Biosurfactant Production From Agro-Industrial and Food Waste: A Sustainable Approach to Waste Management

The global pursuit of sustainable and climate-resilient technologies has accelerated interest in waste valorization for biosurfactant production. Biosurfactants, recognized as eco-friendly alternatives to synthetic surfactants, offer versatile applications across industries due to their biodegradability, low toxicity, and surface-active properties. Despite having number of applications and advantages, commercialization remains difficult primarily due to the high cost, with substrates alone contributing over 50% of the total production cost. Leveraging waste as a feedstock for production has opened new avenues by reducing production costs by 10%-30% while simultaneously promoting environmental sustainability. Waste-derived biosurfactants not only offer significant cost reductions and yield (1 g/L-60 g/L depending on feedstock and strain) and environmental advantages over conventional substrates but also advance circular bioeconomy principles by transforming waste into valuable products and aiding in waste management. This review synthesizes current advancements in biosurfactant classification, microbial sources, and fermentation strategies, with a particular emphasis on the valorization of low-cost waste feedstocks, such as food processing byproducts, lignocellulosic agricultural residues, and industrial effluents. The review further elaborates emerging biotechnological approaches aimed at improving yield, functionality, and process scalability. Major emphasis is on the utilization of waste to address both environmental challenges and economic feasibility in biosurfactant synthesis over conventional substrate-derived biosurfactant.