Revalorisation of Agro-Industrial Wastes into High Value-Added Products

Agro-industrial waste represents large economic and environmental problems and is related to a greenhouse gas emissions. However, most of these residues have shown to be a valuable source of bioactive compounds or ingredients that could be used for pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic, and bioenergy industries. The reduction of this waste and the revalorisation of agro-industrial by-products contribute to minimise the ecological impact through bioeconomy or circular economy models. In order to carry out these approaches, extraction techniques play a fundamental role in these processes since they are capable of isolating the compounds of interest but they may apply in a sustainable way. This chapter presents the potential applications of reusing agro-industrial by-products to develop high added value products and the role of these applications in strategies against climate change or in the revaluation of companies. In addition, the main agro-industrial waste from vegetables, fruits, or cereals are described, as well as the main bioactive ingredients detected in these and the main extraction techniques used.