An Overview of Agro-Waste Management in Light of the Water-Energy-Waste Nexus
, Eric C. Brevik 3,*, Yousry Bayoumi 4, Tarek A. Shalaby 4, Mohammed E. El-Mahrouk 4, Naglaa Taha 5, Heba Elbasiouny 6, Fathy Elbehiry 7, Megahed Amer 8, Neama Abdalla 9, József Prokisch 2, Svein Ø. Solberg 10 and Wanting Ling 11
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The review by El-Ramady et al provides comprehensive overview on the management, environmental impacts and potential applications of agricultural wastes in light of the Waste-Energy-Water nexus. Information provided in this review is of significant interest to the readers, particularly in the field of sustainability. To improve the organization, articulation of idea, and the presentation of information, the authors should addressed the comments highlighted in yellow/red in the manuscript attached.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
Reviewer 1#
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
The review by El-Ramady et al provides comprehensive overview on the management, environmental impacts and potential applications of agricultural wastes in light of the Waste-Energy-Water nexus. Information provided in this review is of significant interest to the readers, particularly in the field of sustainability. To improve the organization, articulation of idea, and the presentation of information, the authors should addressed the comments highlighted in yellow/red in the manuscript attached.
Response: Many thanks for your kind words to encourage us!
peer-review-23583313.v1.pdf
1- lines 60-61: The environmental consequences of agro-wastes should be specified.
Response: Many thanks, corrected in the revised MS!
2- Lines 89-91: This information should be highlighted in the Abstract.
Response: thanks, added in the abstract!
3- Lines 93-96: Results of the literature searched should be better displayed in graph to show the trend on the selected topic.
Response: we dd not calculate the numbers of articles in each searching about each keyword, it was NOT systematic review, because I did have facility for open accesses all published articles!
For each keyword we collected hundred articles, selected the best based on the journal and authors reputation. The final selected refs. in this study there is more than 200 cited articles.
4- Figure 3:
Information contain in this section is similar to the last section in Figure 4. Please check and revise accordingly. While figure is a good to tool for summarizing information, figure with many words will dilute the main idea. Therefore, I would suggest the authors to highlight this information in Table and cite the relevant references. In this way, readers will know the key players (researchers) in the field.
Response: Many thanks, corrected in the revised MS!
5- Figure 4: Information in this figure is better illustrated in a "real" figure.
Response: Many thanks!
6- Figure 5: Spelling error.
Response: Many thanks, corrected in the revised MS!
7- Table 2: I suggest to change this to type of adsorbent, and include the capacity rate in different column.
Response: thanks, changed and corrected in the revised MS!
8- Figure 9: Similar to Figure 4, information in this figure is better displayed as a "real" figure instead of wordy summary.
Response: thanks, the figure modified and divided into figures!
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
The manuscript reviewed agro-wastes management in light of the water-energy-waste nexus. The manuscript still requires substantial improvement. Before the current manuscript is taken into consideration for publishing in Sustainability, a minor change is required. Please consider my suggestions, which are listed below.
1. Line 32-34: Please rewrite again as the sentences structure is not fine.
2. It is suggested to write only specific keywords, preferably 5.
3. The authors are suggested to read and cite this most relevant paper “Ur Rahim, H., Qaswar, M., Uddin, M., Giannini, C., Herrera, M. L., & Rea, G. (2021). Nano-enable materials promoting sustainability and resilience in modern agriculture. Nanomaterials, 11(8), 2068. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11082068
4. The production of food requires significant amounts of resources, amongst them water and energy; therefore, any losses of food or agricultural products mean losses of water and energy
5. Line 174-177: The authors are suggested to cite some work form China as well b/c there are tremendous work is in progress on waste management from last few decades.
6. The authors are suggested to cite the relevant paper “Rahim, H. U., Akbar, W. A., & Alatalo, J. M. (2022). A Comprehensive Literature Review on Cadmium (Cd) Status in the Soil Environment and Its Immobilization by Biochar-Based Materials. Agronomy, 12(4), 877. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12040877, in section 7.2.
7. The authors are suggested to provide future research recommendations in a separate section after the conclusion.
8. Check the paper carefully for grammatical errors and make the necessary corrections.
Author Response
Reviewer 2#
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
The manuscript reviewed agro-wastes management in light of the water-energy-waste nexus. The manuscript still requires substantial improvement. Before the current manuscript is taken into consideration for publishing in Sustainability, a minor change is required. Please consider my suggestions, which are listed below.
- Line 32-34: Please rewrite again as the sentences structure is not fine.
Response: Many thanks, corrected in the revised MS!
- It is suggested to write only specific keywords, preferably 5.
Response: Many thanks, corrected in the revised MS!
- The authors are suggested to read and cite this most relevant paper “Ur Rahim, H., Qaswar, M., Uddin, M., Giannini, C., Herrera, M. L., & Rea, G. (2021). Nano-enable materials promoting sustainability and resilience in modern agriculture. Nanomaterials, 11(8), 2068. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11082068
Response: Many thanks, we used this ref. in the revised MS!
