Dear Colleagues,

Agricultural and agro-industrial activities are responsible for the overproduction/overaccumulation of many types of waste, raising huge environmental concern due to the scarcity of sustainable treatments and applications for these wastes. Therefore, the production and consumption systems throughout the supply chain need to upgraded. In this context, the circular bioeconomy is proposed as a revolutionary strategy to address various complex concerns such as limited and depleted resources, food wastage and security, as well as environmental pollution and climate change. Special attention should be focused on the full valorization of food waste materials, especially due to their interesting chemical composition and structural characteristics. These wastes could be considered renewable natural resources for the obtention of different ingredients/additives, including cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, lignin, proteins with or without enzymatic activity, natural antioxidant/antimicrobial agents, simple sugars and organic acids, among others. The development of biorefinery platforms and processes could act as a modern practical strategy for the sustainable management and exploitation of these wastes. These platforms are expected to yield multiple high-value products from these wastes, including biofuels, food and feed ingredients, biochemicals, and biomaterials through the combination of useful conversion processes involving consolidated and green technologies.

This Special Issue emphasizes the development of biorefinery cascading processes for the investigation of valorizing food waste from agricultural and agro-industrial sectors, yielding high-impact and valuable products. This issue on Biorefinery Processes for Food Waste Valorization will involve multidisciplinary areas comprising agriculture and agro-industry, with the disciplines of biotechnology, food science, bioprocessing, food chemistry, and engineering. Research articles will cover a broad scope of food waste from the processing of any type of crop, including vegetables and fruits as well as plants and trees. All types of articles, such as original research papers, opinions, and reviews, are welcome.

Dr. Ricardo Gómez-García
Prof. Dr. Cristian Torres-León
Dr. Débora A. Campos
Prof. Dr. Cristóbal Noé Aguilar González
Guest Editors

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• biorefinery systems
• biowaste valorization
• bioactive compounds
• circular bioeconomy
• functional ingredients
• fiber
• proteins
• zero-waste approach