Fermentation as Closed-Loop Valorization of Biomass and Food Industry By-Products

Dear Colleagues,

The tremendous global production of biomass and food related by-products makes their ecologically responsible valorization a necessity. Among the principal goals of “green” research into biomass utilization is the development of combined technologies for integrated waste and by-product biorefinery, using mixed and multiple feedstocks to produce food, feed, fuel, power, and heat along with value-added chemicals. The development of stable, sustainable and economically feasible procedures for the bioconversion of food and agricultural by-products into high-value compounds is a priority due to growing market demand, coupled with insufficient waste treatment, human negligence, and the rapid depletion of natural resources and its overall negative effect on the natural order. The largest challenges regarding fermentation include food competition, the availability and adequacy strains, substrate cost, waste generation and, for many industrial applications, a high purity of specific platform chemicals. Many environmental issues have arisen with these challenges, resulting in the implementation of severe legislation regarding waste generation and the use of solvents, seeking a sustainable production chain utilizing not only these wastes and by-products but the wastes generated via their utilization.

Biomass and other food related by-products are a renewable source of energy and platform chemicals which could be implemented as potentially cost-effective alternatives for standard raw materials, especially to those based on non-renewable resources. This also represents an interesting possibility for the maximal value improvement of these residues, reducing or minimizing the negative impact of a significant number of industrial processes on the environment. The valorization of biomass and food industry by-products for production of platform chemicals will solve their disposal problem, as well as environmental issues regarding pollution due to their burning or heavy organic load (negatively affecting water flows), and simultaneously reduce carbon footprint by diminishing dependence on petrochemical compounds. Their significant polysaccharide content, renewability and unlimited abundance, as well as non-competitiveness with food sources, which is of high importance in this era of exponential food demand, make them ideal raw materials for production of platform chemicals.

Thus, the bioconversion of plant-derived biomass into platform chemicals, biofuels, and a variety of other value-added products presents a highly favorable course of action for economical and sustainable development that ensures the minimization of negative environmental impacts.

The goal of this Special Issue is to publish recent and innovative research results as well as review papers on various fermentation procedures employing one or mix-culture microbial strains, highlighting raw materials, their pretreatment, processes optimization, and product purification. Please feel free to contact the editors if you have any questions. Additionally, before submitting a review paper, please contact one of the editors to discuss the topic’s relevance.

Dr. Alessandra Procentese
Dr. Sandra Vojnovic
Dr. Miloš Radosavljević
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. Fermentation is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2600 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.

• fermentation
• microorganisms
• biotechnology
• circular economy
• biowaste valorization
• bioconversion technology
• fermentation technologies
• value-added products
• platform chemicals