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Jittima Charoenpanich

Thailand

Marzhan Kozhakhmetova

Kazakhstan

Title: From Carbon Capture to Combustion: Oscillatoria-Based Bio-Coal Systems

Abstract: As atmospheric CO₂ has been gradually rising, efficient and sustainable carbon capture policies need to be created. Cyanobacteria, especially Oscillatoria sp., are considered as potential candidates because of their high photosynthetic efficiency as well as good flexibility for quickly evolving in a variety of environmental conditions. The CO₂ sequestration efficiency of Oscillatoria sp. grown in controlled photobioreactor systems and the thermochemical properties of the harvested biomass and its composites with coal were studied in this paper. Cultivation was carried out under controlled conditions for 2–10% CO₂, different light intensities, and varying temperatures. There was evidence from study data on growth dynamics that with increasing CO₂ concentration the biomass showed higher biomass productivity as the highest biomass growth was on 7% of CO₂. Biomass productivity was 1.8 g·L⁻¹·day⁻¹ under these conditions, whereas CO₂ sequestration rates were between 0.9 to 1.3 g CO₂·L⁻¹·day⁻¹. High light intensity favored carbon fixation but high irradiance induced slight photoinhibition. Thermochemical properties of coal, microalgal biomass, and coal–microalgae composite granules were examined on the basis of the thermal reactions (TGA–GC–MS, Agilent Technologies, USA) coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The temperature decrease and release of volatile materials in response to emulsification due to the addition of microalgae biomass were recorded as beneficial for combustion properties. Composite sample's activation energy was observed to be lower than that of the raw coal by synergy forces between biomass and coal. Gas analyses showed lower SOₓ and moderate decreases in NOₓ emissions for composite fuels. Taken as a whole, the coupling of bio-CO₂ sequestration with thermochemical conversion is promising in the pursuit of sustainable energy production and carbon footprint reduction.

Michael Akim

Russia

Title: Logistics Efficiency as a Critical Success Factor in Wood Waste Utilization. A Supply Chain Configuration Analysis of Global Solid Biofuel Markets

Abstract: Background and Problem Statement: The global transition to renewable energy has created an urgent need to valorize biomass waste streams. Sawmill residues, agricultural byproducts (straw, husks), and forest processing wastes represent a significant underutilized resource. The wood pellet industry has emerged as a primary pathway for converting this low-value waste into a high-energy-density commodity suitable for international trade. However, the viability of this waste-to-energy model is not guaranteed. This paper investigates how logistics, both inbound (feedstock collection) and outbound (delivery to end markets), determines whether pellet production can sustainably transform waste into wealth, or whether it collapses under the weight of its own transportation and logistics costs, stranding waste and devastating the very communities it was meant to support. Theoretical Framework: Density-Distance Trap and Logistical Poverty: At the heart of this analysis is the "Density-Distance Trap": the fundamental economic constraint whereby transporting low-bulk-density materials becomes disproportionately expensive as distance increases. For the pellet industry, which relies on diffuse waste streams, this trap is existential. We introduce the "Logistical Poverty" framework, which posits that when transportation costs exceed a critical threshold (typically 25-30% of delivered value), the entire waste valorization chain becomes economically unviable. This triggers a cascade of negative outcomes: sawmills cannot monetize their residues, agricultural waste is burned or landfilled, processing facilities shut down, and communities lose both jobs and a sustainable outlet for their industrial byproducts. Methodology and Comparative Case Analysis: This study deconstructs the cost structures of wood pellet supply chains across four key regions, each utilizing different waste feedstock models: U.S. Southeast (Enviva Inc.): Reliance on dispersed virgin timber and forest residues, requiring extensive trucking and rail networks, with logistics consuming an estimated 50-60% of delivered cost. The March 2024 bankruptcy of Enviva serves as a cautionary tale of how unsustainable logistics can cripple even the industry's largest player, stranding waste-processing infrastructure and eroding community trust. Russian Northwest: Integration of pellet mills with large sawmills, utilizing concentrated sawmill waste. Minimal inbound logistics (waste moves directly from sawline to pellet press) and short Baltic shipping routes to Europe keep logistics at 30-40% of costs, enabling stable, niche employment and genuine waste valorization. Russian Siberia/Far East: Reliance on cheap sawmill waste, but extreme outbound logistics (transcontinental rail to Pacific ports + long-sea shipping to Asia) push logistics to over 70% of delivered cost, rendering waste utilization for export markets completely unviable. Residues remain stranded and unutilized. Vietnam: Utilization of concentrated processing waste and proximity of fast-growing plantations to coastal ports minimizes both inbound and outbound logistics (25-35% of costs). This model demonstrates how optimized logistics can create diversified rural incomes and resilient waste-to-value systems. Key Findings: The analysis reveals that the viability of pellet production as a waste utilization pathway is determined not by the availability of feedstock alone, but by the logistical architecture connecting waste source to end user. Models that minimize inbound transport by co-locating pellet production with waste generation (e.g., integrated sawmills) are inherently more resilient. Conversely, models that rely on collecting diffuse, low-density waste over long distances are structurally prone to collapse, regardless of policy support or market demand. The social consequences are profound: when logistics fail, waste is not valorized, jobs are lost, and communities are left with stranded assets and unfulfilled promises of sustainable development. Conclusion and Policy Recommendations: For the pellet industry to fulfill its potential as a major pathway for wood and agricultural waste utilization, logistics must be elevated from an operational afterthought to a primary design criterion.

