Microbe-assisted Agro-industrial Waste Valorisation for Green Energy Generation: A Sustainable Biorefinery Approach

Agro-industrial waste plays a significant role in environmental contamination and climate change if not managed properly, and this creates a pressing issue of disposing this waste. On the other hand, crude oil inadequacy along with global warming has compelled researchers to search for a new resource for the production of energy. Using waste resources to recover energy is an effective approach for addressing environmental impacts and energy security. Majority of the agro-industrial waste can serve as a raw material for some industries for the manufacturing of value-added marketable products such as bio-diesel, bio-ethanol, bio-butanol, bio-hydrogen, and biogas (methane). These can be used as an alternative source of energy thereby resolving the issue of greenhouse gas emissions and energy security. Several technologies have been developed to convert the lignocellulosic and other biomasses from agro-industrial waste into bioenergy products. One of the ecofriendly techniques is the use of microbes in the biorefineries (fungal and bacterial cultures). The natural mechanism of microorganisms to convert waste into valuable products is realised by the biorefineries since long and is employed in the valorisation of biowaste. This can serve to be an important element in establishment of circular bioeconomy. This chapter has focused on the bioconversion routes and the product of microbe-assisted biorefineries and their applications with the sustainable management and valorisation of agro-industrial waste along with challenges and future perspectives.