Pineapple Agro-Industrial Biomass to Produce Biomedical Applications in a Circular Economy Context in Costa Rica.

Pineapple is a highly demanded fruit in international markets due to its unique appearance and flavor, high fiber content, vitamins, folic acid, and minerals. It makes pineapple production and processing a significant source of income for producing countries, such as Costa Rica. This review collects bibliographic information dating back to the beginnings of pineapple production in Costa Rica to the state of the market today. It details the impacts of its production chain and proposes a biorefinery as a solution to environmental problems. Besides the potentiality of new sustainable markets to contribute to the post-COVID-19 economy in Costa Rica is highlighted. The general characteristics of pineapple by-products -cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and other high-value products like bromelain y saponin- are described, as well as the primary processes for their ex-traction via biorefinery and main applications in the medical field. Finally, a brief description of the main works in the literature involving modeling and simulation studies of pineapple by-products properties is included.

Bioethanol production using high density Eucalyptus crops in Uruguay.

Experimental scale crops for Eucalyptus grandis, Eucalyptus benthamii, Eucalyptus dunnii and Eucalyptus tereticornis, at 2,220, 4,440 and 6,660 trees ha-1 were established in two soil units, at Paysandú and Tacuarembó, Uruguay. Wood samples were taken from twenty-two-months-old trees, and were used to produce bioethanol by pre-hydrolysis simultaneous saccharyfication and fermentation process (PSSF). Cellulose and lignin content was analyzed. Species and planting density affected biomass production at both sites; the highest value was obtained with E. dunnii at 6,660 trees ha-1 at Paysandú. Cellulose content of wood varied between species at both sites, but only between planting densities at Tacuarembó. The site effect showed that the highest amount of cellulose (14.7 Mg ha-1) was produced at Paysandú. E. benthamii and E. tereticornis wood showed higher lignin contents, conversely, the PSSF yields showed no differences, which led to a bioethanol average of 97 L Mg-1. Bioethanol productivity was associated to the biomass productivity. It was possible to obtain 2,650 L ha-1 of bioethanol using wood from E. benthamii, E. dunnii and E. grandis at 4,440 and 6,660 trees ha-1 at Paysandú, and with E. benthamii at 4,440 and 6,660 trees ha-1, and E. dunnii at 6,660 trees ha-1 at Tacuarembó.

Biorefinery of Biomass of Agro-Industrial Banana Waste to Obtain High-Value Biopolymers.

On a worldwide scale, food demand is increasing as a consequence of global population growth. This makes companies push their food supply chains' limits with a consequent increase in generation of large amounts of untreated waste that are considered of no value to them. Biorefinery technologies offer a suitable alternative for obtaining high-value products by using unconventional raw materials, such as agro-industrial waste. Currently, most biorefineries aim to take advantage of specific residues (by either chemical, biotechnological, or physical treatments) provided by agro-industry in order to develop high-value products for either in-house use or for sale purposes. This article reviews the currently explored possibilities to apply biorefinery-known processes to banana agro-industrial waste in order to generate high-value products out of this residual biomass source. Firstly, the Central and Latin American context regarding biomass and banana residues is presented, followed by advantages of using banana residues as raw materials for the production of distinct biofuels, nanocellulose fibers, different bioplastics, and other high-value products Lastly, additional uses of banana biomass residues are presented, including energy generation and water treatment.

Biorefining via solid-state fermentation of rice and sunflower by-products employing novel monosporic strains from Pleurotus sapidus.

Pleurotus sapidus monokaryotic strains (Mk) were screened as a novel source of mycelia to valorize rice straw (RS), rice husks (RH) and sunflower seed hulls (SSH) into value-added products through solid-state fermentation (SSF). P. sapidus Dk3174 basidiospores were cultured in the presence of Remazol Brillant Blue R for strain selection, revealing the ligninolytic ability of emerging colonies. Further screening demonstrated the intraspecific variability in dye degradation and enzyme production of 63 strains. Growth rate, biomass and enzyme production in plates containing RS, RH or SSH pointed at MkP6 as a suitable strain for pilot-scale SSF. MkP6 presented a similar laccase profile as the parental Dk3174, being greater in pasteurized substrates (300-1200 U/Kg) than in sterilized substrates (30-250 U/Kg). Peroxidase represented 25% of the total ligninolytic activity measured. The SSH fermented biomass with MkP6 obtained good yields of nanocellulose (67%) and the saccharide release for ethanol production increased by 3-4 times.