Recycling of major agriculture crop residues and its application in polymer industry: A review in the context of waste to energy nexus

Abstract

The depletion of petroleum-based resources such as natural gas, coal, and minerals is an alarming sign for the sustainability of mankind. Thus, the focus has majorly turned towards renewable energy resources. It can be seen that environment-friendly resources are preferred over petroleum products at places wherever feasible. One of such abundant resources includes agricultural residue, which is luxuriantly available at a low cost. It generally consists of both pre-harvested and post harvested residue. This residue generally includes crop stems, leaves, peels, husk, and ash which are studied for their constituents and properties. The residue being lignocellulosic acts as a potential source of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and pectin, which are extracted and further treated. In this work, locally and considerably obtained crops such as cereals, millets, and fruits are investigated. They are studied for their applications in polymer domains such as potential absorbents, fillers in polymers, bio-plastics, lightweight construction materials, packaging substitutes, etc. This paper gives an insight into the work carried on Agro-waste and its potential applications replacing exhausting resources.

Keywords

• Agricultural residue
• Crop
• Waste
• Cellulose
• Bio-plastic
• Polymer composites