Juan Antonio Torrents Arevalo

Spain

Title: Climate change and economic consequences (2013–2024): Scien-tific, economic and political evidence

Abstract: Climate change is one of the greatest systemic threats to environmental, economic, and social stability in the 21st century. The scientific evidence is unequivocal: human activity has warmed the atmosphere, the oceans, and the land surface, intensifying extreme weather events across all regions of the planet. The year 2024 was the warmest on record—and the first in which the global average annual temperature exceeded 1.5°C above pre-in-dustrial levels—accompanied by record-high sea surface temperatures and a rise in both the frequency and severity of extreme weather events. At the same time, global CO₂ emissions reached 41.6 Gt in 2024, with no signs of having peaked, further accelerating the speed and magnitude of global warming. The economic literature demonstrates that rising temperatures reduce aggregate productivity, following a non-linear relationship between temperature and growth: countries incur economic losses when average temperatures exceed optimal thresholds (around 13°C). Projections suggest that, without mitigation, global incomes could decline by roughly 23% by 2100. Moreover, exposure to extreme heat increases the likelihood of interpersonal and inter-group conflict, adding further costs to social stability and investment. Physical risks—such as heatwaves, floods, and droughts—and transition risks assessed by NGFS scenarios show that an orderly shift to a low-carbon economy carries signifi-cantly lower costs than inaction or delayed adaptation. While policy instruments such as carbon pricing are expanding and now cover approximately 28% of global emissions, a substantial adaptation gap remains: developing countries require between US$187 billion and US$359 billion per year to reduce vulnerabilities, far above current financial flows. In sum, the convergence of scientific evidence and economic analysis sends a clear mes-sage: rapid mitigation, transformational adaptation, and enhanced international financial mobilization are essential to limit irreversible climate impacts and safeguard global pros-perity and stability.

Jaswant Singh

Australia

Title: From Biomass to Buildings: Engineering Biochar for Carbon-Negative Concrete and Circular Waste Valorisation

