IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i9p3617-d1383198.html

Agricultural Waste Valorization: Exploring Environmentally Friendly Approaches to Bioenergy Conversion

Author

Listed:
  • Jean de Dieu Marcel Ufitikirezi

    (Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Studentská 1668, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic)

  • Martin Filip

    (Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Studentská 1668, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic)

  • Mohammad Ghorbani

    (Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Studentská 1668, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic)

  • Tomáš Zoubek

    (Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Studentská 1668, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic)

  • Pavel Olšan

    (Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Studentská 1668, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic)

  • Roman Bumbálek

    (Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Studentská 1668, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic)

  • Miroslav Strob

    (Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Studentská 1668, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic)

  • Petr Bartoš

    (Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Studentská 1668, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
    Faculty of Education, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Jeronýmova 10, 371 15 České Budějovice, Czech Republic)

  • Sandra Nicole Umurungi

    (Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Studentská 1668, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic)

  • Yves Theoneste Murindangabo

    (Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Studentská 1668, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic)

  • Aleš Heřmánek

    (Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Studentská 1668, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic)

  • Ondřej Tupý

    (Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Studentská 1668, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic)

  • Zbyněk Havelka

    (Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Studentská 1668, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic)

  • Radim Stehlík

    (Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Studentská 1668, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic)

  • Pavel Černý

    (Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Studentská 1668, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
    Faculty of Education, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Jeronýmova 10, 371 15 České Budějovice, Czech Republic)

  • Luboš Smutný

    (Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Studentská 1668, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic)

Abstract

The pursuit of sustainable energy production through the conversion of agricultural waste into different bioenergy resources is of paramount importance given its potential to mitigate environmental impact while meeting energy demands. In this review, a comprehensive overview of the technologies for the biochemical and thermochemical conversion of agricultural waste into bioenergy is provided. A summary of the process of its conversion into different bioenergy products such as biogas, bio-oil, and biofuel is provided, in addition to the potential advantages and challenges faced using different biomass conversion technologies. The review highlights the potential of agricultural waste valorization to address the current energy demand while at the same time contributing to environmental benefits and greenhouse gas emission reductions. Moreover, this review highlights some significant gaps for improvement. These include the challenges in the pretreatment of agricultural waste biomass in optimizing the conversion rates and lowering the required energy consumption throughout the process while enhancing both the quantity and quality of the output. Some recommendations are proposed to address the identified challenges. These include the need for further studies for a thorough assessment to evaluate the efficacity and sustainability of agricultural waste valorization technologies. Assessment methods such as life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle analysis (LCA), net energy ratio (NER) calculations, life cycle costing (LCC), as well as techno-economic assessment (TEA), are recommended, together with collaboration among governments, farmers, and researchers, as well as the integration of cutting-edge technologies to enhance various aspects of agricultural waste, optimizing the conversion process, cost efficiency, time management, and labor requirements, consequently boosting the conversion efficiency and product quality.

