Unused Plant Biomass as a Raw Material for Obtaining High-Value-Added Products

Dear Colleagues,

Nature does not require humanity to survive, but humanity cannot survive without nature. Humans have learned to use natural substances of various origins for their own benefit, including the treatment and prevention of various diseases. Modern urbanization, technological development and the need to meet the needs of all consumers have led to advancements that only focus on the primary uses of raw materials and neglect the rest. For example, although bark comprises up to 20% of the total mass of wood and is an excellent source of raw material for the creation of new valuable products, the bark is often left during the extraction of wood.

Plant biomass can be both terrestrial and marine, and each biomass has its own unique fingerprint or chemical composition. In the course of evolution, people and animals have learned to use and adapt different forms of biomass for their own benefit, using them as medicinal products or food, and have accumulated knowledge concerning which plants cannot be used due to their negative effects. Therefore, it is necessary to accumulate knowledge regarding unused plant biomass and its various high-value-added products while respecting the concept of biorefining and the circular economy, which could benefit the local/global economy by creating new jobs and using less fossil-based materials by partially replacing them with unused plant biomass.

This Special Issue will exert a positive environmental impact by promoting the use of the waste generated by agriculture and the forestry industry. Secondly, it will offer social and health benefits through the creation of biologically active extracts that are non-toxic and can be employed in cosmetics, functional food, and energy production. Lastly, this Special Issue will have economic benefits, introducing new revenue streams derived from the unused waste of various industries, according to their perspective value. The global market for “green cosmetics,” which are personal care products containing natural ingredients (e.g., extracts, natural oils, or by-products of fruits and grains processing plants) as substitutes for synthetic chemicals, is particularly buoyant and is predicted to increase to USD 54 billion by 2027.

Dr. Maris Lauberts
Prof. Dr. Arturs Viksna
Guest Editors

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• plant biomass
• valorization
• biorefinery extraction
• value added products
• antioxidant activity
• unused plant biomass
• analytical approaches
• chemical characterization
• target compounds
• method development