Authors
Yu Liu, Lei An, Lulu Xing, Junfeng Wan, Zhiqiang Wang, Yuqi Yan, Yanchun Song, Xiaoyuan Zhang
Published in
Biotechnology advances. Pages 109026. Aug 29, 2026. Epub Aug 29, 2026.
Abstract
The rapid accumulation of food waste worldwide poses significant challenges to conventional waste management strategies. Recent studies have increasingly focused on the valorization of food waste for circular biorefineries. Among the multiple steps involved in biological conversion, e.g. anaerobic digestion, composting, and fermentation, hydrolysis is widely recognized as a critical rate-limiting step as it determines the release of soluble organic substrates and directly influences the efficiency of downstream biorefineries processes. Enzymatic hydrolysis offers advantages in terms of selectivity and mild reaction conditions, but its implementation is constrained by a core contradiction, i.e. food waste complexity requires adaptive, multi-enzyme systems, whereas current reliance on externally supplied commercial enzymes imposes substantial economic limitations. This mismatch has emerged as a central bottleneck in food waste biorefining. Thus, this review summarizes recent advances in improving enzymatic hydrolysis of food waste, and particular attention is given to the development of in situ enzyme cocktail production approaches, in which food waste is utilized as a fermentation substrate for generating compound enzyme systems. Such strategies enable the integration of enzyme production and substrate conversion, thereby reducing costs and improving process flexibility under heterogeneous feedstock conditions. The review further elucidates how enzyme-driven hydrolysis unlocks multi-pathway valorization, including enhanced anaerobic digestion, denitrification via functional carbon sources, biofertilizer generation, and the synthesis of high-value biochemicals from carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins. Engineering translation is addressed through process retrofitting, co-digestion strategies, and scale-up considerations. Finally, future directions are outlined toward adaptive, data-driven biorefineries, integrating machine learning, reactor innovation, and life-cycle assessment. Overall, a comprehensive framework for advancing food waste valorization toward sustainable, closed-loop systems was provided in this review, which is essential to reposition food waste management from an end-of-pipe solution to a cornerstone of circular, low-carbon biorefineries. By linking in situ enzyme cocktail production, enzymatic hydrolysis, product valorization, and engineering-scale retrofitting, this review highlights enzyme cocktails as enabling interfaces between food waste and downstream high-value bioconversion.
PMID:
42667970
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 30 Aug 2026.
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