Suggested Citation

  • Jean de Dieu Marcel Ufitikirezi & Martin Filip & Mohammad Ghorbani & Tomáš Zoubek & Pavel Olšan & Roman Bumbálek & Miroslav Strob & Petr Bartoš & Sandra Nicole Umurungi & Yves Theoneste Murindangabo &, 2024. "Agricultural Waste Valorization: Exploring Environmentally Friendly Approaches to Bioenergy Conversion," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-24, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:9:p:3617-:d:1383198
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/9/3617/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/9/3617/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Azwifunimunwe Tshikovhi & Tshwafo Ellias Motaung, 2023. "Technologies and Innovations for Biomass Energy Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-21, August.
    2. Awalludin, Mohd Fahmi & Sulaiman, Othman & Hashim, Rokiah & Nadhari, Wan Noor Aidawati Wan, 2015. "An overview of the oil palm industry in Malaysia and its waste utilization through thermochemical conversion, specifically via liquefaction," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 1469-1484.
    3. Yang, Y. & Heaven, S. & Venetsaneas, N. & Banks, C.J. & Bridgwater, A.V., 2018. "Slow pyrolysis of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW): Characterisation of products and screening of the aqueous liquid product for anaerobic digestion," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 158-168.
    4. Wang, Xiaojiao & Lu, Xingang & Yang, Gaihe & Feng, Yongzhong & Ren, Guangxin & Han, Xinhui, 2016. "Development process and probable future transformations of rural biogas in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 703-712.
    5. Van de Beld, Bert & Holle, Elmar & Florijn, Jan, 2013. "The use of pyrolysis oil and pyrolysis oil derived fuels in diesel engines for CHP applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 190-197.
    6. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Huang, Ming-Yueh & Chang, Jo-Shu & Chen, Chun-Yen, 2015. "Torrefaction operation and optimization of microalga residue for energy densification and utilization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 622-630.
    7. Butler, Eoin & Devlin, Ger & Meier, Dietrich & McDonnell, Kevin, 2011. "A review of recent laboratory research and commercial developments in fast pyrolysis and upgrading," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(8), pages 4171-4186.
    8. Ravenni, G. & Elhami, O.H. & Ahrenfeldt, J. & Henriksen, U.B. & Neubauer, Y., 2019. "Adsorption and decomposition of tar model compounds over the surface of gasification char and active carbon within the temperature range 250–800 °C," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C), pages 139-151.
    9. Nzihou, Ange & Stanmore, Brian & Lyczko, Nathalie & Minh, Doan Pham, 2019. "The catalytic effect of inherent and adsorbed metals on the fast/flash pyrolysis of biomass: A review," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 326-337.
    10. Miao, Yang & Razzaq, Asif & Adebayo, Tomiwa Sunday & Awosusi, Abraham Ayobamiji, 2022. "Do renewable energy consumption and financial globalisation contribute to ecological sustainability in newly industrialized countries?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 688-697.
    11. Subramanian, K.A. & Mathad, Vinaya C. & Vijay, V.K. & Subbarao, P.M.V., 2013. "Comparative evaluation of emission and fuel economy of an automotive spark ignition vehicle fuelled with methane enriched biogas and CNG using chassis dynamometer," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 17-29.
    12. Wang, Haoqi & Zhang, Siduo & Bi, Xiaotao & Clift, Roland, 2020. "Greenhouse gas emission reduction potential and cost of bioenergy in British Columbia, Canada," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Alisa Soontornwat & Zenisha Shrestha & Thunyanat Hutangkoon & Jarotwan Koiwanit & Samak Rakmae & Pimpen Pornchaloempong, 2025. "Resource Utilization Enhancement and Life Cycle Assessment of Mangosteen Peel Powder Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-22, July.
    2. Izabella Maj & Kamil Niesporek & Piotr Płaza & Jörg Maier & Paweł Łój, 2025. "Biomass Ash: A Review of Chemical Compositions and Management Trends," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-24, May.
    3. Hortência E. P. Santana & Meirielly Jesus & Joana Santos & Ana Cristina Rodrigues & Preciosa Pires & Denise S. Ruzene & Isabelly P. Silva & Daniel P. Silva, 2025. "Lignocellulosic Biomass Gasification: Perspectives, Challenges, and Methods for Tar Elimination," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-42, February.
    4. Christodoulos Savva & Christos Koidis & Charisios Achillas & Christos Mertzanakis & Dimitrios-Aristotelis Koumpakis & Alexandra V. Michailidou & Christos Vlachokostas, 2025. "User-Friendly, Real-Time LCA Tool for Dynamic Sustainability Assessment and Support of EPD Schemes Towards Circular Bioenergy Pathways," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-23, September.
    5. Grazia Federica Bencresciuto & Monica Carnevale & Enrico Paris & Francesco Gallucci & Enrico Santangelo & Carmela Anna Migliori, 2025. "A Sustainable Alternative for Cosmetic Applications: NADES Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Hazelnut By-Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-21, February.
    6. Omid Gholami Banadkoki & Shahab Sokhansanj & Anthony Lau, 2025. "Analysis of the Pelletability of Vegetable Crop Foliage Using a Commercial Flat Die Pellet Mill," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-24, April.
