Effective Bioconversion of Lignocellulosic Waste to Biodegradable Products for a Cleaner Earth

Abstract

Earth is constantly subjected to dramatic changes due to uncontrolled human activities and this has led to climatic variations associated with global warming resulting in unparalleled greenhouse gas emissions. One of the major causes is solid waste accumulation by human activities ranging from agricultural to industrial activities. The relation between solid waste and climatic change had forced scientists to propose a solid waste management plan to reuse, recycle and create energy from solid waste preventing its accumulation and subsequent pollution. When we consider human activities which are environmentally hazardous; plastic waste accumulation, agricultural wastes disposal and fossil fuel burning holds prominent positions. Plastic wastes. The accumulation of plastic wastes and agricultural wastes pose serious problems of disposal. Plastic wastes are often incinerated or left to be dumped in landfills. Similarly, agricultural wastes are also burnt, releasing a lot of toxic gases into the atmosphere. A common solution to curb both the problems is to streamline the production of bioplastic using agricultural waste (mostly lignocellulose) as a substrate. The third major environmental threat is the increased motor vehicle emission leading to air pollution associated with health threat. The extent of risk ranges from carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic health effects. Carbon dioxide emission by the increasing use of fossil fuels by ever increasing world population not only depletes the resource but also will result in anthropogenic climate change. Therefore, utilization of lignocellulosic waste material as raw material for monomers for bioplastic as well as for bioethanol production can be considered as a productive approach to address all the three problems mentioned above. In addition utilization of fermentation residue after bio products extraction can be used as a soil enriching agent. The intention is converting lignocellulosic waste to zero waste.