High-Value Utilization of Corn Straw: From Waste to Wealth

Abstract

As a renewable lignocellulosic biomass resource, corn straw has great potential for waste utilization in agriculture and sustainable development. In recent years, considerable attention has been given to the research on repurposing organic acids, saccharides, and other active substances extracted from corn straw. This review is focused on the progress in the preparative techniques and product development of organic acids and saccharides, realizing the high-value utilization of corn straw. This review also discusses the potential applications of corn straw in the food and biopharmaceutical industries, and sheds light on the current challenges and future directions in the efficient utilization of straw resources.

The Potential Valorization of Corn Stalks by Alkaline Sequential Fractionation to Obtain Papermaking Fibers, Hemicelluloses, and Lignin—A Comprehensive Mass Balance Approach

“…In all the experimental set-ups, the obtained pulps were wash-screened (2 × 0.5 mm screen gap) and used for further analysis and sheet formation for strength testing. The total solid yield was determined by gravimetric means and calculated using Equation (1), while the screening rejects were dried and weighed to determine the relative amount of rejects R (%)-Equation (2). The difference between SY and R leads to the value of the screened yield.…”

“…At a small scale, such as individual producers or micro-farms, the corn waste problem is simple to solve; however, at a large scale, where massive amounts are produced each year, things become more complicated. But given the outlook for the world’s resources in light of the energy crisis, the depletion of fossil fuels, climate change, and the continuous tightening of environmental legislation, agricultural wastes in general (not just corn waste) are slowly shifting from residues to by-products, and from liabilities to commodities [ 2 ]. The potential industrial uses of corn stalks and cobs for the production of paper, charcoal, furfural, composite fillers, and different chemicals was first mentioned by L.K.…”

“…The modern approach is to convert this abundant, renewable, and unavoidable resource into value-added products. Several reviews that highlight the benefits and opportunities of turning corn crop wastes into profitable goods are available in the literature [ 2 , 5 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. The potential uses of corn waste as raw materials in different industrial domains are briefly illustrated in Table S1 .…”

Characteristics and Changes in the Properties of Cereal and Rapeseed Straw Used as Energy Feedstock

“…Straw from cereals and oilseed crops has been used directly in agriculture as bedding, fodder and organic fertilizer to stabilize the organic matter content in soil [12]. Moreover, it can be used as a substrate for the production of mushrooms, as an insulation and construction material [13], and it can find a potential application in the food and biopharmaceutical industries [14] and as a substitute in the paper industry [15,16]. Excessive amounts of straw have been produced recently, mainly due to higher yield resulting from an increase in the share of cereals and rapeseed in crop cultivation and a decrease in the farm animal population, mainly cattle, sheep and horses.…”

Engineering a Plant Polyketide Synthase for the Biosynthesis of Methylated Flavonoids

“…Another approach is to establish a biosynthetic pathway commencing with simple methylated hydroxycinnamic acids such as ferulic acid and isoferulic acid. These methylated hydroxycinnamic acids are highly abundant in lignocellulosic biomass, can be easily extracted under mild conditions, , and could therefore be very cost-effective building blocks. This precursor-directed biosynthesis strategy builds on the ability of the 4CL and CHS enzymes to accept alternative phenolic substrates.…”