Novel Insights into Agro-Industrial Waste: Exploring Techno-Economic Viability as an Alternative Source of Water Recovery
The growing challenges of freshwater scarcity and the high generation of agro-industrial waste, particularly from fruit and vegetable (F&V) processing, pose significant threats to the sustainability of global food systems. F&V waste, which represents a major portion of the 1.3 billion tons o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Waste |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2813-0391/3/2/15 |
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| author | Christian I. Cano-Gómez Cynthia Wong-Arguelles Jessica Ivonne Hinojosa-López Diana B. Muñiz-Márquez Jorge E. Wong-Paz |
| author_facet | Christian I. Cano-Gómez Cynthia Wong-Arguelles Jessica Ivonne Hinojosa-López Diana B. Muñiz-Márquez Jorge E. Wong-Paz |
| author_sort | Christian I. Cano-Gómez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The growing challenges of freshwater scarcity and the high generation of agro-industrial waste, particularly from fruit and vegetable (F&V) processing, pose significant threats to the sustainability of global food systems. F&V waste, which represents a major portion of the 1.3 billion tons of annual food waste, is characterized by a high moisture content (80–95%), making it a largely overlooked but promising source of water recovery. This review critically assesses the techno-economic and environmental feasibility of extracting water from moisture-rich agro-industrial waste streams. Potential technologies such as solar distillation and membrane separation are evaluated to determine their capacity to treat complex organic effluents and recover high-quality water. The potential end uses of reclaimed water in all sectors are explored, focusing on agricultural irrigation, fertigation, industrial reuse and environmental restoration. This study addresses a key research gap and proposes the reclassification of agro-industrial waste as a viable water resource aligned with circular bioeconomy principles and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6 and 12. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fe4ad94973c4465db94a7343a8874413 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2813-0391 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Waste |
| spelling | doaj-art-fe4ad94973c4465db94a7343a88744132025-08-20T02:21:52ZengMDPI AGWaste2813-03912025-05-01321510.3390/waste3020015Novel Insights into Agro-Industrial Waste: Exploring Techno-Economic Viability as an Alternative Source of Water RecoveryChristian I. Cano-Gómez0Cynthia Wong-Arguelles1Jessica Ivonne Hinojosa-López2Diana B. Muñiz-Márquez3Jorge E. Wong-Paz4Facultad de Estudios Profesionales Zona Huasteca, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Ciudad Valles 79080, San Luis Potosi, MexicoInstituto Tecnológico de Cd. Valles, Tecnológico Nacional de México, Ciudad Valles 79010, San Luis Potosi, MexicoFacultad de Estudios Profesionales Zona Huasteca, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Ciudad Valles 79080, San Luis Potosi, MexicoFacultad de Estudios Profesionales Zona Huasteca, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Ciudad Valles 79080, San Luis Potosi, MexicoFacultad de Estudios Profesionales Zona Huasteca, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Ciudad Valles 79080, San Luis Potosi, MexicoThe growing challenges of freshwater scarcity and the high generation of agro-industrial waste, particularly from fruit and vegetable (F&V) processing, pose significant threats to the sustainability of global food systems. F&V waste, which represents a major portion of the 1.3 billion tons of annual food waste, is characterized by a high moisture content (80–95%), making it a largely overlooked but promising source of water recovery. This review critically assesses the techno-economic and environmental feasibility of extracting water from moisture-rich agro-industrial waste streams. Potential technologies such as solar distillation and membrane separation are evaluated to determine their capacity to treat complex organic effluents and recover high-quality water. The potential end uses of reclaimed water in all sectors are explored, focusing on agricultural irrigation, fertigation, industrial reuse and environmental restoration. This study addresses a key research gap and proposes the reclassification of agro-industrial waste as a viable water resource aligned with circular bioeconomy principles and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6 and 12.https://www.mdpi.com/2813-0391/3/2/15pollutionfruit and vegetable residueswater recoverysolar distillationmembrane distillationcircular bioeconomy |
| spellingShingle | Christian I. Cano-Gómez Cynthia Wong-Arguelles Jessica Ivonne Hinojosa-López Diana B. Muñiz-Márquez Jorge E. Wong-Paz Novel Insights into Agro-Industrial Waste: Exploring Techno-Economic Viability as an Alternative Source of Water Recovery Waste pollution fruit and vegetable residues water recovery solar distillation membrane distillation circular bioeconomy |
| title | Novel Insights into Agro-Industrial Waste: Exploring Techno-Economic Viability as an Alternative Source of Water Recovery |
| title_full | Novel Insights into Agro-Industrial Waste: Exploring Techno-Economic Viability as an Alternative Source of Water Recovery |
| title_fullStr | Novel Insights into Agro-Industrial Waste: Exploring Techno-Economic Viability as an Alternative Source of Water Recovery |
| title_full_unstemmed | Novel Insights into Agro-Industrial Waste: Exploring Techno-Economic Viability as an Alternative Source of Water Recovery |
| title_short | Novel Insights into Agro-Industrial Waste: Exploring Techno-Economic Viability as an Alternative Source of Water Recovery |
| title_sort | novel insights into agro industrial waste exploring techno economic viability as an alternative source of water recovery |
| topic | pollution fruit and vegetable residues water recovery solar distillation membrane distillation circular bioeconomy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2813-0391/3/2/15 |
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