Agricultural biomass raw materials: The current state and future potentialities

Abstract

Nowadays, the depletion of natural resources, growing population and raising environmental concerns have raised a tremendous interest in finding a sustainable alternative for creating new materials that are environmental friendly. Agricultural biomass is the plant residue left in the plantation field after harvesting. This lignocellulosic material possesses a composition, structure and properties that make them suitable to be used in various conventional and modern applications. This renewable plant waste is abundant, biodegradable, low cost and low density that could be a principal source for production of fibres, chemicals and other industrial products. The uses of these materials are not only limited to composite, paper and textile applications, but are also progressing immensely to many other unlimited applications such as medical, nano technology, biofuel and pharmaceutical. These expanding applications of agricultural biomass would not only help in reducing the environmental pollution but also provide an opportunity in developing renewable and sustainable material to be used in various advanced applications in the future. This would also help in generating employment and contributing to the improvement of people's livelihood. The aim of this chapter is to discuss different types of agricultural biomasses with its present applications and future potentialities.