This Research Topic brings together five contributions, three review articles and two brief research reports, focusing on the utilization of non-conventional organisms, environmental modulation strategies, and advanced analysis methods for improving the feasibility and efficiency of microbial bioenergy processes from over 20 international authors. Considering the urgent need to transition toward sustainable and renewable energy sources the search for novel biological systems and methods in bioenergy production has intensified. Thus, with an emphasis on the use of non-conventional microorganisms, stress-responsive microbial systems, and novel analytical or monitoring approaches, the collected works aim to expand the current toolbox for developing more resilient, efficient, and scalable bioenergy processes.
In this Research Topic, two of the articles address the use of indigenous and stress-tolerant microalgae for lipid-rich biomass production. In their brief report, Andrew et al. evaluated eight tropical microalgae strains from Sabah, Malaysia, identifying Chaetoceros muelleri as a promising biodiesel candidate due to its high lipid content and favorable fatty acid profile, particularly its oleic acid concentration. This work highlights the importance of strain-level screening under local conditions for biodiesel feedstock development. Do et al. focused on Graesiella emersonii KNUA204, isolated from Ulleungdo Island, South Korea. They explored the effect of MgCl2 and NaCl-induced salt stress on biomass productivity, pigment composition, and fuel quality. Notably, treatment with 75 mM MgCl2 led to increased biomass and energy content while improving the biodiesel characteristics of the fatty acid methyl esters. The results underscore the role of salt stress as a process parameter to modulate biochemical composition in microalgal cultivation. In the domain of electroactive microorganisms, Scarabotti et al. introduced a microfluidic electrochemical flow-cell system combined with optical microscopy for real-time observation of early-stage biofilm growth. The system enabled in vivo quantification of growth dynamics, latency times, and yield coefficients, providing a valuable analytical platform for future microbial electrochemical technology development. The findings also point to oxygen intrusion as a key limitation, offering direction for technical refinement.
The Research Topic also covers review papers from a broader technological perspective. Subramanian and Sayre provided an in-depth review of biomass enhancement strategies in microalgae, spanning strain selection, photosynthetic engineering, and breeding approaches. Their report shows that biomass yields can be significantly increased, potentially up to fivefold, through molecular-assisted breeding and optimization of photosynthetic capacity. The review also draws connections between enhanced carbon fixation, open-pond system feasibility, and cost-competitive bioproduct generation. The next review in the Research Topic by Al-Hammadi et al. centered on non-conventional ethanol production using extremophiles and engineered microbial systems together with immobilization. It covers the challenges of feedstock availability, pretreatment costs, and inhibitor formation, while highlighting the advantages of co-cultures, methods for whole cell immobilization, and consolidated bioprocessing. Importantly, the paper links recent policy developments in Europe with commercialization potential, and provides insights into pilot-scale implementations.
Collectively, these studies contribute to a deeper understanding of how biological and environmental diversity can be harnessed in bioenergy systems with a non-conventional point of view. By examining underutilized organisms and novel methods, this Research Topic offers new directions for overcoming the limitations of conventional bioenergy production and supports the broader transition to a circular and sustainable bioeconomy.
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Author contributions
MG: Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing.
Funding
The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article.
Conflict of interest
The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Generative AI statement
The author(s) declare that Generative AI was used in the creation of this manuscript. During the preparation of this work, Mine Gungormusler used ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, for grammar checking. After using this tool, the author reviewed and revised the content as needed and takes full responsibility for the final version of the publication.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Summary
Keywords
non-conventional, microorganisms, bioenergy, biofuel, fermentation
Citation
Güngörmüşler M (2025) Editorial: Non-conventional organisms and methods for bioenergy production processes. Front. Energy Res. 13:1631268. doi: 10.3389/fenrg.2025.1631268
Received
19 May 2025
Accepted
10 July 2025
Published
22 July 2025
Volume
13 - 2025
Edited and reviewed by
Cesar Ivan Torres, Arizona State University, United States
Updates
Copyright
© 2025 Güngörmüşler.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Mine Güngörmüşler, mine.gungormusler@ieu.edu.tr
ORCID: Mine Güngörmüşler, orcid.org/0000-0002-0207-405X
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.