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Fermentation
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Valorization of Food Waste Using Solid-State Fermentation Technology
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Valorization of Food Waste Using Solid-State Fermentation Technology

A special issue of Fermentation (ISSN 2311-5637). This special issue belongs to the section "Industrial Fermentation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2026) | Viewed by 10829

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Cristóbal Noé Aguilar González

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Guest Editor
Group of Bioprocesses and Bioproducts, Food Research Department, School of Chemistry, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Saltillo, Mexico
Interests: food fermentation; waste valorization; food biotechnology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. María Liliana Flores-López

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centro de Investigación e Innovación Científica y Tecnológica, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Saltillo 25070, Coahuila, Mexico
Interests: medicinal plants; biological activities; antimicrobial; antibiofilm; bioactive compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue emphasizes the development of solid-state fermentation as an integrative process for the valorization of food waste generated throughout the food supply chain, pursuing the development of high-impact and valuable products. Food waste generation is a huge issue that is currently concerning people, scientists, industries and governmental sectors due to its associated negative environmental and economic impact. Food waste is accumulated daily throughout the entire food supply chain, occurring during production (damaged food), post-harvest (non-compliant food), distribution (bruised food), processing (bagasse, peels, seeds), retailers (food remnants, offcuts) and final consumers (kitchen leftovers, rotten food). Interestingly, this waste still possesses substantial nutritional richness, most notably in carbohydrates, insoluble and soluble fibre (cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin and lignin), lipids and protein content, as well as having a small concentration of minerals and bioactive compounds such as phenolics and carotenoids. Such richness and also the high availability of waste can be exploited in order to obtain different multi-purpose products through the application of a bioprocess carried out by microorganisms called solid-state fermentation, in which the microorganism can naturally grow and use the lignocellulosic waste as a carbon source. Among the value-added derived products obtained from the fermentation process are single cell proteins for animal feed, catalytic enzymes with high specificity and activity, simple sugars that can be directed to bioethanol production and oligosaccharides for the formulation of prebiotic ingredients that could also lead to a release/accumulation of natural antioxidant and antimicrobials agents of phenolic and carotenoid nature. This issue, focusing on the fermentative process for food waste valorization, will include multidisciplinary areas comprising biotechnology, food science and technology and food chemistry and engineering. We invite research articles that cover an ample scope of lignocellulosic food waste from the processing of any type of crop, including cereals, vegetables and fruit, as well as plants and trees, which are applied as a support source for microbial development. All types of articles related with the fermentation process, including original research, opinions and reviews, are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Cristóbal Noé Aguilar González
Dr. María L. Flores-López
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fermentation is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • food waste valorization
  • circular bioeconomy
  • biotechnological processes
  • integrative bioprocess
  • solid state fermentation
  • dark fermentation
  • microbial growth
  • lignocellulosic enzyme production
  • bioactive compounds releasement

