Life Cycle Assessment of Valorization of Root and Tuber Crop Wastes for Bio-commodities and Biofuels: Cassava as a Case Study

The worldwide agribusiness from sugarcane, beet, cereals, and non-conventional crops as sources of carbohydrates (sugar and starch) are facing important sustainability, competitiveness, and profitability issues. Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a multipurpose crop that represents important benefits for human health, animal feed, and economic well-being in subsistence culture. In different regions of the world, the whole plant, root, and by-products (peels, stems, straw, bagasse, leaves, and wastewater) have different uses ranging from agro-industrial use as a starch source, animal feed or medicinal, ornamental, religious, soil regenerator and with potential to produce bioethanol, biofertilizers, bioplastics, biofuels, and numerous bio commodities in a biorefinery without compete with the food security and creates jobs for unskilled labor force. However, it is necessary to use novel analytical tools to evaluate socioeconomic and environmental sustainability for each project based on cassava wastes. Therefore, the life cycle analysis (LCA) is a toolbox that will allow the stakeholder to make decisions for the success of productive projects. This work carried out an analysis of the methodological framework of the LCA and the circular economy (CE) for application to the biorefinery of cassava wastes and by-products, as well as the evaluation of challenges and constraints. Therefore, the efficient use of cassava as raw material can help to minimize waste of biological origin for disposal and the extraction, mining, and petrochemical of mineral and fossil resources and improve the sustainability of the value chain, biodiversity, and economic well-being.