Cited by 23Biofuel production and bioconversionThermochemical Biomass Conversion ProcessesCatalysis for Biomass Conversion

Valorization of residual lignocellulosic biomass in South America: A review

Open access
Pardo Cuervo, Oscar H., Rosas, Camila A., Romanelli, Gustavo P.·2024·Environmental Science and Pollution Research

Abstract

Residual lignocellulosic biomass (RLB) is a valuable resource that can help address environmental issues by serving as an alternative to fossil fuels and as a raw material for producing various value-added molecules. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the use of lignocellulosic waste in South America, a review was conducted over the last 4 years. The review focused on energy generation, biofuel production, obtaining platform molecules (such as ethanol, hydroxymethylfurfural, furfural, and levulinic acid), and other materials of interest. The review found that Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador had the most RLB sources, with sugarcane, oil palm, and rice crop residues being the most prominent. In South America, RLB is used to produce biogas, syngas, hydrogen, bio-oil, biodiesel, torrefied biomass, pellets, and biomass briquettes. The most studied and produced value-added molecule was ethanol, followed by furfural, hydroxymethylfurfural, and levulinic acid. Other applications of interest that have been developed with RLB include obtaining activated carbon and nanomaterials. Significant progress has been made in South America in utilizing RLB, and some countries have been more proactive in regulating its use. However, there is still much to learn about the potential of RLB in each country. This review provides an updated perspective on the typification and valorization of residual biomass in South America and discusses the level of research and technology being applied in the region. This information can be helpful for future research on RLB in South America.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1007/s11356-024-33968-6

Cites

191 of 191 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Solid biofuels are often categorized based on their origin (woody, herbaceous, or fruit biomass) or their processing level and form (firewood, chips, pellets, or briquettes).

    “Consequently, solid biofuels are often categorized based on their origin (e.g., woody, herbaceous, or fruit biomass) or their processing level and form (e.g., firewood, chips, pellets, or briquettes) [240,241].”

    From Biofuels, E-Fuels, and Waste-Derived Fuels: Advances, Challenges, and Future Directions (2025) · cites this paper as [241]

    The Introduction describes biomass by source, and ‘Use of RLB for the production of biofuels or energy’ identifies pellets and briquettes as distinct biofuel forms (page numbers unavailable). The paper does not present the claimed classification of solid biofuels into woody, herbaceous, and fruit origins or into the full list of firewood, chips, pellets, and briquettes; its ‘Forest residues’ section instead describes firewood and chips as sources of residues. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 21

