Use of renewable feedstocks: The recovery of high value molecules from waste of renewable feedstocks: soybean hull

Abstract

In the last 20 years intensive crop farming has been developed in a significantly manner in Latin America, whereas the cultivation of one or more type of crops have been increasing in each country. Within these crops, the most common ones are: soybeans, rice, corn, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, etc. The industrialization of the agriculture biomass produces millions of tons of waste that are discarded into the environment. Soybean is the main crop in Argentina and Brazil, producing about 140 million of Tons /year. Its industrialization produces soybean hull which is a waste only used as additive for cattle feed. This chapter provides an updated review about the application and reconversion of this waste, referencing to the high value molecules which it contains, due to their application in different areas of biotechnology: residual water treatment, dietary fiber, ethanol production, obtainment of: monosaccharides, polysaccharides, cellulose and proteins with important biological activity such as peroxidase, serin proteases and proteins with antitumor activity.