High-Value Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals from Agricultural Waste

Agricultural residues cause environmental pollution and pose hazards (e.g., fire, health) due to their indiscriminate disposal. The abundance and diversity of agricultural residues, food wastes, and agro-industrial byproducts as biogenic carbon-based feedstocks promise sustainable access to organic chemicals while reducing dependence on anthropogenic carbon. These lignocellulosic biomasses are primarily composed of biopolymers, including cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, which can be transformed into organic chemicals of desired molecular structure and properties. Advances in biomass value-addition technologies enable surplus biomass to be converted into renewable chemicals under economically feasible, environmentally acceptable conditions within a biorefinery setting. The increasing focus on sustainable synthetic practices, combined with waste biomass feedstock, provides greater societal, economic, and environmental incentives. This chapter discusses recent advances in synthesizing high-value chemicals and pharmaceuticals from agricultural wastes.