Advanced Sustainable Systems in the New Era: From Renewable Energy and Environmental Management to Sustainable Agriculture, Urban and Socio-Economic Developments

Abstract

Welcome to the first issue of Advanced Sustainable Systems in 2025!

Over the past few years, Advanced Sustainable Systems has steadily grown both in the volume and quality of submissions, solidifying its position as an interdisciplinary platform dedicated to advancing sustainable living. In response to the journal's expansion and to ensure an efficient peer review process, Lulu Ma, our former Editor-in-Chief, has transitioned the role to Jipei Yuan. Jipei brings a wealth of experience as the Editor-in-Chief of Advanced Energy and Sustainability Research and Deputy Editor of Advanced Energy Materials. Under her leadership, we are confident that Advanced Sustainable Systems will continue to thrive, upholding high standards of peer review and fostering impactful special projects for our authors and readers.

The journal remains committed to publishing outstanding research that promotes sustainable, more efficient, and less wasteful systems and technologies, in alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Table 1 highlights the most accessed articles published between November 2023 and October 2024. These articles cover a broad range of topics, from renewable energy and environment monitoring, and sustainable robots, to sustainable agriculture and socio-economic development. Congratulations to the authors listed in the table.

Among the highlights in Table 1, one notable research article entitled “Super-Black Material Created by Plasma Etching Wood” by Kenneth J. Cheng (University of British Columbia, Canada) and collaborators has attracted significant attention, ranking in the top 5% of all research outputs according to Altmetric, with a score of 247. Another Early View article by Maryam Rezaie and Seokheun Choi from the State University of New York at Binghamton, entitled “Cyanobacterial Artificial Plants for Enhanced Indoor Carbon Capture and Utilization”, has also achieved an impressive Altmetric score of 244.

The journal continues to grow as a recognized platform for research addressing SDG 7: Affordable Energy and Clean Energy, benefiting from its close editorial ties with Advanced Energy Materials. Figure 1 displays several selected covers on renewable energy published in 2024, including batteries, catalysts, TENGs, and solar energy. Special issues on energy-related topics are underway, such as “Solid-State and Sustainable Batteries”, guest-edited by Jie Zhao (Fudan University, China) and Yongji Gong (Beihang University, China), which will highlight the development of solid electrolytes, solid electrodes and the interfaces between them. Another special issue, “Electrocatalysis and Electrosynthesis”, guest-edited by Ben Liu (Sichuan University, China), will showcase the latest developments in electrocatalyst design, synthesis, characterization, mechanistic studies, and computational modeling for electrocatalysis and electrosynthesis.

Having joined the SDG Publishers Compact, Wiley is excited to inform, develop, and inspire action toward the SDGs. We are delighted to announce that a cross-journal collection, “Powering the Future: Advancements in Clean, Affordable and Renewable Energy for Sustainable Development”, featuring contributions from more than 60 Wiley journals, is now calling for papers. If you are interested in contributing to this special collection, simply submit your paper to the journal of your choice and select the category “SDG 7-Affordable Energy and Clean Energy” during submission, before the deadline of 30 April 2025.

Turning to SDGs 2 and 3, which aim to create a world free of hunger by 2030 and to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being, Table 1 also highlights the growing focus of the journal on these critical issues. For example, we showcase some reviews that explore the potential contribution of bioeconomy approaches to agricultural systems resilience (adsu.202300518), the development of controlled release fertilizers (adsu.202300149), and the use of sensors for plant health monitoring (adsu.202300634), as well as food monitoring and breath analysis (adsu.202200083). Researchers from Greece, Israel, the Netherlands, and Japan contribute valuable insights into various aspects of sustainable agriculture. Topics include protected designation of origin food supply chains (adsu.202400257), the commercial production of nutritious and sustainable cultivated meat (adsu.202300499), sustainable plant protection (adsu.202300409), and fertilizer sensing system for precision and sustainable agriculture (adsu.202300314). Stefania Akromah and her colleagues from the UK explore the potential use of locally accessible resources, mycelium composites, for sustainable development in Africa (adsu.202300305). Their work demonstrates how mycelium composites can boost agricultural productivity, increase employment and income for farmers, and reduce environmental pollution, contributing to a healthier ecosystem.

Given the growing societal concern over environmental issues, environmental management has become an increasingly important topic of Advanced Sustainable Systems. A significant portion of the journal's content addresses environmental remediation, as well as plastic and e-waste upcycling. We publish reviews on photocatalytic membranes for practical environmental remediation (adsu.202300374), semiconductor-functionalized sorbents for oil spill removal (adsu.202300659), and the application of floating solar materials in environmental remediation efforts, such as polluted seawater purification, water splitting, CO₂ reduction, and water bloom prevention (adsu.202400118). In addition, several interesting studies explore sustainable soil remediation including investigations into the mobility and fate of potentially toxic elements in soil environment (adsu.202300382) and the development of biodegradable putty for sustainable coral reef restoration (adsu.202400110). The ever-growing production of plastics and the accumulation of plastic waste create serious environmental problems, prompting the need for advanced solutions, such as new recycling technologies and sustainable materials management. In a review, Pu-Xian Gao from the University of Connecticut analyzes the challenges of plastic recycling, focusing on the life cycle of plastics, common misconceptions, and a techno-economic analysis of recycling methods (adsu.202200471). Another comprehensive review (adsu.202400294) discusses the ecotoxicology of microplastics and various degradation methods. Maria Zechel and colleagues from University Hospital Jena offer a fresh perspective on the challenges in using polymers in the healthcare sector, with a focus on the circularity of polymers used in hospitals (adsu.202400050). Research on catalysts for plastic degradation also continues to progress, including the development of an efficient photocatalyst for the degradation of polystyrene nano plastics (adsu.202300487), and the use of table salts as an innovative catalyst for facilitating low-temperature pyrolysis of polyolefins (adsu.202300306). In the area of electronic waste (e-waste), known for its low recyclability and high toxicity, two reviews provide comprehensive overviews of eco-friendly materials toward a zero-e-waste society (adsu.202300428), and the recent progress in metal recovery methods from e-waste (adsu.202300512). The back cover of Volume 8, Issue 3, features an investigation by Janet Kit Yan Chan and co-workers on Hong Kong people's knowledge and awareness of USB cable recycling, demonstrating the importance of collaboration between individuals, government, and businesses in encouraging recycling and addressing the global issue of e-waste pollution (adsu.202300339). Special attention is also given to urban development and sustainable living (SDGs 9, 11), as well as social and economic challenges (SDGs 1, 4, 5, 8, 10, 16). In Volume 8, Issue 7, machine learning models are used to examine the spatial processes for insights into cities and urbanization, balancing environmental and socio-economic dimensions (adsu.202300401).

On the occasion of the New Year 2025, the editorial team would like to thank all our authors, reviewers, readers, and especially our editorial board members for their continued support! We hope you enjoy reading Advanced Sustainable Systems and look forward to publishing your excellent work in the coming year, further advancing the achievement of the United Nations’ SDGs.

Happy New Year!