Abstract: The construction and waste management sectors are becoming increasingly interconnected in their shared efforts to address the growing climate and resource challenges of our time. Cement production alone contributes approximately 7–8% of global anthropogenic CO₂ emissions, while organic waste streams release substantial quantities of methane when landfilled or openly incinerated. The unsustainable exploitation of natural sand further compounds this environmental burden. Addressing these combined challenges requires integrated, scalable solutions that bridge sustainable construction practices with responsible waste management. This research presents biochar-enhanced cementitious composites as a credible and practical approach to converting organic waste into high-performance, carbon-sequestering construction materials. Biochar can be produced through a range of thermochemical conversion processes, including slow pyrolysis, fast pyrolysis, microwave pyrolysis, hydrothermal carbonisation, and gasification, each of which is assessed here for its suitability in producing construction-grade material. All five routes are examined and compared with respect to their yield, physicochemical outputs, and practical scalability. Among these, slow pyrolysis emerges as the most suitable option, producing biochar with tuneable physicochemical properties shaped by feedstock composition, heating rate, and peak temperature. Drawing on a comprehensive synthesis of over 180 peer-reviewed studies, this research shows that slow pyrolysis within the 500–700°C temperature range reliably yields biochar with the porosity, alkalinity, and carbon stability that cementitious applications demand. At optimised incorporation levels, typically 1–10 wt.% replacement of cement or fine aggregate, biochar meaningfully enhances material performance. Reported improvements include compressive strength increases of 10–40%, flexural strength gains of 15–107%, and tensile strength improvements of 5–25%, alongside density reductions of 5–20% that make lightweight structural applications achievable. Durability performance is equally impressive, with reductions in water sorptivity of up to 66%, chloride migration of approximately 36%, and autogenous shrinkage of up to 51%. These gains arise from five closely coupled microstructural mechanisms working in concert, namely matrix densification and pore filling, internal curing through controlled water release, refinement of the interfacial transition zone, pozzolanic reactivity in silica-rich biochars, and fracture deflection at the mesoscale. Beyond structural performance, biochar integration supports circular economy principles by enabling long-term carbon storage within the concrete matrix and providing a productive outlet for agricultural and municipal organic waste streams. The carbon sequestration potential of biochar is estimated at approximately 980 kg CO₂-equivalent per tonne. Despite this strong technical case, large-scale adoption remains constrained by the absence of standardised material specifications, limitations in life-cycle assessment frameworks, and inherent variability in feedstock characteristics. Addressing these barriers through standardisation, improved environmental accounting, and predictive modelling will be essential to unlocking the full potential of this technology. This research demonstrates that biochar-engineered concrete offers a scalable, integrated response at the intersection of environmental science, climate action, and waste management, enabling the conversion of organic waste into carbon-negative, high-performance, and durable infrastructure materials.

Gillian Katherine Ord

Chile

Przemyslaw Seruga

Poland

Viktor Sebestyén

Hungary

Rawaid Ali

China

Jose Ramon Barros Cantalice

Brazil

Luiz Moreira Coelho Junior

Brazil

Title: Market Structure and Spatial Dynamics of Sugarcane-Based Bioelectricity Supply in Brazil: Empirical Evidence for a Circular Economy

Abstract: The integration of renewable energy systems with waste management has become a
strategic pillar for advancing the circular economy, environmental sustainability, and
evidence-based decision-making by policy-makers aimed at mitigating greenhouse gas
emissions. In Brazil, sugarcane-based bioelectricity stands out as one of the most
consolidated waste-to-energy pathways, converting agro-industrial residues from the sugar
and ethanol industry into renewable electricity. Despite its growing relevance in the
national energy matrix, the literature still lacks integrated analyses that jointly address
market structure, supply concentration, spatial dynamics, and the spatio-temporal
persistence of production clusters, which are critical for designing sustainable and inclusive
energy and waste policies. This study examines the market structure and spatial dynamics of sugarcane-based bioelectricity supply in Brazil, providing empirical evidence to support integrated
renewable energy and waste management planning under a circular economy and
sustainability perspective. The analysis covers the period from 2000 to 2024 and is based
on official data on granted capacity and the geographic location of operating plants.
Methodologically, the study combines three complementary analytical approaches. First,
supply concentration and market structure are assessed using classical Industrial
Organization indicators, including the Concentration Ratio (CRk), the Herfindahl–
Hirschman Index (HHI), the Theil Entropy Index, the Comprehensive Concentration Index
(CCI), and the Hall–Tideman Index (HTI), applied at different territorial scales. These
indicators allow a detailed characterization of concentration levels, market
competitiveness, and the distribution of installed capacity across regions and production
hubs. Second, Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) is employed through Global Moran’s I,
Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA), and bivariate spatial autocorrelation
techniques to identify spatial dependence, regional clusters of high and low generation
capacity, and associations between bioelectricity supply and human development
indicators. Third, spatial and spatio-temporal Scan statistics are applied to detect
statistically significant and persistent clusters over time, enabling the identification of
structural hotspots and long-term spatial trajectories in the expansion of sugarcane
bioelectricity. The results reveal a highly concentrated market structure at national and regional levels,
with a strong dominance of the Center-South regions of Brazil, while more disaggregated
territorial scales exhibit relatively higher dispersion and competitiveness. ESDA results
indicate the consolidation of high-capacity clusters in regions with higher socioeconomic
development, whereas extensive areas in the North and Northeast remain weakly
integrated into waste-to-energy systems. Scan statistics confirm the spatio-temporal
persistence of major generation hubs, reinforcing the existence of path-dependent
structural and locational factors shaping the diffusion of bioelectricity. Bivariate analysis
further shows a positive spatial association between installed capacity and human
development levels, particularly after 2010. Overall, the findings indicate that while sugarcane-based bioelectricity effectively supports waste valorization, greenhouse gas mitigation, and resource efficiency, its territorial expansion remains uneven. The integration of Industrial Organization concentration
indices, spatial analysis, and Scan statistics provides a robust analytical framework to

