Innovative and Sustainable Technologies to Enhance the Oxidative Stability of Vegetable Oils

To meet consumers’ demand for natural foods, edible oil producers and food processing industries are searching for alternatives to synthetic antioxidants to protect oils against oxidation. Antioxidant compounds extracted from different plant parts (e.g., flowers, leaves, roots, and seeds) or sourced from agri-food industries, including residues left after food processing, attract consumers for their health properties and natural origins. This review, starting from a literature research analysis, highlights the role of natural antioxidants in the protection of edible oils against oxidation, with an emphasis on the emerging and sustainable strategies to preserve oils against oxidative damage. Sustainability and health are the main concerns of food processing industries. In this context, the aim of this review is to highlight the emerging strategies for the enrichment of edible oils with biomolecules or extracts recovered from plant sources. The use of extracts obtained from vegetable wastes and by-products and the blending with oils extracted from various oil-bearing seeds is also pointed out as a sustainable approach. The safety concerns linked to the use of natural antioxidants for human health are also discussed. This review, using a multidisciplinary approach, provides an updated overview of the chemical, technological, sustainability, and safety aspects linked to oil protection.

Is There a Smart Sustainability Transition in Manufacturing? Tracking Externalities in Machine Tools over Three Decades

Only one third of studies on the Industry 4.0–sustainability link have been conducted in manufacturing, despite its centrality to “ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns” (UN Sustainable Development Goal nr. 12). The European Ecodesign Directive singled out machine tools as key to the sustainability transition, not least due to their high energy usage and their increasingly becoming enmeshed in cyber-physical production systems. This paper aims to find out whether the digital transformation underway in machine tools is sustainable as well as to identify its central technological pathways. Externalities in machine tools are tracked over three decades (1990–2018) by means of a multi-method setting: (1) mapping the Technological Innovation System (TIS) of machine tools; (2) co-occurrence analysis of transnational patent families, in order to reduce geographical and market distortions (Questel’s FAMPAT); and (3) analysis of the incidence of digital and sustainable technologies in machine tools patent applications (WIPO PATENTSCOPE). A smart sustainability transition is currently not hampered by a lack of smart technologies but rather by the sluggish introduction of sustainable machine tools. Cyber-physical and robot machine tools have been found to be central pathways to a smart sustainability transition. Implications for harnessing externalities reach beyond the machine tools industry.

3D Printing and Shaping Polymers, Composites, and Nanocomposites: A Review

Sustainable technologies are vital due to the efforts of researchers and investors who have allocated significant amounts of money and time to their development. Nowadays, 3D printing has been accepted by the main industry players, since its first establishment almost 30 years ago. It is obvious that almost every industry is related to technology, which proves that technology has a bright future. Many studies have shown that technologies have changed the methods for developing particular products. Three-dimensional printing has evolved tremendously, and currently, many new types of 3D printing machines have been introduced. In this paper, we describe the historical development of 3D printing technology including its process, types of printing, and applications on polymer materials.

Sustainable Technologies Supported by Project-Based Learning in the Education of Engineers: A Case Study from Poland

The aim of the article is to examine technological innovations developed by engineers as part of Project-Based Learning at one of the Polish technical universities. We examined whether the innovations being developed meet the goals of sustainable development and whether they provide the basis for the introduction of sustainable business models. We analyzed reports from 49 projects implemented in the years 2018–2020 in which 146 scientists, 282 students of the Silesian University of Technology, and 126 experts from the university’s business environment were involved. We performed the analysis using content analysis and visualization techniques. The results show that the studied innovations implement the goals of sustainable development and most of them may become the basis of sustainable business models. The most frequently pursued goals are Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure and Good Health and Well-Being. Most of the studied innovations can become the basis of the archetype of a sustainable business model called “maximize material and energy efficacy”. We also provide the characteristics of projects that implement the diagnosed goals of sustainable development.

The 3rd International Conference on Agriculture and Bioindustry (ICAGRI)

(The 3rd ICAGRI 2021) The 3rd ICAGRI-2021 theme is “Sustainable Technologies for Enhancing Agricultural Productivity: Challenges and Current Scenario” Banda Aceh, 13 October 2021 Organized by: Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Syiah Kuala Supported by: Extended Preface The 3rd International Conference on Agriculture and Bioindustry (ICAGRI) is an international conference that brings leading international academia, researchers, policymakers, professionals and stakeholders in the domain of interest from around the world together. Various issues related to Environmental Studies, Soil and Earth Science, Sustainable Agriculture, Agricultural Biotechnology, Agricultural Engineering, Food Science, Animal Husbandry, Biodiversity, Biomaterial and Bioindustry and were discussed to accelerate innovation and technology of resource-based food security and local wisdom. The conference that organized by Agriculture Faculty, Universitas Syiah Kuala (USK) was held on October 13, 2021 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. This year, due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the conference was carried out in the form of virtual conference to avoid personnel gatherings. Nevertheless, we can see the enthusiasm of the participants from the number of papers we received. In total, we received 174 submitted papers through submission system, while 59 submission papers were rejected due to irrelevant topics and content concerns. A total of 115 papers were accepted for presentations on the 3rd ICAGRI 2021. Selected papers were compiled into the proceeding after being reviewed rigorously. The conference was not postponed since it has been scheduled and planned for last 6 months. It also related with tight schedule of keynote and invited speakers. Moreover, it is regularly requested by researchers from previous ICAGRI to perform the conference as planned. It was conducted using Zoom platform and lively broadcast through YouTube platform. The conference started by keynote speakers’ presentations, and followed by invited speakers and participant presentations. There was a discussion session after each presentation. We are greatly honored to have Prof. Dr. Ir. Dedi Nursyamsi, M.Agr (representative of minister of agriculture Republic Indonesia), Prof. Dr. Fátima Baptista (University of Évora and MED, Portugal), Dr. Natsumi Kanzaki (Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Japan), Prof. Dr. Susanne Neugart (Georg-August-Universitát Gottingen, Germany). As the conference chair, we would like to thanks to the organizing committee, the international scientific committee, the reviewers, the editors, and the publisher for tremendous contribution on the 3rd ICAGRI 2021. We are expecting more experts and scholars from all over the world to join the next ICAGRI in 2022. Sincerely yours, Dr. rer. hort. Indera Sakti Nasution, M.Sc. Chairperson of the 3rd ICAGRI 2021 EDITORIAL BOARDS AND INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE, ADVISORY BOARD, ORGANIZING COMMITTEE are available in the pdf

Minimalistic soil microbial fuel cells for bioremediation of recalcitrant pollutants

Increased human, agricultural and industrial activities along with improper waste disposal leads to high levels of soil contamination and accumulation of recalcitrant contaminants in the environment. This global issue demands the use of green and sustainable technologies and soil microbial fuel cells (SMFC) can be a potential solution. We adopted minimalistic designs, based on low-cost carbon materials without any expensive catalyst and membrane, which makes the SMFCs suitable for in-field applications. We investigated the ability of the indigenous microbial population of the soil to use organic contaminants as the source of carbon and the enrichment of the electroactive consortium was monitored over time onto the electrode surface of the SMFCs. We tested performance in soil contaminated with pesticide and soil contaminated with hydrocarbons and compare the microbial enrichment process with respect to the case of non-contaminated soil.

Recent advances in MoS2-based materials for electrocatalysis

The increasing energy demand and related environmental issues have drawn great attention of the world, thus necessitating the development of sustainable technologies to preserve the ecosystems for future generations. Electrocatalysts...