Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 May 24;10(6):1174.
doi: 10.3390/foods10061174.

Food Waste Biorefinery: Pathway towards Circular Bioeconomy

Affiliations
Review

Food Waste Biorefinery: Pathway towards Circular Bioeconomy

Bahiru Tsegaye et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Food waste biorefineries for the production of biofuels, platform chemicals and other bio-based materials can significantly reduce a huge environmental burden and provide sustainable resources for the production of chemicals and materials. This will significantly contribute to the transition of the linear based economy to a more circular economy. A variety of chemicals, biofuels and materials can be produced from food waste by the integrated biorefinery approach. This enhances the bioeconomy and helps toward the design of more green, ecofriendly, and sustainable methods of material productions that contribute to sustainable development goals. The waste biorefinery is a tool to achieve a value-added product that can provide a better utilization of materials and resources while minimizing and/or eliminating environmental impacts. Recently, food waste biorefineries have gained momentum for the production of biofuels, chemicals, and bio-based materials due to the shifting of regulations and policies towards sustainable development. This review attempts to explore the state of the art of food waste biorefinery and the products associated with it.

Keywords: bio-based materials; biofuels; biopolymer; biorefinery; platform chemicals; sustainable development goal; sustainable production.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The prospect of circular bioeconomy in food industries.

References

    1. FAO . Global Food Losses and Food Waste—Extent, Causes and Prevention. FAO; Rome, Italy: 2011.
    1. Baiano A. Recovery of biomolecules from food wastes—A review. Molecules. 2014;19:14821–14842. doi: 10.3390/molecules190914821. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. UN . Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Preamble. United Nations; New York, NY, USA: 2015.
    1. Ong K.L., Kaur G., Pensupa N., Uisan K., Lin C.S.K. Trends in food waste valorization for the production of chemicals, materials and fuels: Case study South and Southeast Asia. Bioresour. Technol. 2018;248:100–112. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2017.06.076. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Matharu A.S., de Melo E.M., Houghton J.A. Opportunity for high value-added chemicals from food supply chain wastes. Bioresour. Technol. 2016;215:123–130. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2016.03.039. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources