Valorization of Sugar Industry’s By-products: A Perspective

Abstract

Abstract The worldwide expansion in energy and resource use has resulted in a number of unsustainable innovations, necessitating the development of resource sustainability and a reduction in energy usage. Valorization of industrial waste is centred on reducing the amount of pollutants in the environment as well as increasing the revenue generated by industries. Sugarcane processing generates large amount of by-products, namely cane trash, bagasse, molasses and press mud which can be valorized into various value-added products. In this paper, the authors reviewed the variety of applications of sugar industry by-products that has been physically and chemically transformed. It also observed that the technology for producing power from the by-products has advanced, while the manufacture of value-added chemicals has not. The key technological challenges in this area are downstream separation and purification. The difficulties in putting these waste valorization methods in place are also discussed. The amount of investigation and implementation of various solutions varies a lot. In order to translate research findings into commercial products, both business participation and government encouragement are essential. Economic and technological constraints must be recognized for effective commercialization. Some interesting areas were also highlighted which can become the basis for further investigations and could act as guidance for further research in this domain.