was compared with the control and traditional cattle manure. The results indicate that H. illucens frass (HI frass) used as a fertilizer increased the content of essential nutrients in plants—such as potassium and iron. As the dosage of frass increased, the content of vitamin B2 (riboflavin) doubled. The plants that were subjected to drought and properly fertilized showed greater resistance; therefore, a reduction in the synthesis of polyphenolic compounds was observed. Fertilizer had a positive effect on the efficiency of photosynthesis. This study underscores the promising impact of unconventional organic fertilizers, such as H. illucens frass, on enhancing plant performance, especially in challenging environmental conditions. Fertilizers obtained from insect production can be green chemicals in a sustainable food production model. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Green Chemistry and Sustainable Catalysis)
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