Waste-to-energy: the recycling and reuse of sugar industry waste for different value-added products such as bioenegy in selected countries – a critical review

Abstract

The economies of several countries have benefited significantly from the sugarcane industry, as a result of investment in the industry, foreign exchange earnings, the generation of substantial employment, and connections with significant suppliers. Sugarcane industry participants have been forced to find ways to offset high operating costs due to industry pressures. Proper management of wastes generated from sugar production is essential to reduce the environmental burden of pollution. This study reviews physical, chemical, and biological procedures for reusing or recycling wastewater and other sugar industry waste for various applications. Different countries are continuing to invest in industrial sugar waste, for example biomass and wastewater, to generate renewable energy, but limited investment in the sugar industry in African countries has been identified. Some by-products, including wastewater and filter cake, have been largely unused for the production of energy. The potential to generate bioenergy from sugarcane industry wastewater has been explored. Numerous technologies for obtaining energy from sugarcane wastewater are reviewed, including the reduction of energy needs through waste heat and process heat integration, generating biomass, combustion and gasification, anaerobic digestion for biogas, fermentation for bioethanol, and the direct production of electricity using microbial fuel cells. Reusing and recycling the sugar industry's waste would increase profits, create more job opportunities, and help to boost the global economy.