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Agri-Food Wastes and Biomass Valorization—2nd Edition
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Agri-Food Wastes and Biomass Valorization—2nd Edition

A special issue of Waste (ISSN 2813-0391).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 3946

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Dimitris P. Makris

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Food Science & Nutrition, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Thessaly, N. Temponera Street, 43100 Karditsa, Greece
Interests: natural antioxidants; polyphenol extraction; food and beverage polyphenols; valorization of beverage industry waste; green extraction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Vassilis Athanasiadis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Thessaly, Terma N. Temponera Str., 43100 Karditsa, Greece
Interests: functional foods; polyphenols; antioxidants; public health; nutritional evaluation; natural product extracts
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Agricultural practices, industrial manufacturing, and household consumption are just a few of the activities that contribute to the production of food waste biomass. Modern environmental theories, like that of the circular economy, are thought to provide the impulse behind the implementation of zero-waste policies. A huge percentage of this residual biomass has significant potential to be used as a raw material to produce novel products and specialty feedstock through biorefining procedures, even though the high volume of waste originating from the food industry raises serious concerns regarding both economic and environmental aspects.

Given that many plant parts that are rejected during fruit and vegetable processing (e.g., leaves, branches, peels, roots, stems, and seeds) carry a sizable load of phytochemicals, including polyphenols, the recovery of valuable secondary metabolites from waste plant tissues is an appealing prospect in this regard. This specific group of substances includes a wide range of chemical compositions with diverse biological characteristics and functions, including antioxidant and antibacterial activities, as well as chemoprotective effects against cancer and other degenerative diseases.

As a result, the purpose of this Special Issue of Waste is to provide a collection of scientific papers focusing on agri-food waste and biomass valorization, natural product extraction applications, and the health potential of bioactive compounds.

Dr. Dimitris P. Makris
Dr. Vassilis Athanasiadis
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. Waste is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1000 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

  • agri-food wastes
  • antioxidants
  • bioactive compounds
  • biomass
  • biorefinery
  • by-products
  • green extraction
  • health potentials
  • polyphenols
  • valorization

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 1720 KiB  
Article
Valorization of Black Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) for the Extraction of Bioactive Compounds Using Solid-State Fermentation
by Dulce W. González-Martínez, Alma D. Casas-Rodríguez, Sergio A. Coronado-Contreras, Adriana C. Flores-Gallegos, Claudia M. López-Badillo, Juan A. Ascacio-Valdés, Antonio Flores-Naveda and Leonardo Sepúlveda
Waste 2025, 3(2), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/waste3020013 - 11 Apr 2025
Viewed by 644
Abstract
Black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are one of the most consumed legumes worldwide. Black beans are rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals, and polyphenolic compounds. The present study aims to valorize black beans for the extraction of polyphenolic compounds using solid-state fermentation (SSF) [...] Read more.
Black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are one of the most consumed legumes worldwide. Black beans are rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals, and polyphenolic compounds. The present study aims to valorize black beans for the extraction of polyphenolic compounds using solid-state fermentation (SSF) from Aspergillus niger GH1. A physicochemical analysis of black beans was performed. Fermentation kinetics was performed to establish the best accumulation time of condensed polyphenols. A two-level Plackett–Burman experimental design was used to evaluate the culture conditions (temperature, humidity, inoculum, particle size, pH and salt concentration) for the accumulation of condensed polyphenols. The results of the physicochemical analysis showed that black beans can be used as a substrate in the SSF process. In addition, the best time for the accumulation of condensed polyphenols was 48 h. Treatment 5 achieved an accumulation of 21.04 mg/g of condensed polyphenols. While the factors of particle size, humidity, and temperature had a significant effect on the accumulation of condensed polyphenols. It is concluded that the SSF process is an efficient and eco-friendly extraction method for obtaining bioactive molecules with potential applications in the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agri-Food Wastes and Biomass Valorization—2nd Edition)
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15 pages, 2004 KiB  
Article
Investigation and Enhancement of the Antioxidant Compound Recovery of Pyrus communis Peel
by Tzeni Bentoulla, Konstantina Kotsou, Dimitrios Kalompatsios, Aggeliki Alibade, Vassilis Athanasiadis, Eleni Bozinou and Stavros I. Lalas
Waste 2024, 2(3), 382-396; https://doi.org/10.3390/waste2030021 - 20 Sep 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1859
Abstract
Pyrus communis (P. communis) is the most cultivated and consumed species of pear within the European continent. This fruit has been a staple in Greece since ancient times, hence the name “Gift of the Gods”. Given the extensive utilization of this [...] Read more.
Pyrus communis (P. communis) is the most cultivated and consumed species of pear within the European continent. This fruit has been a staple in Greece since ancient times, hence the name “Gift of the Gods”. Given the extensive utilization of this fruit in the industrial sector and the focus on the exploitation of by-products to create new food and beverage products, the present research aimed to enhance the antioxidant activity of the P. communis peel through the implementation of a multifactor extraction system. Increased total polyphenols and ascorbic acid concentration, and enhanced antioxidant activity through radical scavenging and Fe3⁺ to Fe2⁺ reduction, all assist in boosting the health benefits of the extracts. The results indicated that the best conditions for compound yields were a 75% v/v hydroethanolic concentration, an extraction temperature of 80 °C, and 30 min of extraction time. Under the optimal conditions, the total polyphenol content was up to 4.98 mg of gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g dried weight (dw). The radical scavenging activity by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) method was expressed as 18.36 μmol ascorbic acid equivalents (AAE)/g dw, while by the ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) method, it was 35.09 μmol AAE/g dw. Finally, the amount of ascorbic acid was measured at 20.16 mg/100 g dw. In this regard, this study has been conducted to assess and enhance the level of these bioactive compounds in the extract of the P. communis peel, leading to an extract with several applications in different food and beverage industries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agri-Food Wastes and Biomass Valorization—2nd Edition)
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Review

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22 pages, 924 KiB  
Review
Novel Insights into Agro-Industrial Waste: Exploring Techno-Economic Viability as an Alternative Source of Water Recovery
by Christian I. Cano-Gómez, Cynthia Wong-Arguelles, Jessica Ivonne Hinojosa-López, Diana B. Muñiz-Márquez and Jorge E. Wong-Paz
Waste 2025, 3(2), 15; https://doi.org/10.3390/waste3020015 - 15 May 2025
Viewed by 313
Abstract
The growing challenges of freshwater scarcity and the high generation of agro-industrial waste, particularly from fruit and vegetable (F&V) processing, pose significant threats to the sustainability of global food systems. F&V waste, which represents a major portion of the 1.3 billion tons of [...] Read more.
The growing challenges of freshwater scarcity and the high generation of agro-industrial waste, particularly from fruit and vegetable (F&V) processing, pose significant threats to the sustainability of global food systems. F&V waste, which represents a major portion of the 1.3 billion tons of annual food waste, is characterized by a high moisture content (80–95%), making it a largely overlooked but promising source of water recovery. This review critically assesses the techno-economic and environmental feasibility of extracting water from moisture-rich agro-industrial waste streams. Potential technologies such as solar distillation and membrane separation are evaluated to determine their capacity to treat complex organic effluents and recover high-quality water. The potential end uses of reclaimed water in all sectors are explored, focusing on agricultural irrigation, fertigation, industrial reuse and environmental restoration. This study addresses a key research gap and proposes the reclassification of agro-industrial waste as a viable water resource aligned with circular bioeconomy principles and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6 and 12. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agri-Food Wastes and Biomass Valorization—2nd Edition)
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