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Summary: Achieving economic growth and sustainable development requires that we urgently reduce our ecological footprint by changing the way we produce and consume goods and resources. We consume more resources than the planet can generate, and growing rates of pollution and waste only worsen the problem. In this context, globally, a significant number of frameworks and programs on sustainable consumption and production have been introduced. Most of them concern the environmentally sound management of energy and raw materials and all wastes throughout their life cycle; the substantially reduce of waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse; the adoption of sustainable practices and the integration of sustainability information into their reporting cycle; the promotion of procurement practices that are sustainable; the enhancement of scientific and technological capacity intending to more sustainable patterns of consumption and production etc. This reprint" Sustainable Production and Environmentally Responsible Consumption" takes a broad view of all these issues and aimed to inform about ways contributing to sustainable consumption and production by reducing our environmental impact, promoting the use of renewable sources of energy and encouraging responsible purchasing decisions.

Summary: The energy and fuel industries represent an extensive field for the development and implementation of solutions aimed at improving the technological, environmental, and economic performance of technological cycles. In recent years, the issues of ecology and energy security have become especially important. Energy is firmly connected with all spheres of human economic life but, unfortunately, it also has an extremely negative (often fatal) effect on the environment and public health. Depletion of energy resources, the complexity of their extraction, and transportation are also problems of a global scale. Therefore, it is especially important nowadays to try to take care of nature and think about the resources that are necessary for future generations. For scientific teams in different countries, the development of sustainable and safe technologies for the use of fuels in the energy sector will be a challenge in the coming decades

Summary: Thank you for reaching for this book. It is a summary of the research presented at the 6th International Conference on Renewable Energy Sources (ICORES19), which took place in Krynica, Poland, in June 2019. This event is the most recognizable scientific meeting connected to RES in Poland. From the very beginning, this conference has been a unique occasion for gathering Polish and international researchers' perspectives on renewable energy sources and balancing them against governmental policy considerations. Accordingly, the conference has also offered panels to discuss best practices and solutions with local entrepreneurs and federal government bodies. The meeting attracts not only scientists but also industry representatives, as well as local and federal government personnel. We are open to new and fresh ideas concerning renewable energy, which is why so many scientists from Central and Eastern Europe visit Krynica to discuss the "Green Future" of this region. In 2019, the conference was organized by the University of Agriculture in Krakow, in cooperation with the AGH University of Science and Technology (Krakow), the State Agrarian and Engineering University in Podilya, the University of Žilina, the International Commission of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (CIGR) and the Polish Society of Agricultural Engineering. Honorary auspices were made by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Poland, the rector of the University of Agriculture in Krakow, the rector of the AGH University of Science and Technology and the rector of the State Agrarian and Engineering University in Podilya.

Summary: Environmental challenges posed by wrong end of lifeplastic management drive the plastics recycling schemes for energy recovery and cutting emissions, penalties, energy consumption, non-renewable resources, and manufacturing costs. Plastic recycling has the lowest environmental impact on global warming potential and total energy use. However, under-utilised plastic wastes due to low value issues with sorting/contamination pose major challenges. Novel technologies drive innovation in a circular economy model for plastics and employ reuse, recycling and responsible manufacture solutions, support the development of new industries and jobs, reduce emissions and increase efficient use of natural resources (including energy, water and materials). Many economies are working towards achieving a zero plastic waste economy. This Special Issue covers the applications of recycled plastics in the areas of energy recovery/alternative fuels, economic analyses, bitumen additives, flame retardants, recycled polymer nanocomposites to enhance the mechanical property, thermomechanical recycling to improve physical properties, mechano-chemical treatment, cryogenic waste tyre recycling, application in decarbonizing technology, e.g., cement industry, waste characterization, improving agricultural soil quality, as smart fertilizers. The Editors express their appreciation to all the contributors across the world in the development of this reprint. This reprint gives different perspectives and technical ideas for the transformation of plastic wastes into value-added products and to achieve higher recycling rates in the coming years.

Summary: The renewable energy sector is one of the fastest growing branches of the economy in the world, including in Poland. Extensive investigation in research centers results in the increased efficiency of obtaining energy from renewable sources, as well as a decrease in the prices of renewable energy installations. The development of renewable energy motivates further research and the development of new technologies. Investments in renewable energy may also benefit the local community by increasing the attractiveness of the region to tourists, creating opportunities for professional activation (especially in areas with high unemployment), increasing the competitiveness of the local economy and its energy efficiency and obtaining raw materials from local producers, mainly farmers, which are an additional source of income for them. Another possible economic advantage is charging lease fees, for instance, for land under wind turbines or fees for ground easement, in order to ensure access to the construction of power lines, e.g., connecting turbines to the grid; lowering heat prices for residents of a given town; building investment plots in or near heat plants and biogas plants, with the provision of heat and electricity at competitive prices directly from these plants; investors covering the costs of modernizing local roads; and creating new transmission, power lines and supply points.

Summary: Biomass has received significant attention as a sustainable feedstock that can replace diminishing fossil fuels in the production of value-added chemicals and energy. Many new catalytic technologies have been developed for the conversion of biomass feedstocks into valuable biofuels and bioproducts. However, many of these still suffer from several disadvantages, such as weak catalytic performance, harsh reaction conditions, a high processing cost, and questionable sustainability, which limit their further applicability/development in the immediate future. In this context, the esterification of carboxylic acids represents a very valuable solution to these problems, requiring mild reaction conditions and being advantageously integrable with many existing processes of biomass conversion. An emblematic example is the acid-catalyzed hydrothermal route for levulinic acid production, already upgraded to that of higher value alkyl levulinates, obtained by esterification or directly by biomass alcoholysis. Many other chemical processes benefit from esterification, such as the synthesis of biodiesel, which includes monoalkyl esters of long-chain fatty acids prepared from renewable vegetable oils and animal fats, or that of cellulose esters, mainly acetates, for textile uses. Even pyrolysis bio-oil should be stabilized by esterification to neutralize the acidity of carboxylic acids and moderate the reactivity of other typical biomass-derived compounds, such as sugars, furans, aldehydes, and phenolics. This Special Issue reports on the recent main advances in the homogeneous/heterogeneous catalytic conversion of model/real biomass components into ester derivatives that are extremely attractive for both the academic and industrial fields. Dr. Domenico Licursi Guest Editor

Summary: This book focuses on advanced techniques to reduce the impact of the transport sector and, more specifically, of Spark-Ignition (SI) Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs) on atmospheric air pollution and climate change. Hybrid vehicles represent the most suitable option for addressing these issues in the medium term, since hybridization allows us to overcome the major disadvantages of ICEs, electric units, and energy storage devices and merge their respective benefits. In this scenario, ICEs will remain the core component of automotive propulsion systems in the years to come. Of course, further efforts to improve the efficiency and reduce the pollutant and CO2 emissions of ICEs are necessary.