Scopus Journal Call for paper: Environmental Geotechnics (Biopolymer Treatment of Alkaline Industrial By-products (IBPs) for Valorisation and Sustainable Reuse in Geoenvironmental Engineering )

The transition toward circular, low-carbon geoenvironmental engineering demands transformative approaches to managing and reusing alkaline IBPs that are traditionally landfilled or stockpiled. Large volumes of alkaline wastes, such as fly ash, cement kiln dust, steel slag, incineration residues, and carbide lime waste, are generated worldwide as a result of energy production, construction, and industrial processing. While these materials often possess favourable mineralogical characteristics, their direct reuse in geotechnical and geoenvironmental applications is frequently constrained by contaminant leaching, hydro-chemical instability, insufficient durability, and uncertain long-term performance.

Recent advances in biopolymer science and bio-based treatment technologies offer promising opportunities to address these challenges. Biopolymers can act as binders, modifiers, or functional agents that improve the mechanical behaviour, environmental stability, and service-life performance of alkaline IBPs, while maintaining low carbon intensity and environmental compatibility. Importantly, biopolymer treatment enables not only stabilisation, but biological upgrading and functional transformation of waste-derived materials into value-added geo-materials.

Despite growing interest, significant knowledge gaps remain regarding treatment mechanisms in alkaline systems, durability under environmental loading, contaminant immobilisation, field-scale performance, and acceptance criteria for engineering reuse. This themed issue provides a dedicated platform to advance science-based, application-oriented solutions for the sustainable reuse of biopolymer-treated alkaline IBPs, supporting the shift from waste management to resource recovery in transportation infrastructure, embankments, environmental barrier systems, sustainable construction products, and circular-economy driven geoenvironmental engineering applications.

List of Topic Areas

We invite original research articles, reviews, case studies, and practice-oriented contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Biopolymer Preparation and Characterisation: Development of preparation methods, material characterisation, and standardised testing protocols for biopolymers intended for alkaline geoenvironmental systems.
• Biopolymer Treatment and Upgrading of Alkaline IBPs: Biopolymer-based treatment strategies for alkaline IBPs (e.g. fly ash, steel slag, cement kiln dust, incineration residues, contaminated soils), focusing on mechanical enhancement, environmental stability, and reuse potential.
• Environmental Performance and Contaminant Control: Mechanisms of contaminant immobilisation, leaching behaviour, hydro-chemical stability, and regulatory compliance of biopolymer-treated alkaline IBPs.
• Durability and Long-Term Performance: Ageing, degradation, and performance evolution under wetting–drying, freeze–thaw, chemical exposure, thermal variation, and coupled environmental loading.
• Field Applications and Pilot-Scale Demonstrations: Field trials, pilot studies, and full-scale reuse of biopolymer-treated alkaline IBPs in embankments, subgrades, ground improvement, landfill engineering, and related applications.
• Sustainability Assessment and Circular-Economy Evaluation: Life-cycle assessment (LCA), carbon accounting, techno-economic analysis (TEA), and circularity metrics for evaluating environmental and economic performance.
• Regulatory, Risk, and Standardisation Frameworks: Design guidance, risk-based assessment methods, regulatory acceptance, and standardisation pathways for safe and reliable reuse of waste-derived bio-treated geo-materials.

Submission Information

Author guidelines must be followed

Submissions are made using River Valley. Registration and access are available at: https://ice-review.rivervalley.io/journal/jenge

Once you have registered, navigate to the journal that you wish to submit to. Choose article type “Special Issue” and then the specific name from the drop-down menu on screen.

Journal Information: Scopus journal Q2, H-Index 33