Abstract
On a worldwide scale, food demand is increasing as a consequence of global population growth. This makes companies push their food supply chains’ limits with a consequent increase in generation of large amounts of untreated waste that are considered of no value to them. Biorefinery technologies offer a suitable alternative for obtaining high-value products by using unconventional raw materials, such as agro-industrial waste. Currently, most biorefineries aim to take advantage of specific residues (by either chemical, biotechnological, or physical treatments) provided by agro-industry in order to develop high-value products for either in-house use or for sale purposes. This article reviews the currently explored possibilities to apply biorefinery-known processes to banana agro-industrial waste in order to generate high-value products out of this residual biomass source. Firstly, the Central and Latin American context regarding biomass and banana residues is presented, followed by advantages of using banana residues as raw materials for the production of distinct biofuels, nanocellulose fibers, different bioplastics, and other high-value products Lastly, additional uses of banana biomass residues are presented, including energy generation and water treatment.
Highlights
The rising development of industries all over the world has brought a consequential increase in their residue generation, especially in the field of agro-industry
Estimates on biomass crop residue flows in Latin America show that most of lignocellulose containing biomasses are mostly made of maize, soybean, and sugarcane residues [18]; banana residues are not found within the main agro-industrial residues of developing countries to be used as biorefinery biomass sources
Banana rachis and pseudostem residues can be used as biomass feedstocks, both biomasses have a high content of carbohydrates such as hemicellulose, starch [23], and lignin [19]
Summary
The rising development of industries all over the world has brought a consequential increase in their residue generation, especially in the field of agro-industry. This waste can be denominated as “food supply chain waste” (FSCW) and can be defined as “organic material produced for human consumption lost or degraded primarily at the manufacturing and retail stages” [1]. This concept has emerged in the context of the current vast inefficiency of the food supply chain business.
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