摘要：Burgeoning population coupled with demanding agricultural production and improved living standards caused a rapid increase in volume and types of waste agricultural biomass. Besides agricultural byproducts, other important sources of biomass are food processing, biotechnological industries, marine processing wastes, and municipal wastes and livestock by-products, among others. For instance, currently the annual worldwide production of biomass is estimated to exceed 100 trillion kilograms [1]. Among this, 140 billion metric tons of biomass is generated every year from agriculture [2]. Generally, the waste generated during manufacturing and processing is nearly ten times higher than the amount of finished product obtained. Although there is a growing trend towards the utilization of biomass for energy and other industrial products, it is still largely under-utilized. The major portion of waste biomass is generally landfilled resulting in CH 4 emissions and leaching. Moreover, the open burning by the farmers to clear the land generates CO 2 and other pollutants and hence becoming a burgeoning problem. The improper management of waste biomass is contributing towards climate change, water and soil contamination, and air pollution.
