Current Options in the Valorisation of Vine Pruning Residue for the Production of Biofuels, Biopolymers, Antioxidants, and Bio-Composites following the Concept of Biorefinery: A Review

Abstract

Europe is considered the largest producer of wine worldwide, showing a high market potential. Several wastes are generated at the different stages of the wine production process, namely, vine pruning, stalks, and grape marc. Typically, these residues are not used and are commonly discarded. Portugal generates annually approximately 178 thousand metric tons of wine production waste. In this context, the interest in redirecting the use of these residues has increased due to overproduction, great availability, and low costs. The utilization of these lignocellulosic biomasses derived from the wine industry would economically benefit the producers, while mitigating impacts on the environment. These by-products can be submitted to pre-treatments (physical, chemical, and biological) for the separation of different compounds with high industrial interest, reducing the waste of agro-industrial activities and increasing industrial profitability. Particularly, vine-pruning residue, besides being a source of sugar, has high nutritional value and may serve as a source of phenolic compounds. These compounds can be obtained by bioconversion, following a concept of biorefinery. In this framework, the current routes of the valorisation of the pruning residues will be addressed and put into a circular economy context.

Biochar from Grapevine Pruning Residues as an Efficient Adsorbent of Polyphenolic Compounds

“…Nowadays, pruning residue management is mostly a disposal problem [ 4 ]. The disposal of GPRs represents a cost for producers and a threat to the environment due to shredding, burring, or burning in the field, causing pathogens spreading, gas emissions in the atmosphere, and fire risk, respectively [ 5 , 6 ]. However, many pieces of research mentioned in a study by Jesus et al [ 6 ] have investigated the potential of GPRs valorization in the production of oligosaccharides from hemicellulose, antioxidant compounds from lignin, organic acids, and bioethanol from saccharification of cellulose, ashes, proteins, and extractives.…”

Multi-feedstock biorefinery concept: Valorization of winery wastes by engineered yeast

“…Most research studies have focused on the valorization of a particular winery waste (Ahmad et al, 2020;Contreras et al, 2022;Jesus et al, 2022). Comparatively, limited research focuses on multi-waste valorization for the synthesis of more than one product (Filippi et al, 2022).…”

Exploring the Potential of Vine Shoots as a Source of Valuable Extracts and Stable Lignin Nanoparticles for Multiple Applications

“…Due to their antioxidant properties and beneficial effects on human health, including cardioprotective, anticancer, anti-inflammation, antiaging, and antimicrobial properties [ 9 ], phenolic compounds have received the most attention, particularly from the industry [ 10 , 11 ]. It has been suggested that vine shoots could be used as a source of sugars that could be turned into bioethanol, xylitol, lactic acid, and biosurfactants [ 12 , 13 ]. In addition, it has been investigated whether this co-product could be applied in the production of various materials such as particle boards, biochar, and paper [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ].…”