Recent Advances in Enzyme-assisted Hydrolysis of Waste Biomass to Value-added Products

A major portion of global waste biomass is still underutilized, thus creating various environmental, social, and economic issues, including greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and soil-ground water pollution by leachate generation. India is rich in agricultural and forest areas, with an annual average of 0.5 billion metric tons of biomass production. Further, demographic expansion and associated industrial growth have dumped large amounts of biomass waste into the environment at greater rates than its degradation rate. Waste materials such as food and agricultural wastes are rich in several valuable compounds and organic acids. Therefore, valorization of the wastes by transforming them into various value-added products may add significance to the country's environmental sustainability and economic concerns. The main challenges associated with waste conversion arise with their moisture content and high processing costs due to their complex structure. Biotransformation via enzyme seems to be the most suitable method among all conversion techniques because of the enzymes' breakdown capability. On the other hand, various renewable biobased materials can be produced from waste where biocomposites, biofuels, and biosorbents are the most popular value-added products. The use of enzymes to produce such bulk chemicals affects the process economy and feasibility, which remain significant issues. Recent practices rely on immobilization techniques and nanotechnology to efficiently recover enzymes while avoiding the formation of toxic intermediates. Therefore, this chapter aims to consolidate recent advancements in research practices involved in the hydrolysis of biomass waste using enzymes and novel waste conversion approaches to explore prospects with the aim of creating a better and cleaner environment. A major portion of global waste biomass is still underutilized, thus creating various environmental, social, and economic issues, including greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and soil-ground water pollution by leachate generation. This chapter discusses the merits and demerits of various enzymatic hydrolysis treatment methodologies and summarizes the socioeconomic and environmental advantages of transforming waste into different high-value, bio-based components. It presents a general idea of different recoverable value-added products and, concurrently, the role of enzymes in the recovery process, along with opportunities and prospects of such valorization. The chapter provi