Sources, properties, and sustainable valorization technologies of agro-industrial effluents for bioproducts recovery in a biorefinery

Worldwide, there is continuous pressure to satisfy the food demands, which relies on several sectors, including agriculture. The agricultural industry includes not only the growth and harvest of crops but also the formulation of products. Although the agricultural industry continues to grow and increase its productivity, there is also considerable waste generation, such as effluents. Effluents are liquid waste that, without the appropriate management, could cause different impacts on the environment and human health. Effluent valorization is the most sustainable strategy to counterbalance their adverse effects. Applying the circular economy concept in the agro-industry will minimize environmental and human health impacts. The effluents can be exposed to different pretreatments to be used as raw material in new processes. In a biorefinery, agro-industrial effluents can be processed using techniques such as enzymatic hydrolysis, anaerobic digestion, or fermentation to generate value-added products such as biofuels, biochemical products, and biomaterials. This chapter collects information about the different sectors and practices involved in the discharge of agro-industrial effluents, the characteristics of the effluents, the different methodologies for their recovery, and their potential for obtaining a variety of bioproducts.