Effective Exploitation of Sugarcane Byproducts and Industrial Effluents for Strategic Energy Applications: A Review on Recent Developments and Approaches with Special Reference to Microbial Fuel Cells

Apart from its role in agriculture, the contribution of the sugarcane industry and its related sectors toward the global economy is seemingly great. Hence, it is imperative to adopt the maximum possible ways to completely recover the stored chemical energy in sugarcane to generate additional revenue and thereby to ensure the sustainability of sugarcane-related industries by surmounting the regional/seasonal limitations associated with sugarcane cultivation. So, the present Review aims to highlight the importance of sugarcane crops in the global economy by comprehensively discussing the energy value of byproducts and industrial waste generated during the processing of sugarcane. The various possible strategies reported so far for the effective recovery of bioenergy from sugarcane components are discussed with a special emphasis on technologies capable of converting the stored chemical energy into electrical energy or fuel. As the fraction of waste components generated during the harvesting or processing of sugarcane is high, the bioenergy recovery strategies standing close to the "waste-to-energy" concept are the most rewarding ones, suitable for complete bioenergy recovery. Hence, the microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology that offers dual benefits in terms of waste management and power generation is receiving much attention. The status of technological developments in MFCs and the possibilities for developing hybrid technologies through their integration with existing sugar industry waste processing strategies, to further enhance the effective exploitation of the energy value of sugarcane byproducts, are discussed rigorously by focusing on their commercialization possibilities.