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 1587 KB  
Article
Valorization of Brewer’s Spent Grains via Aspergillus oryzae Solid-State Fermentation: Production of Lignocellulolytic Enzymes for Biorefinery Applications
by Anahid Esparza-Vasquez, Sara Saldarriaga-Hernandez, Rosa Leonor González-Díaz, Tomás García-Cayuela and Danay Carrillo-Nieves
Fermentation 2026, 12(4), 197; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation12040197 - 14 Apr 2026
Viewed by 662
Abstract
Brewer’s spent grain (BSG) is an abundant lignocellulosic by-product whose valorization can support circular bioeconomy strategies. This study evaluated BSG bioconversion by Aspergillus oryzae ATCC 10124 under solid-state fermentation (SSF) to produce lignocellulolytic enzymes and release second-generation (2G) sugars relevant to biorefinery applications. [...] Read more.
Brewer’s spent grain (BSG) is an abundant lignocellulosic by-product whose valorization can support circular bioeconomy strategies. This study evaluated BSG bioconversion by Aspergillus oryzae ATCC 10124 under solid-state fermentation (SSF) to produce lignocellulolytic enzymes and release second-generation (2G) sugars relevant to biorefinery applications. SSF was monitored over 0–10 days, and FPase, endo-cellulase, β-glucosidase, xylanase, mannanase, amylase, and ligninolytic enzyme activities were quantified. Enzymatic crude extracts were further assessed in SDS-PAGE analysis. Glucose, cellobiose, xylose and arabinose release and consumption were tracked throughout fermentation, and substrate transformation was supported by FTIR. The secretome exhibited a predominantly hydrolytic profile, with maximal hemicellulolytic and cellulolytic activity around days 2–4, as well as sustained amylase activity. Ligninolytic activity was not detected. Sugar profiles indicated rapid early hydrolysis of glucose, followed by progressive pentose release. The stabilization and decline were consistent with fungal uptake. Changes in the carbohydrate fingerprint and SDS–PAGE banding supported structural polysaccharide remodeling and hydrolytic protein secretion. Thus, this SSF platform confirmed certain potential for low-cost cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic enzyme generation. However, because sugar accumulation was temporary and followed by consumption, this system is best interpreted as a biological pretreatment and enzyme-generation step that supports subsequent downstream valorization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Valorization of Food Waste Using Solid-State Fermentation Technology)
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22 pages, 2129 KB  
Article
Biological Hydrogen Production Through Dark Fermentation with High-Solids Content: An Alternative to Enhance Organic Residues Degradation in Co-Digestion with Sewage Sludge
by Rodolfo Daniel Silva-Martínez, Oscar Aguilar-Juárez, Lourdes Díaz-Jiménez, Blanca Estela Valdez-Guzmán, Brenda Aranda-Jaramillo and Salvador Carlos-Hernández
Fermentation 2025, 11(7), 398; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation11070398 - 11 Jul 2025
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2929
Abstract
Adequate treatment of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) in co-digestion with sewage sludge (SS) through dark fermentation (DF) technologies has been widely studied and recognized. However, there is little experience with a high-solids approach, where practical and scalable conditions are [...] Read more.
Adequate treatment of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) in co-digestion with sewage sludge (SS) through dark fermentation (DF) technologies has been widely studied and recognized. However, there is little experience with a high-solids approach, where practical and scalable conditions are established to lay the groundwork for further development of feasible industrial-scale projects. In this study, the biochemical hydrogen potential of OFMSW using a 7 L batch reactor at mesophilic conditions was evaluated. Parameters such as pH, redox potential, temperature, alkalinity, total solids, and substrate/inoculum ratio were adjusted and monitored. Biogas composition was analyzed by gas chromatography. The microbial characterization of SS and post-reaction percolate liquids was determined through metagenomics analyses. Results show a biohydrogen yield of 38.4 NmLH2/gVS OFMSW, which forms ~60% of the produced biogas. Aeration was proven to be an efficient inoculum pretreatment method, mainly to decrease the levels of methanogenic archaea and metabolic competition, and at the same time maintain the required total solid (TS) contents for high-solids conditions. The microbial community analysis reveals that biohydrogen production was carried out by specific anaerobic and aerobic bacteria, predominantly dominated by the phylum Firmicutes, including the genus Bacillus (44.63% of the total microbial community), Clostridium, Romboutsia, and the phylum Proteobacteria, with the genus Proteus. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Valorization of Food Waste Using Solid-State Fermentation Technology)
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17 pages, 1011 KB  
Article
Bioprocessing of Spent Coffee Grounds as a Sustainable Alternative for the Production of Bioactive Compounds
by Karla A. Luna, Cristóbal N. Aguilar, Nathiely Ramírez-Guzmán, Héctor A. Ruiz, José Luis Martínez and Mónica L. Chávez-González
Fermentation 2025, 11(7), 366; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation11070366 - 26 Jun 2025
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5449
Abstract
Spent coffee grounds are the most abundant waste generated during the preparation of coffee beverages, amounting to 60 million tons per year worldwide. Excessive food waste production has become a global issue, emphasizing the need for waste valorization through the bioprocess of solid-state [...] Read more.
Spent coffee grounds are the most abundant waste generated during the preparation of coffee beverages, amounting to 60 million tons per year worldwide. Excessive food waste production has become a global issue, emphasizing the need for waste valorization through the bioprocess of solid-state fermentation (SSF) for high added-value compounds. This work aims to identify the operational conditions for optimizing the solid-state fermentation process of spent coffee grounds to recover bioactive compounds (as polyphenols). An SSF process was performed using two filamentous fungi (Trichoderma harzianum and Rhizopus oryzae). An exploratory design based on the Hunter & Hunter method was applied to analyze the effects of key parameters such as inoculum size (spores/mL), humidity (%), and temperature (°C). Subsequently, a Box–Behnken experimental design was carried out to recovery of total polyphenols. DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays evaluated antioxidant activity. The maximum concentration of polyphenols was observed in treatment T3 (0.279 ± 0.002 TPC mg/g SCG) using T. harzianum, and a similar result was obtained with R. oryzae in the same treatment (0.250 ± 0.011 TPC mg/g SCG). In the Box–Behnken design, the most efficient treatment for T. harzianum was T12 (0.511 ± 0.017 TPC mg/g SCG), and for R. oryzae, T9 (0.636 ± 0.003 TPC mg/g SCG). These extracts could have applications in the food industry to improve preservation and functionality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Valorization of Food Waste Using Solid-State Fermentation Technology)
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