Chapter 1
Potential, Uses and Future Perspectives of AgriculturalWastes

Van Tang Nguyen

School of Environmental and Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Information Technology, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, NSW, Australia

Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Food Technology, Nha Trang University, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa, Vietnam

1.1 Introduction

Agriculture has a developmental history going back thousands of years and is considered one of the most important fields of human knowledge because of its special role in ensuring global food security for over 7 billion people around the world. It also has an important role in supporting and promoting the development of other industries, such as nutraceuticals, medicines, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. In particular, agriculture produces a large amount of wastes, containing a significant quantity of valuable bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols, phenolic acids, flavonols, flavanols, flavonoids, procyanidins, proanthocyanidins, anthocyanins, glycosides, carotenoids, saponins, tannins, alkaloids, sterols, steroids, triterpenes, quinones, peptides and carbohydrates, which have been proved to possess a variety of biological activities, including antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anticancer, antidiarrhoeal, antihypertensive, antimutagenic, anti-inflammatory, anticholesterol and anticardiovascular properties (Figure 1.1) (Balasundram et al., 2006; Santana-Méridas et al., 2012). However, the utilisation of agricultural wastes as an abundant, biorenewable and low-cost source for the production of high value-added products is still under investigation, with limited outcomes. Therefore, research is needed into the application of environmentally friendly traditional and advanced techniques with low production costs in the extraction, isolation and purification of phytochemical compounds from agricultural wastes in high yields and at maximal quality. This strategy will increase the value of agricultural wastes and reduce pollution risks for the environment in both the short and the long term, and will enable sustainable development, one of the most important goals of modern global agricultural production.

Figure 1.1 Major agricultural sectors in the recovery of bioactive compounds.

1.2 Potential of Agricultural Wastes

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAOSTAT, 2015), the total harvested crop area worldwide in 2013 was about 4.36 billion ha, producing approximately 21.70 billion tonnes, with a total gross production value of US$24 932.32 billion (Table 1.1). In Asia, the total harvested crops area was 1.82 billion ha (41.81% of total), producing 9.94 billion tonnes (45.80%), with a total gross production value of US$15 543.06 billion (62.34%).

Table 1.1 Total harvested crop area, total production and total gross agricultural production value in 2013. Source: FAOSTAT (2015)

Table 1.2 Total harvested area, total production and total gross production value of major crops in 2013, as well as their main residues/wastes. Source: FAOSTAT (2015)

n/r, not reported

Table 1.3 High added-value products from crop-based residues. Source: Santana-Méridas et al. (2012). Reproduced with permission of Springer