Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com Current Opinion in

ScienceDirect Green and Sustainable Chemistry

A roadmap towards a circular and sustainable

bioeconomy through waste valorization
Sofia Mainaa, Vasiliki Kachrimanidoua,b and
Apostolis Koutinasa

Abstract waste per capita is undergoing, entailing multiple envi-

Municipal solid waste and food supply chain waste are globally ronmental and natural resources impacts [2].
generated in large quantities from various sectors including
various stages of food supply chains, municipalities, open mar- Several EU directives have been implemented over the
kets and catering services. A prevailing priority in the EU is to last years to mitigate the negative environmental
stimulate the transition towards a circular economy that fosters imprint of services and products throughout the life
the promotion of sustainable and resource-efficient policies for cycle [3]. A long-term goal has been established by the
long-term socio-economic and environmental benefits. European Commission for the inauguration of a
Common practices for waste management include landfill competitive and resource efficient economy manage-
disposal, anaerobic digestion, composting and wastewater ment. Within this framework, the concept and meth-
treatment. Recently, new technologies have been introduced to odology of circular economy and bio-economy have been
produce value-added products from agricultural residues and introduced as system models to overcome the dominant
food processing side streams. Integrated and holistic ap- economic development model “take, make and dispose”
proaches for organic waste utilization as industrial feedstocks and administer environmental sustainability. The cir-
will boost the transition towards the bio-economy era. The cular economy has been applied to transform the value
establishment of circular economy would expand and diversify chain from linear to closed-loop and enhance the effi-
the market outlets of bio-based products. This review provides ciency of resource utilization in order to counterbalance
an overview of the current methods on waste and by-product the economic, environmental and societal burdens
streams bioconversion to develop biorefinery concepts. caused the current linear utilization of resources [4].
The bio-economy relies on the conversion of renewable
carbon reserve from agricultural or forestry biomass and
Addresses
a
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural Uni- organic wastes into diversified end-products and mate-
versity of Athens, Iera Odos 75, Athens, Greece rials, including food, feed, bio-based chemicals, bio-
b
Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, The University of polymers, fuels and bioenergy [5].
Reading, Whiteknights, P.O. Box 226, Reading RG6 6AP, Berkshire,
United Kingdom
The core principles of the circular economy are com-
Corresponding author: Kachrimanidou, Vasiliki. (v.kachrimanidou@ plementary to the bio-economy and should facilitate the
reading.ac.uk) recycling and re-use of material directed towards the
Email addresses: [email protected] (S. Maina), [email protected] establishment of integrated sustainable approaches
(A. Koutinas) elaborating holistic resource utilization. A shift towards a
circular bio-economy is also expected to set a strong
Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 2017,
perspective on renewed competitiveness, positive eco-
8:18–23 nomic development and job creation by organizational,
This review comes from a themed issue on New Business Models,
social and technological innovation [4]. Regulations and
Ethic, Legislation and Economics policies should be developed to promote environmen-
Edited by Joel A Tickner, Piergiuseppe Morone and Valentina
tally sound product design and motivate manufacturers
Tartiu to formulate products with reduced environmental im-
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsc.2017.07.007
pacts. Likewise, the fruitful collaboration of engineers,
academics, lawyers, economists and policy makers con-
2452-2236/© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
stitutes a key element to establish synergies between
research and stakeholders towards the restructuring of
the future economy. Thus, the development of envi-
ronmentally benign goods and services could develop a
Introduction sustainable, low-carbon and resource-efficient circular
The rapid growth of global population has induced eco- economy [6].
nomic development with competitive market policies
along with increasing demand for food, feed, fuel and The present paper confers an overview of the current
diversified end-products that expanded fossil-based re- waste management for municipal solid waste (MSW)
sources requirements [1]. On top of that, an increment of and food supply chain waste (FSCW) and presents a

Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 2017, 8:18–23 www.sciencedirect.com