    7. Sarmistha Mishra & Dukhabandhu Sahoo & Souryabrata Mohapatra & Pritisudha Mohanty, 2026. "Mapping barriers to agro-waste circularity: SLR-based WINGS analysis," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 28(2), pages 703-730, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bergthorson, Jeffrey M. & Thomson, Murray J., 2015. "A review of the combustion and emissions properties of advanced transportation biofuels and their impact on existing and future engines," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1393-1417.
    2. Broumand, Mohsen & Khan, Muhammad Shahzeb & Yun, Sean & Hong, Zekai & Thomson, Murray J., 2021. "Feasibility of running a micro gas turbine on wood-derived fast pyrolysis bio-oils: Effect of the fuel spray formation and preparation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 775-784.
    3. No, Soo-Young, 2014. "Application of bio-oils from lignocellulosic biomass to transportation, heat and power generation—A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 1108-1125.
    4. Luo, Tao & Khoshnevisan, Benyamin & Huang, Ruyi & Chen, Qiu & Mei, Zili & Pan, Junting & Liu, Hongbin, 2020. "Analysis of revolution in decentralized biogas facilities caused by transition in Chinese rural areas," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    5. Aboagye, D. & Banadda, N. & Kiggundu, N. & Kabenge, I., 2017. "Assessment of orange peel waste availability in ghana and potential bio-oil yield using fast pyrolysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 814-821.
    6. Lee, Seokhwan & Woo, Sang Hee & Kim, Yongrae & Choi, Young & Kang, Kernyong, 2020. "Combustion and emission characteristics of a diesel-powered generator running with N-butanol/coffee ground pyrolysis oil/diesel blended fuel," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    7. Hossain, Mohammad Razib & Singh, Sanjeet & Sharma, Gagan Deep & Apostu, Simona-Andreea & Bansal, Pooja, 2023. "Overcoming the shock of energy depletion for energy policy? Tracing the missing link between energy depletion, renewable energy development and decarbonization in the USA," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    8. Kartal, Mustafa Tevfik & Ghosh, Sudeshna & Adebayo, Tomiwa Sunday, 2023. "Renewable energy effect on economy and environment: The case of G7 countries through novel bootstrap rolling window approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    9. Muhammad, Tufail & Ni, Guohua & Chen, Zhenling & Mallek, Sabrine & Dudek, Marek & Mentel, Grzegorz, 2024. "Addressing resource curse: How mineral resources influence industrial structure dynamics of the BRI 57 oil-exporting countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    10. Dey, Subhashish & Sreenivasulu, Anduri & Veerendra, G.T.N. & Rao, K. Venkateswara & Babu, P.S.S. Anjaneya, 2022. "Renewable energy present status and future potentials in India: An overview," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 1(1).
    11. Lehto, Jani & Oasmaa, Anja & Solantausta, Yrjö & Kytö, Matti & Chiaramonti, David, 2014. "Review of fuel oil quality and combustion of fast pyrolysis bio-oils from lignocellulosic biomass," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 178-190.
    12. Aladejare, Samson Adeniyi, 2022. "Natural resource rents, globalisation and environmental degradation: New insight from 5 richest African economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    13. Muhammad Umar & Abraham Ayobamiji Awosusi & Oluwatayomi Rereloluwa Adegboye & Opeoluwa Seun Ojekemi, 2024. "Geothermal energy and carbon emissions nexus in leading geothermal-consuming nations: Evidence from nonparametric analysis," Energy & Environment, , vol. 35(5), pages 2726-2752, August.
    14. Wei, Shuxin & Wei, Wenshan & Umut, Alican, 2023. "Do renewable energy consumption, technological innovation, and international integration enhance environmental sustainability in Brazil?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 172-183.
    15. Guo, Xiuping & Meng, Xianglei & Luan, Qingfeng & Wang, Yanhua, 2023. "Trade openness, globalization, and natural resources management: The moderating role of economic complexity in newly industrialized countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    16. Wang, Jun & Xue, Qingwen & Guo, Ting & Mei, Zili & Long, Enshen & Wen, Qian & Huang, Wei & Luo, Tao & Huang, Ruyi, 2018. "A review on CFD simulating method for biogas fermentation material fluid," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 64-73.
    17. Lai, Long Wee & Idris, Ani, 2016. "Comparison of steam-alkali-chemical and microwave-alkali pretreatment for enhancing the enzymatic saccharification of oil palm trunk," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 738-746.
    18. Fang, Shuya & Fang, Wei, 2023. "How fiscal decentralization and trade diversification influence sustainable development: Moderating role of resources dependency," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    19. Devaraja, Udya Madhavi Aravindi & Senadheera, Sachini Supunsala & Gunarathne, Duleeka Sandamali, 2022. "Torrefaction severity and performance of Rubberwood and Gliricidia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 1341-1353.
    20. Wu, Shu & Han, Hongyun, 2022. "Energy transition, intensity growth, and policy evolution: Evidence from rural China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:9:p:3617-:d:1383198. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.