Organic Waste Valorization and Risk Control of Emerging Pollutants during This Process
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 6 December 2024 | Viewed by 88
Special Issue Editors
Interests: biological treatment and resource utilization of organic solid wastes; such as sewage sludge; food waste; rural human faeces; fate and potential risk of emerging pollutants such as microplastics; PPCPs during the resource utilization of organic solids wastes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: resource utilization of organic solid wastes; waste management and pollution control
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
At present, a huge amount of organic waste is generated from human, animal and agricultural activities every year. As the population grows and industrialization and the utilization of existing resources increase, waste generation will continue to increase. Globally, waste generation is expected to reach 3.4 billion tons by 2050, with organic waste accounting for around 46% of it. Organic waste includes sewage sludge, municipal solid waste (e.g., plastics and waste paper), food waste, kitchen waste, garden waste, agricultural waste, and animal waste. It are often perishable, leading to severe pollution of the environment if not handled properly. Many technologies, including physical, chemical, and biological techniques (and their combination), have been developed to treat common pollutants such as labile organic matter, pathogenic bacteria, and odorous materials. Emerging pollutants (e.g., microplastics, POPs, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, antibiotics, and resistance genes) have attracted significant attention in recent years and are also commonly found in organic waste. However, information about the fate, risk, and degradation of emerging pollutants during organic waste treatment is limited; these topics still require much investigation. Meanwhile, organic waste contains valuable substances including carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and other trace elements. They can be converted into valuable products like biofuels, bioplastics, organic acids, and fertilizers through various methods. However, organic waste valorization can encounter various issues due to the physical and chemical diversity of waste streams. This may result in highly complicated processes, high processing costs, and low conversion yields.
The aims of the Special Issue are to draw attention to organic waste treatment methods (harmless disposal, conversion, and recycling) and controlling the risk levels of the pollutants involved (especially emerging pollutants) and to promote the exchange of knowledge between researchers focusing on organic waste treatment. Specifically, the issue will include (but is not limited to) the following topics:
- Pretreatment of organic waste;
- Removal of common pollutants from organic waste;
- Occurrence, fate, risk, and removal of emerging pollutants in organic waste;
- Conversion of organic waste to biofuels;
- Conversion of organic waste to other value-added products;
- Other aspects of the valorization and risk control of organic waste.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Xiaowei Li
Dr. Zhipu Wang
Dr. Yahong Yang
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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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
- organic waste
- emerging pollutants
- treatment
- pretreatment
- valorization
- conversion
- biofuels
- bioproducts
- potential risk
- pollution control