  1. Afanasjeva N Castillo LC Sinisterra JC Lignocellulosic biomass. Part I: biomass transformation J Sci Technol Appl 2017 3 27 43 10.34294/j.jsta.17.3.22 · DOI
  2. Arteaga Quintana JF Caracterización de cascarilla de arroz como biomasa residual para combustible térmico. Dissertation 2020 Quito Universidad Internacional SEK
  3. Benítez M Borghini A Maguna F Morosoles N Rolón MN Scarpa Á Producción de ácido levulínico a partir de residuos lignocelulósicos. Dissertation 2022 Uruguay Universidad de la República
  4. Cidreira ACM (2019) Extração de derivados lignocelulósicos a partir da biomassa residual do açaí (Euterpe Olerácea). https://rosario.ufma.br/jspui/bitstream/123456789/4347/1/ANNE-CIDREIRA.pdf. Accessed 09 May 2022
  5. Dagnino EP de Castro A Campestrini S Chamorro ER Biorrefinería del Residuo de la Producción de Arroz: Revalorización de la Fracción Hemicelulósica. Dissertation 2019 Argentina Centro de investigación en Química Orgánica Biológica-Instituto de Modelado e Innovación Tecnológica
  6. Durán-Aranguren D, Barrera D, Carreño L, Ríos J, Saavedra D, Morantes G, Sierra R (2019b) Mango fruit waste: an amazing biorefinery opportunity. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Daniel-Duran-Aranguren/publication/341437703_Mango_fruit_waste_An_amazing_biorefinery_opportunity/links/5ec08961299bf1c09ac0e9be/Mango-fruit-waste-An-amazing-biorefinery-opportunity.pdf. Accessed 8 May 2022
  7. Durán-Aranguren D, Bernal-Álvarez L, Morantes G, Sierra R (2019a) Potential of gulupa (purple passion fruit) waste for biorefineries. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341439987_Potential_of_Gulupa_Purple_Passion_Fruit_Waste_for_Biorefineries. Accessed 7 May 2022
  8. Freites SG Using agricultural residues to support sustainable development: a case study of coffee stems gasification to supply energy demands in rural areas of Colombia. Dissertation 2020 United Kingdom The University of Manchester
  9. Herguedas A Taranco C Rodrígez E Paniagua P Biomasa, biocombustibles y sostenibilidad (Vol. 13) 2012 Madrid Graficolor-Palencia S. L
  10. Lago C Caldés N Lechón Y The role of bioenergy in the emerging bioeconomy: resources, technologies, sustainability and policy 2018 London Academic Press
  11. Meneses CP Sustainable second-generation bioenergy alternatives for Ecuador (Doctoral dissertation 2021 Valladolid Universidad de
  12. Pesantes Adrianzén CA Tirado Ramírez NM Remoción del furfural e hidroximetilfurfural de hidrolizados de polvillo de bagazo, usando carbón activado obtenido de licor negro Kraft 2020 Dissertation Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Perú
  13. Pinilla Acosta HD Producción de furfural y etanol a partir de zoca de café: evaluación experimental. Dissertation 2019 Colombia Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano
  14. Poma RAS Propuesta de generación eléctrica a partir de biomasa en la provincia de Loja-Ecuador. Doctoral dissertation 2019 Universidad de Buenos Aires
  15. Ponce S Alvarez-Barreto J Almeida D Recent advances in residual biomass conversion into bioenergy and value-added products: a review of the Ecuadorian situation ACI Avan Cienc Ing 2020 13 1 1.21
  16. Rincón SN Aprovechamiento de biomasa lignocelulósica proveniente de rosas utilizando el proceso organosolv. Dissertation 2020 Universidad Nacional de Colombia
  17. Rivera Marín A Producción de furfural a partir de bagazo de caña. Dissertation 2021 Colombia Fundación Universidad de América
  18. Ronquillo Ponce ME Obtención de bioetanol mediante hidrólisis enzimática a partir de biomasa residual agrícola procedente de maíz blanco, trigo y cebada con fines de biorefineria. Dissertation 2021 Escuela Superior Politecnica de Chimborazo Ecuador
  19. Sinche Arias DF Ramírez Peñaherrera VE Velalcázar Rhea CM Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of hydrothermally pretreated Jatropha curcas shell for bioethanol production Ingeniería 2022 32 1 19 32 10.15517/ri.v32i1.46884 · DOI
  20. Valladares Ochoa JD Obtención de carbón activado mediante carbonización hidrotermal a partir de biomasa residual. Dissertation 2020 Universidad Central del Ecuador
  21. Veliz Baquerizo DT Optimización del proceso de obtención del furfural a partir de los residuos lignocelulósicos de la industria azucarera. Dissertation 2019 Universidad de Guayaquil, Ecuador

Cited by

Authors
Pardo Cuervo, O. H., Rosas, C. A., & Romanelli, G. P.
Affiliations
  • Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia (CO)
  • Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (AR)
Venue
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
Published
2024-07-02
Volume
31
Issue
32
Pages
44575-44607
ISSN
  • 0944-1344 (ISSN-L)
  • 1614-7499
OpenAlex
W4400261072
Cited by
23
References
191
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 12
FWCI
0.82
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Environmental Science and Pollution Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Conicet (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • Greater South Information System
Funders
Universidad Pedagogica y Tecnologica de Colombia
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Biofuel production and bioconversion
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Thermochemical Biomass Conversion Processes
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Catalysis for Biomass Conversion
Keywords
biomass valorization, biofuels, bioethanol, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, furfural, levulinic acid, biogas, syngas, torrefaction, activated carbon, nanomaterials, sugarcane waste, oil palm waste, rice residue, biomass energy, South America
MeSH terms
Lignin, South America, Biomass, Biofuels

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review