Assessment of wastes for future bioprospecting

Abstract

The ever-increasing demand for energy has exerted a lot of pressure on the existing fossil fuel resources. There seems to be no doubt that sustainable energy production possibilities from renewable sources are required, given the depletion of fossil fuel reserves and issues about climate change. Waste biomass usage has emerged as a feasible energy generation option using a wide range of potential thermochemical, physicochemical, and biochemical processes. Current biorefinery systems use a range of biomass resources and conversion processes to create high-value biochemicals and biofuels. The implementation of advanced microbial cultures and improvements in metabolic engineering techniques may assist in developing cell factories for the effective biotechnological conversion of biomass resources into value-added biochemicals. This chapter summarizes the different types of biomass wastes based on their source of origin and techniques for their efficient utilization. The chapter also focuses on metabolic engineering strategies to build cell factories and methods for recovering value-added products from various waste types. The current challenges and possibilities for future prospects have also been discussed. © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.