Unravelling the potential of sugarcane bagasse: An eco-friendly and inexpensive agro-industrial waste for the production of valuable products using pretreatment processes for sustainable bio-economy

Sugarcane processing industries produce environmentally hazardous by-products in addition to desired production, and disposing of these by-products is a considerable problem. Developing a viable system for sustainable management of agro-industrial waste is imperative. Efficient and cost-effective technologies for turning biowaste into value-added products, as well as an assessment of soil quality and productivity, are needed in this approach. The biomass of agro-waste produced while sugarcane processing, sugarcane bagasse (SCB), is abundant worldwide. The abundance of this biomass in nature harnesses researchers to fulfill its various objectives, including energy and environmental sustainability. To scale this up for industrial applications, thorough research, scale-up studies, and evaluations of both techno-economic and ecological feasibility are critical. Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) is a biomass with great potential to help meet global energy needs, particularly in producing biofuels such as bioethanol and biogas, while contributing to environmental sustainability. Microorganisms, acting as bio-factories, are highly valuable due to their ability to produce various essential metabolites, including alcohols, enzymes, antibiotics, and other compounds. Fermenting SCB with microorganisms yields several industrially relevant enzymes, such as amylases, chitinases, and phytases, and demonstrates bioactive properties, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-ageing, and anti-inflammatory effects. This review focuses on recovering value-added products from the SCB using various microbes, their short- and long-term impacts on the environment (air, water, and soil), living creatures, and their potential for sustainable bio-economy.