BIO-WASTE TO BIO-ENERGY: A PERSPECTIVE FROM INDIA

Present crises of climate change, environmental degradation, poverty, food security, and energy optimization are critical challenges linked with the linear model of the economy based on continuous extraction of natural resources, dependency on fossil fuels, and unsustainable production & consumption. Due to the growing population rate and economic development, an enormous amount of bio-waste is being generated in India; on the other hand, globally, to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) and climate change mitigation, the demand for bio-energy is increasing rapidly. Diverse types of bio-waste generated in India are causing long-term environmental pollution and biodiversity loss; on the other hand, research data reveals that bio-waste has enormous potential in supplementing virgin resources and energy generations. In the early civilization, bio‐wastes were either dumped or burnt off in the open environment leading to environmental degradation, increased concentration of GHG, and incurred a considerable amount of economic cost. The globally accepted circular economy principle for bio-waste utilization holds the promise for providing sustainable long-term solutions towards bio-waste valorisation and supplementing virgin resources and non-renewable energy, respectively. Utilization of diverse category bio-waste with the circular economy principle helps to reduce the volume of the waste dump and is used as raw materials for other fields of applications such as bio-energy, bio-chemical, and bio-fuel. This paper describes the present state of the arts of recycling and valorisation opportunities of bio-waste for bio-energy generation through the circular economy principle, leading to replenishing the depletion of natural resources, reducing the dependency on fossil fuel, reducing global warming, and helping to integrate global sustainability