Valorization of marine crustacean shells waste via fermentation technology: A comprehensive review on derived value-added compounds and enhancing their industrial applications

Abstract

Crustacean processing industries represent the largest segment of global seafood production due to their high demand and considerable commercial value. The crustacean processing sectors annually generate tremendous amounts of waste streams, such as shells, that their disposal and management pose serious challenges. Crustacean shell waste (CSW) contains large amounts of chitin, chitosan, astaxanthin, minerals, bioactive peptides and amino acids, and their improper management leads to both nutritional loss and environmental hazard crisis. To mitigate these problems, implementing secondary processing and valorization of CSW in order to isolate valuable biocompounds is crucial. Two microbial fermentation systems, including Solid-state fermentation (SSF) and submerged/liquid fermentation (SLF) have been established as safe, efficient, and environmentally friendly solutions for the biorefinery of valuable products from CSW. The fermentation-derived ingredients possess multifunctional properties, enabling their application across diverse industries such as food, feed, pharma, cosmetics, agriculture, water treatment, etc. With further research and investments, microbial fermentation has the potential to become the key technique in the biorefining industries, transform our food production systems, and serve the circularity and sustainability of the blue economy. In this review, the hazards associated with CSW accumulation and the role of bioconversion in the value addition of CSW through microbial fermentation are critically presented according to recent information on the scenarios; the advances and revolutions of microbial fermentation in commercialization, and the importance of process variables are comprehensively discussed; the challenges in the emerging field of science are identified, and the future trends are addressed.