 From waste to bio-based products Maina et al. 19

summary of the latest advances in the bioconversion European Commission has elaborated the development
processes. The aim is to present the alternative inno- of waste management with the implementation of new
vative technologies for the utilization of waste as a legislations and policies under a hierarchy of principles,
resource in the framework of circular economy. giving top priority to the prevention of waste generation,
followed by treatment methods such as recycling, re-use,
Current waste management of MSW and composting and incineration. According to the last
FSCW available information about MSW management, consid-
Excessive waste-stream generation derived from ering the total MSW generated in EU, 42% is landfilled,
different sectors of the current linear economic model 38% is recovered and 20% is incinerated [7].
constitutes one of the major societal challenges to be
confronted regarding management and disposal. MSW is Conventional techniques that have been widely applied
defined as “wastes produced by households, as well as for the treatment and management of organic waste in
commercial and other wastes that have similar compo- developing countries consist of animal feeding,
sition to household wastes”. The amount of municipal composting, anaerobic digestion, incineration and
waste generated consists of waste collected by or on disposal in landfills [13]. Disposal in landfills causes
behalf of municipal authorities and disposed of through several environmental issues including greenhouse gas
the waste management system [7]. The amount of emission, odor production and formation of leachate.
MSW accumulated globally per year is approximately 1.3 Due to the composition of organic waste and the high
billion t and is projected to expand up to 2.2 billion t per water content, incineration is an energy demanding and
year by 2025 [8]. The production of MSW in the Eu- inefficient process that also entails air pollution. Anaer-
ropean Union (28 countries) was estimated at 242.6 obic digestion and composting constitute the processes
million t in 2014 [7], whereas in the USA roughly 258 where organic materials are converted to low value-added
million t of MSW were generated in 2014 [8]. MSW products [13]. On the other hand, thermochemical
generation and composition is associated and influenced conversion processes (e.g. pyrolysis, gasification, lique-
by socio-economic factors along with the degree of faction) and bio-chemical conversion methods (e.g.
industrialization and the local climate. It has been re- anaerobic digestion, fermentation, microbial fuel cell)
ported that the waste generation in urban areas will be convey more advanced approaches for the treatment and
approximately 1.42 kg/person/day by 2025 [9]. MSW management of organic waste in conjunction with the
contains a significant fraction of paper, food waste, wood potential to produce value-added bio-based chemicals,
and yard trimmings, cotton, glass, metals and leather as polymers, fuels and energy [2,13]. With the deployment
well as materials deriving from fossil raw materials such of the proper method and systemic approach, different
as plastics [7]. The organic fraction of MSW (OFMSW) types of biogenic wastes can be converted into diversi-
accounts approximately for 46 wt % of the total fied types of bio-energy products (eg. biogas, syngas,
municipal waste streams with large content of food methane, hydrogen, electricity) targeting various market
waste, kitchen waste and leftovers from residences, outlets under the framework of a circular economy.
restaurants and markets [10]. FSCW is generated
throughout the life cycle of different food supply chains Circular economy is by definition “restorative and
including the stages of production of raw materials, the regenerative” [14] demonstrating as a core principle the
food processing industry and the various distribution reuse of available resources and components by
chains. FSCW have been classified according to the prolonging their functionality and worth thereby
European Commission into the following categories: “a) diminishing waste generation and closing loops. Tech-
food losses: food products lost during the production phase, b) nological, socio-political and economical restructuring is
unavoidable food waste: referring to food products lost during fundamental to incorporate novel technologies and ap-
the consumption phase and c) avoidable food waste: products proaches that will promote the adoption of a circular
that could have been eaten but were lost during the consumption economy and the closing of loops. The reutilization of
phase” [11]. Specifically, in the EU around 89 million t of waste streams as feedstocks for bio-based chemical and
FSCW is annually generated and is expected to rise to polymer production will enable the European chemical
approximately 126 million t by 2020. Domestic waste industry to use a domestic feedstock reducing the need
and waste from industrial processing exhibit the major to import fossil raw materials. The use of domestic
fragments in the overall FSCW (around 47 million t and feedstocks will also lead to the implementation of
17 million t, respectively) [12]. innovative technologies leading to increased competi-
tiveness and creation of new job opportunities.
Due to the significant quantities of OFMSW and FSCW
produced worldwide and the adverse environmental The European industry has started to adopt the strong
impacts, local, national and European authorities have business cases that could be developed through the
undertaken various activities towards the implementa- utilization of organic waste streams and the application
tion of sustainable waste management solutions. The of circular economy principles. Such schemes could lead
to improved resource productivity. The feedstock
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20 New Business Models, Ethic, Legislation and Economics

