The field of chemical engineering still has process optimization problems in terms of economics and life cycle analysis of the different unit operations. In some industrial cases, the molecular perspective of looking at the problem is increasingly important in the refinement of kinetic and thermodynamic molding. Keeping this background in mind, the 4th International Conference on Recent Advancements in Chemical, Environmental, and Energy Engineering (RACEEE 2019) was organized by academics and researchers belonging to various scientific areas of chemical, environmental, and energy engineering and its allied fields. The conference was created as an international forum for academics, researchers, and scientists from worldwide by discussing and exchanging knowledge about the issues, remedies, and demands related to chemical, environmental, and energy engineering. The conference was organized by B. Ambedkar, J. Dhanalakshmi, and R. Anantharaj. The theme of the RACEEE-2019 conference was to “ignite, inspire, and innovate novel technology in chemical, environmental, and energy engineering for sustainable future development,” to promote young minds and their research abilities by providing an international platform to interact with the experts in the field of chemical, environmental, and energy engineering. This event was planned in such a way that it can explore and enlighten different applications in following fields: chemical reaction engineering, process control strategies, process safety and optimization, food processing technology, CO2 capture processes, solvent regeneration techniques, renewable and non-renewable energy, energy conservation, and different waste to energy technologies.

The conference brought together 9 eminent speakers, ~ 190 participants, scientific writing tutorial participants, and also participants from the industrial background. The keynote speakers addressed all the current and future development challenges in the field of chemical, energy, and environmental engineering, across the global context. The papers published in this special issue will provide valuable networking opportunity and set the stage for further cooperation among professionals. The guest editors of this RACEEE-2019 issue are thankful to the Editor-in-Chief of Environmental Science and Pollution Research (ESPR), Prof. Philippe Garrigues, for providing an opportunity to publish selected peer-reviewed papers that were presented at RACEEE-2019. Our special thanks to Ms. Fanny Creusot and Ms. Florence Delavaud, Editorial Assistants of ESPR, and the entire production team at Springer for their valuable support in bringing out this issue successfully. The guest editors firmly believe that the special issue papers will be a useful reading document to your research group, and we wish you all the very best.