Green chemistry, sustainable agriculture and processing systems: a Brazilian overview

Abstract

There is a pressing need for renewable and optimal use of resources towards sustainable primary production and processing systems worldwide. Current technologies for food and feedstock production are held accountable for several environmental problems, such as for instance soil and water contamination due to the use of hazardous substances, generation of toxic products and even excess of biomass that is considered waste. To minimize or solve these questions in order to produce an adequate quantity of reliable and healthy food, fibers and other products and energy, new paradigms focusing on sustainable agriculture, bio-based industries or biorefineries have emerged over the last decades. Biorefineries integrate sustainable and environmentally friendly concepts of Green Chemistry with intelligent and integrated farming processes, optimizing the agricultural production. Thermochemical and biochemical processes are excellent alternatives for the production of new classes of renewable biofuels and feedstock, showing relatively small impact on greenhouse gas emissions and important pathways to obtain platform chemicals. This review discusses the current and incipient technological developments for using biomass to generate bio-based chemicals over the last decade, focusing on Green Chemistry concepts towards sustainable agriculture and processing models in Brazil.

Use of Lignins from Sugarcane Bagasse for Assembling Microparticles Loaded withAzadirachta indicaExtracts for Use as Neem-Based Organic Insecticides

“…9 This burning could be considered to be a sub-optimal application of this substrate because a valuable set of possible molecules and products can be derived from the lignocellulosic material. 10 Besides this apparent availability, so far only a handful of attempts of using this inexpensive material as polymeric substrate for micro and nanoencapsulation. [11][12][13] This study aimed to develop a new environmentally friendly biopesticide containing azadirachtin-rich neem extracts and formulations encapsulated in nano-and microparticles prepared using lignins from sugarcane bagasse.…”

Development and application of green and sustainable analytical methods for flavonoid extraction from Passiflora waste

“…Brazil has a great agricultural potential due to a major biodiversity and favourable environmental conditions that contribute to its agronomic development [ 1 ]. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in 2018 agribusiness activity profits reached R$ 343.5 billion, exceeding the value obtained in 2017 by 8.3% [ 2 ].…”

“…Considering the processing steps in a food supply chain and reuse of biomass, as well as the principles of Green and Sustainable Chemistry and Green Analytical Chemistry, the biorefinery concept emerges as a sustainable alternative for transforming agro-industrial practices and laboratory activities in order to achieve sustainable processes [ 1 ]. In a conceptual waste biorefinery, the residue generated through human consumption, as well as the biomass lost or degraded in the retail and manufacturing stages of food production (bagasse, seeds and peels) is transformed into valuable co-products, which can range from fuels, platform chemicals, nutraceuticals and other high added value compounds [ 5 – 7 ].…”

Green and Sustainable Separation of Natural Products from Agro-Industrial Waste: Challenges, Potentialities, and Perspectives on Emerging Approaches

“…It is estimated that around 140 billion tons of biomass from the agricultural sector are generated every year in the world [ 8 , 9 ], and a considerable part is recognized as waste and not conflicting with food availability, e.g., leaves, roots, stalks, bark, bagasse, straw residues, seeds, wood and animal residues. Using alternative strategies to avoid additional losses and produce several high value-added chemicals could minimize the volume of non-renewable materials used today (i.e., roughly 50 billion tons of fossil fuels), enough to greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on non-sustainable resources.…”