requirements for the European industry could be products could be produced. The extraction of high-
reduced by 17e24% by 2030 [2] through enhanced value components from various FSCW has been
resource efficiency that should be achieved along the achieved by the implementation of physical, chemical
value chains. Improving the use of resources could and biochemical processes.
reduce the annual expenses of the European industry by
more than V600 billion per year [3]. The application of Fruits and vegetables represent a significant portion of
circular economy principles and resource efficiency is the FSCW. Mirabella et al. presented a summary of the
expected to create more than 500,000 new jobs and different aspects of vegetable and fruit waste valoriza-
reduce annual CO2 emissions by more than 400 million t. tion for the extraction of bioactive compounds and
nutrients [20]. Bioactive compounds including poly-
A representative example of adoption of renewable re- phenols, carotenoids, vitamins, antioxidants, flavonoids,
sources as feedstock for the production of high grade fibers and pectin can potentially be used as additives in
biofuels is the conversion of ENI’s conventional refinery the food industry, in various pharmaceutical applications
in Porto Marghera (Venice, Italy) into a biorefinery and for the production of functional foods. Phenolic
through the EcofiningÔ technology that has been compounds have been extracted from apple pomace,
developed by ENI and HoneyWell-UOP [15]. The citrus peel residues and berries [20,21]. Pectin has been
EcofiningÔ technology includes two stages starting with extracted from apple pomace, citrus peel, sugar beet,
hydrodeoxygenation of vegetable oils (or microbial oils sunflower heads, watermelon and waste from tropical
produced by oleaginous yeast and microalgae or more fruits and can be used in the food industry as gelling,
generally biological feedstocks) leading to the produc- thickening and stabilizing agent [21,22].
tion of a blend of linear C16eC18 paraffins followed by
an isomerization stage where the paraffin isomers are An innovative approach for the valorization of bakery
processed in order to produce fuels that conform to the waste for the production of bio-colorants has been pro-
required specifications. This illustrates a representative posed by Haque et al. [23]. In particular, bakery waste
example of a major restructuring of conventional pro- was initially employed to formulate a nutrient-rich
cesses using fossil raw materials into bio-based processes bakery waste hydrolyzate that was subsequently evalu-
producing bio-based products in a cost-competitive and ated for the production of bio-colorants using the fungal
environmentally benign manner. strain Monascus purpureus. Natural pigments obtained
from biological sources could be applied in the food and
Utilization of OFMSW and FSCW towards a textile industries, whereas the natural pigments market
circular economy is projected to rise from 55% in 2015 to 60% of the total
The potential of waste valorization via more attractive food colors market by 2026 [24].
alternative solutions such as the extraction and re-
covery of high value-added compounds and the pro- Bio-pesticides, a biological agent for selective control of
duction of fuels and chemicals has gained much pest insects, have been produced in semi and solid state
interest in both scientific and public opinion. Under fermentation through the valorization of kitchen waste
this approach, biorefinery concepts could be a key from households, cafeterias and restaurants. Zhang et al.
element for the transition to the circular economy by [25,26] achieved the production of up to 862 mg/mL of
the development of integrated and multifunctional d-endotoxin (Bt) biopesticide by Bacillus thuringiensis.
processes for the exploitation of biomass/waste towards Household kitchen waste and domestic food waste have
the manufacture of marketable intermediates and end- been implemented to secrete various enzymes including
products. A prerequisite for the design of such bio- glucoamylase, pectinolytic enzymes, lipase, cellulase,
processes reckons on economic feasibility in parallel glucoamylase-rich media and protease-rich media via
with environmental sustainability demonstrated by solid state fermentation by fungal strains [13,27].
lower carbon footprint [16].
Agro-industrial, dairy and food processing wastes have
The composition of OFMSW widely differs related to been recently used for biosurfactants production [28].
the place and time of collection, while the composition Rhamnolipids, sophorolipids and surfactin demonstrate
of FSCW is dependent on the nature of the original raw a wide range of industrial applications including adhe-
material. Generally, OFMSW and FSCW consist pri- sives, flocculating, wetting and foaming agents, de-
marily of carbohydrates (starch, cellulose, hemi- emulsifiers and penetrants. Furthermore, bio-
celluloses and soluble sugars such as glucose, fructose surfactants can be used for soil and water treatment as
and sucrose), proteins, oils/fats and minerals [17e19]. fungicide for agriculture or additive to increase biore-
OFMSW includes food waste, kitchen waste from res- mediation activities.
taurants, cafeterias and markets, household food wastes
whereas it is characterized by high moisture content and The most common approaches for the valorization of
high biodegradability. Depending on the type and the FSCW via microbial bioconversions relate to the pro-
composition of organic waste, miscellaneous valuable duction of bioethanol. Numerous reports have proposed
Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 2017, 8:18–23 www.sciencedirect.com
 From waste to bio-based products Maina et al. 21

Figure 1

Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry

Bioprocessing of food supply chain waste (FSCW) for the production of value-added products.

Figure 2

Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry

Development of a two-stage bioprocess for food waste valorization to formulate nutrient-rich supplements for microbial bioconversions.

www.sciencedirect.com Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 2017, 8:18–23

22 New Business Models, Ethic, Legislation and Economics

methods for the utilization of organic fraction of MSW entailing the production of diversified end-products
such as household food wastes, food waste from cafeteria that will fulfill various market demands towards the
and dinner center, citrus waste, grape pomace, potato establishment of a circular economy.
peel waste, pineapple waste and banana peel to produce
ethanol [13,29]. Conclusions
Excessive generation of MSW and FSCW could lead to the
Several studies have also reported the valorization of supply of an important industrial feedstock. Regulations
FSCW into added-value products that comprise the and directives have been established to facilitate the
main feedstock for the production of chemicals, chem- transition from a linear to circular economy that will be
ical intermediates, biofuel-precursors and biodegradable enabled through the exploitation of MSW and FSCW.
polymers (Figure 1). Succinic acid, citric acid, lactic Novel technologies have been developed to optimize
acid, butanol and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) have been exploitation of waste and by-product streams via sustain-
widely produced from food waste via fermentation able approaches. The establishment of integrated bio-
[13,18,30]. refineries will lead to the development of innovative bio-
based industries, open new market opportunities for bio-
Integrated biorefinery concepts have been proposed for based products and achieve efficient resource utilization.
the valorization of citrus waste. The major components
of orange peels are soluble sugars, cellulose, hemicel- References
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