- The production of food requires significant amounts of resources, amongst them water and energy; therefore, any losses of food or agricultural products mean losses of water and energy
Response: Many thanks, yes this is correct!
- Line 174-177: The authors are suggested to cite some work form China as well b/c there are tremendous work is in progress on waste management from last few decades.
Response: Many thanks, we added some citations in the revised MS! Several articles were cited in this MS from China, and I cannot count them!
- The authors are suggested to cite the relevant paper “Rahim, H. U., Akbar, W. A., & Alatalo, J. M. (2022). A Comprehensive Literature Review on Cadmium (Cd) Status in the Soil Environment and Its Immobilization by Biochar-Based Materials. Agronomy, 12(4), 877. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12040877, in section 7.2.
Response: Many thanks, we used this ref. in the revised MS!
- The authors are suggested to provide future research recommendations in a separate section after the conclusion.
Response: Many thanks, your suggestion was inserted in the revised MS!
- Check the paper carefully for grammatical errors and make the necessary corrections.
Response: Many thanks, our co-authors Prof. Eric Brevik from the USA edited and revised MS!
The tracking version of Prof. Eric will be re-submitted beside the revised version
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Dear Authors
In terms of sustainable economic activities, the issue of wastes arising from various economic activities and consumption processes is very important because nature, which we meet our needs, and the resources it provides are scarce. For the continuation of the service these resources provide to us, the preservation of their essential feature should provide an opportunity for them to heal themselves. Evaluating the wastes and bringing them back into the production process means solving the two important problems of the modern world on environmental pollution and the sustainability of economic activities. In this sense, your article has been a very valuable work. I wish you continued work.
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Point 1 |
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Figure 3 (Tables and figures mentioned in the text will be more useful and complementary if they are used immediately after or close to the sentence in which they are first mentioned.) |
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Point 2 |
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Figure 4 (Tables and figures mentioned in the text will be more useful and complementary if they are used immediately after or close to the sentence in which they are first mentioned.) |
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Point 3 |
Line 299 |
Table 1 (Tables and figures mentioned in the text will be more useful and complementary if they are used immediately after or close to the sentence in which they are first mentioned.) |
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Point 4 |
Line 318 |
Figures 5-7 Tables and figures mentioned in the text will be more useful and complementary if they are used immediately after or close to the sentence in which they are first mentioned.) |
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Point 5 |
Line 523 |
Figures 10 Tables and figures mentioned in the text will be more useful and complementary if they are used immediately after or close to the sentence in which they are first mentioned.) |
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Point 6 |
Line 599-601 |
“We argue that the management of agro-wastes cannot be discussed without referring to the role of water and energy within the food chain system.” In the conclusion part, you have not made a judgment that fully expresses your claim. The role of water and energy in waste management is not fully emphasized. Repetitive information. It should focus more on the result, so what is the judgment reached? |
Author Response
Reviewer 3#
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
Dear Authors
In terms of sustainable economic activities, the issue of wastes arising from various economic activities and consumption processes is very important because nature, which we meet our needs, and the resources it provides are scarce. For the continuation of the service these resources provide to us, the preservation of their essential feature should provide an opportunity for them to heal themselves. Evaluating the wastes and bringing them back into the production process means solving the two important problems of the modern world on environmental pollution and the sustainability of economic activities. In this sense, your article has been a very valuable work. I wish you continued work.
Response: Many thanks for your great words, last sentence of your words, I used it in the last section, if you allow me, please!
Point 1: Line 147
Figure 3 (Tables and figures mentioned in the text will be more useful and complementary if they are used immediately after or close to the sentence in which they are first mentioned.)
Response: Many thanks, we did it as we can because sometimes the flowing of text needs also to be continued or the paragraph should be completed!
Point 2: Line 167
Figure 4 (Tables and figures mentioned in the text will be more useful and complementary if they are used immediately after or close to the sentence in which they are first mentioned.)
Response: Many thanks, done thanks!
Point 3: Line 299
Table 1 (Tables and figures mentioned in the text will be more useful and complementary if they are used immediately after or close to the sentence in which they are first mentioned.)
Response: Many thanks, done thanks!
Point 4: Line 318
Figures 5-7 Tables and figures mentioned in the text will be more useful and complementary if they are used immediately after or close to the sentence in which they are first mentioned.)
Response: Many thanks, done thanks!
Point 5: Line 523
Figures 10 Tables and figures mentioned in the text will be more useful and complementary if they are used immediately after or close to the sentence in which they are first mentioned.)
Response: Many thanks, done thanks!
Point 6: Line 599-601
We argue that the management of agro-wastes cannot be discussed without referring to the role of water and energy within the food chain system.” In the conclusion part, you have not made a judgment that fully expresses your claim. The role of water and energy in waste management is not fully emphasized.
Repetitive information. It should focus more on the result, so what is the judgment reached?
Response: Many thanks, done thanks! Your statement is very true and we totally agree with your point of view.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
