Biorefinery concept for the industrial valorization of tomato processing by-products

Tomato is a basic ingredient in human nutrition, provided its beneficial properties, plus its versatility as a cooking ingredient. However, up to 30% tomato are discarded, most of the times, disposed in landfills. In general, food waste constitutes a serious environmental issue, as animal feeding cannot consume all residues produced yearly. In this sense, the concept of circular economy and, thus, biorefinery gains importance. In this economic model, residues are considered as natural resources that are introduced again in the system, giving them a second life. As a result, waste is recovered and recycled, thus contributing to a sustainable growth. Tomato waste includes many highly valuable components such as bioactive compounds (carotenoids, antioxidants, pectins, oleoresins, etc.). Extraction methods, including alternative technologies, that is, ultrasound-assisted, encapsulation, pulsed electric fields, or supercritical fluid extraction are described and other alternatives mainly for energy recovery through anaerobic digestion. In sum, this new concept of biorefinery could provide different valuable products, including energy and high value-added products. Hence, this chapter also focuses on the revision of main bioactive extraction methodologies from tomato waste. This small step for mankind could be a big one to mitigate negative consequences of climate change in order to contribute in the establishment of the European Green Deal Strategy. � 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.