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Processes
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The Recycling Process of Agro-Industrial Waste
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The Recycling Process of Agro-Industrial Waste

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental and Green Processes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 July 2025 | Viewed by 1618

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Wilgince Apollon

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Center in Applied Science and Advanced Technology (CICATA-Altamira)—Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Altamira 89600, Mexico
Interests: bioenergy; biotechnology; microbial fuel cells; resource recovery; sustainable agriculture; sustainability; waste management; wastewater treatment; water reuse
Prof. Dr. Alejandro Isabel Luna Maldonado

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Agricultural and Food Engineering, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, General Escobedo 66050, Mexico
Interests: sustainability; agricultural ecosystem; food engineering; bioenergy; biosystem engineering; image processing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last few decades, the recycling of agro-industrial waste has become a topic of global interest and a critical component of sustainable development. As we know, the world faces significant challenges, such as climate change, environmental pollution, and soil degradation. Annually, the global agro-industrial sector produces millions of tons of wastes, which have not been well exploited. Furthermore, other sectors like agricultural practices, industries, and food processing, are also considered as others sources of wastes. Therefore, it is essential to effectively manage these wastes in order to reduce its severe environmental damage. These include greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, soil and water contamination, and biodiversity loss. Therefore, we can transform the waste from the agro-industrial sector into valuable bioproducts, which include organic fertilizers for sustainable agriculture and bioenergy via the recycling process, while simultaneously reducing waste disposal costs. Nevertheless, the adequate recycling of these wastes requires a comprehensive approach that involves novel technologies, prioritizing recovery, reuse, and waste reduction.

This Special Issue on “The Recycling Process of Agro-Industrial Waste” seeks high-quality works focusing on the lastest advances in sustainable technologies for the recovery of value-added products from agro-industral wastes. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Self-sustainable conversion of agro-industrial waste into biofuels.
  • Novel methods for nutrient recovery and organic fertilizer production.
  • Valorization of food waste into value-added products and bioenergy.
  • Sustainable technologies for agro-industrial waste management (for instance, bioelectrochemical systems, i.e., MFC, CW-MFC, etc.).
  • Bioconversion of agricultural waste into bioenergy, such as biogas and bioelectricity.
  • Life cycle assessment (LCA) and environmental impact of agro-industrial waste.
  • Agro-industry strategies for a circular economy.

Dr. Wilgince Apollon
Prof. Dr. Alejandro Isabel Luna Maldonado
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Processes 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 2400 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

  • bioconversion
  • waste management
  • sustainability
  • recycling
  • agro-industrial waste
  • bioenergy
  • biorefinery
  • value-added products
  • organic fertilizers
  • nutrient recovery

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 13521 KiB  
Article
Furfural Biodegradation in a Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor Using Native Bacteria and Agroforestry Waste as Supports
by Alejandro Ruben Farias, Maria Cecilia Panigatti and Diana Lia Vullo
Processes 2025, 13(5), 1337; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13051337 - 27 Apr 2025
Viewed by 121
Abstract
Furfural is a relevant industrial product, but its presence in water and soil generates contamination and health risks. Moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs) are an increasingly used alternative to eliminate contaminants with the advantage of occupying small spaces, despite their high dependence on [...] Read more.
Furfural is a relevant industrial product, but its presence in water and soil generates contamination and health risks. Moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs) are an increasingly used alternative to eliminate contaminants with the advantage of occupying small spaces, despite their high dependence on support and the microorganisms involved in the process. This work proposes furfural elimination through a laboratory-scale MBBR using Bacillus licheniformis GTQ1, Microbacterium sp. GISTAQ2, and Brevundimonas sp. GISTAQ1 isolated from an industrial effluent and agroforestry waste (rice husks, pine sawdust, and quebracho chips) as supports. The biofilm development was tested with both axenic and mixed cultures, confirming high coverage by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images, especially in triple-mixed cultures. Biodegradation tests were carried out in the MBBR with 15 g rice husks or quebracho chips as supports and a 4000 mg L−1 initial furfural concentration for 72 h. The mixed culture achieved almost a 100% furfural removal in three days with a rate of 3.97% per hour with rice husks and 2.61% per hour with quebracho chips. This laboratory-scale MBBR development is a promising first step ready for a scale-up for its implementation in industries to significantly reduce the environmental impact of the discharge of this type of effluent. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Recycling Process of Agro-Industrial Waste)
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Review

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25 pages, 2048 KiB  
Review
Integration of Emerging and Conventional Technologies for Obtaining By-Products from Cocoa Pod Husk and Their Application
by Alejandra Bugarin, Angela Iquise, Bianca Motta Dolianitis, Marcus Vinícius Tres, Giovani Leone Zabot and Luis Olivera-Montenegro
Processes 2025, 13(5), 1264; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13051264 - 22 Apr 2025
Viewed by 338
Abstract
This review discusses the potential of emerging technologies, as well as their integration with conventional methods, to optimize the extraction of lignocellulosic compounds from cocoa pod hull (CPH), an agro-industrial residue that represents approximately 76% of the total weight of the fruit. CPH [...] Read more.
This review discusses the potential of emerging technologies, as well as their integration with conventional methods, to optimize the extraction of lignocellulosic compounds from cocoa pod hull (CPH), an agro-industrial residue that represents approximately 76% of the total weight of the fruit. CPH is primarily composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and pectin. Emerging technologies such as microwave-assisted extraction, hydrothermal treatment, subcritical water, ionic liquids, deep eutectic solvents, and ultrasound treatment have proven effective in recovering value-added compounds, especially when combined with conventional techniques to improve process efficiency. Furthermore, the use of technologies such as high-voltage electric discharge (HVED) is proposed to reduce inorganic contaminants, such as cadmium, ensuring the safety of by-products. The CPH compounds’ applications include use in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, agricultural, biopolymer, and environmental industries. The conversion of CPH to biochar and biofuels via pyrolysis and supercritical extraction is also discussed. The integration of technologies presents an opportunity to valorize CPH and optimize by-product development; however, as research continues, process scalability and economic viability must be assessed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Recycling Process of Agro-Industrial Waste)
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