Processing Agroindustry By-Products for Obtaining Value-Added Products and Reducing Environmental Impact

Abstract

Over four billion tons of foods are produced annually on the planet, and about a third is wasted. A minimal part of this waste is incinerated or sent to landfills for treatment, avoiding contamination and diseases; the rest is disposed of elsewhere. The current review was aimed at broadening the panorama on the potential of agroindustrial by-products in applications such as biofuels, biomaterials, biocompounds, pharmaceuticals, and food ingredients. It also exposes the main chemical, physical, and biochemical treatments for converting by-products into raw materials with added value through low environmental impact processes. The value of agroindustrial waste is limited due to the scarce information available. There is a need for further research in unexplored areas to find ways of adding value to these by-products and minimizing their contamination. Instead of throwing away or burning by-products, they can be transformed into useful materials such as polymers, fuels, antioxidants, phenols, and lipids, which will effectively reduce food waste and environmental impact.

Emerging trends in the appliance of ultrasonic technology for valorization of agricultural residue into versatile products

“…Before the process of valorization, organic matter was transformed or the compound was extracted using a variety of physical, chemical, or biological procedures known as pre-treatment operations as depicted in Fig. 5 [3] , [35] . Other than assisting the procedure of bioconversion of the biomass feedstock through pretreatment, ultrasound energy is also utilized in the valorization process by combining the existing valorization technology with ultrasonic processes.…”

“…These by-products are produced predominantly during the harvesting operation, storage, shipping, industrial processing, packaging, wholesale and retail, domestic utilization, etc. To date, it is reported that many agro-based by-products are underutilized or untreated for better disposal which negatively affected human and animal health [3] , [4] .…”

Biotechnological Valorization of Cupuaçu By-Products: Solid-State Fermentation for Lipase Production by Yarrowia lipolytica

“…Processing new by-products can be economically challenging because of the initial investment required and competition with established low-cost products. Therefore, it is important to explore value-added products or co-products that can be generated from these by-products, and consequently, market these high-value ingredients to increase revenue [81]. In addition, the processing of large quantities of heterogeneous raw materials may require investments in flexible and scalable processing units.…”

Evaluation of a Standardized Extract Obtained from Cashew Apple (Anacardium occidentale L.) Bagasse in DSS-Induced Mouse Colitis

“…Some clinical trials have already demonstrated the beneficial effects of carotenoid consumption by patients with IBD [12,13]. Derived from primary and secondary activities of agro-industrial processes [14], by-products of different plants, such as cashew, constitute an interesting source of carotenoids [15][16][17].…”