Noor Najmi Binti Bonnia

Malaysia

Junting Pan

China

Title: Carbon materials facilitating smarter agricultural waste management for advanced environmental sustainability: 3D—0D

Abstract: Utilization of agricultural wastes for value-added products is essential for achieving sustainable development goals and carbon neutrality. The annual production of agricultural wastes in China is about 3.9 billion tons, with crop straw accounting for 19%, and livestock and poultry manure accounting for 67%. Currently, biological methods such as anaerobic digestion and humification are the primary approaches for agricultural resource utilization, leading to the production of biogas and fertilizer. However, these methods are inefficient, and often encounter failure owing to the physiological limitations of the microbes involved. Carbon materials, ranging from 3-dimentional (3-D) to zero-dimensional (0-D), can act as enhancers of the microbial biochemical processes. In our study, biochar, the 3-D carbon material produced from chicken manure, increased the methane content (70%) of biogas while reducing the carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide contents. Biochar prepared from lignin-based raw materials displayed suitable physico-chemical properties that could enrich syntrophic fermentation bacteria, promoting direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) and increased methane production. In another of our study it was seen that magnetic biochar loaded with MnO₂ increased cumulative methane production from kitchen waste by 24.32%. The redox capability of magnetic biochar enhanced the capacitance and promoted microbial enrichment and their electron transfer processes. In a separate study we observed that introducing biogas residue biochar into pig manure compost helped reduce NH₃ emissions while storing more nitrogen in the compost matrix. Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are a type of quasi-zero-dimensional carbon nanomaterial with remarkable fluorescence properties. In one of our more recent studies, we developed nitrogen-doped CQDs that behaved like n-type semiconductors, increasing cumulative methane yield by 1.9 times by enhancing metabolic pathways for methane production and coenzyme F₄₂₀ biosynthesis. The technologies developed by our lab have been successfully applied in multiple locations and scenarios across China, and have received wide-spread attention and coverage from mainstream media. At present we are focused on deciphering the intrinsic mechanistic pathways such that they can be stimulated for further enhancement of the functionality of carbon materials for smarter agricultural waste management for advanced environmental sustainability

Mounim Lebrini

France

Title: Optimization of the Galvano-Fenton Process for the Degradation of Organic Pollutants: Application to Glyphosate and Hexachlorobenzene

Abstract: Glyphosate and hexachlorobenzene are two environmentally relevant organic pollutants belonging to distinct chemical families, yet both present significant challenges due to their persistence, mobility, and toxicity. Glyphosate, one of the most widely used herbicides worldwide, is frequently detected in surface and groundwater, along with its main degradation product, AMPA. Hexachlorobenzene, a persistent organochlorine compound, is well known for its high chemical stability, bioaccumulation potential, and long-term environmental impact. Conventional remediation techniques, including adsorption on activated carbon and advanced oxidation processes (such as ozonation, photocatalysis, and electro-Fenton), suffer from several limitations, particularly high energy consumption, operational complexity, and the need for continuous chemical inputs. In this context, the Galvano-Fenton process emerges as a promising and sustainable alternative. This advanced oxidation process relies on the coupling of galvanic corrosion and Fenton chemistry, using a zero-valent iron (Fe⁰) anode and a more noble cathode material. The spontaneous oxidation of iron generates Fe²⁺ ions, while the reduction of dissolved oxygen at the cathode produces hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), enabling the in situ formation of highly reactive hydroxyl radicals (•OH) responsible for the degradation of organic pollutants. The integration of air cathodes based on sargassum-derived biochar further enhances the process by improving oxygen reduction efficiency while valorizing abundant local biomass. This approach promotes continuous and in situ production of H₂O₂, contributing to the development of a self-sustained, low-cost, and environmentally friendly treatment system. This work focuses on the optimization of the Galvano-Fenton process for the degradation of glyphosate and hexachlorobenzene in various aqueous media, including freshwater, natural water, and saline environments. Particular attention is given to the development of floating biochar-based cathodes and the evaluation of degradation efficiency using appropriate analytical techniques. The ultimate objective is to propose a sustainable, scalable, and energy-efficient solution for the remediation of environments contaminated by persistent organic pollutants.