Sugarcane Bagasse for Sustainable Food Packaging

Waste management in agriculture is a growing concern due to increased food processing and production resulting in the generation of huge amounts of solid waste. Agricultural byproducts and residues, known as agro-wastes, are valuable resources often unutilized. Sugarcane bagasse, one of the agro-wastes because of its chemical composition and biodegradability, is gaining attention for various applications. Sugarcane bagasse contains a range of components that have demonstrated the potential to serve as raw materials for manufacturing composite materials with diverse properties and performance characteristics. Research has explored the impacts, performance, and applications of sugarcane bagasse in its natural state, as well as in transformed forms, after treatment with various techniques and chemicals, and by blending with other materials having different characteristics. The current chapter aims to deliver a contemporary and comprehensive review of the current literature, summarizing the extensive studies conducted to explore the possible applications and capabilities of sugarcane bagasse as a composite material in the food packaging sector.