Microbial Platforms for Converting Non-Food Renewable Biomass into Value-Added Chemicals and Materials: Progress over the Past Decade

School of biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 201424, China

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

Global dependence on fossil resources and widespread food insecurity highlight the urgent need for sustainable and resilient alternatives. Non-food renewable biomass, including agricultural residues, aquatic biomass, and organic wastes, provides abundant carbon-neutral feedstock without competing with arable land or staple food production, making it a strategic resource for advancing a sustainable bioeconomy. This review systematically summarizes the classification, physicochemical properties, and high-value utilization pathways of non-food biomass, with a particular focus on microbial platforms for its conversion into biofuels, platform chemicals, biopolymers, and protein-based materials. We discuss the limitations of conventional industrial microorganisms and highlight the transformative role of synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, including synthetic pathway design, genome editing, systems biology, and AI- assisted strain optimization. Key production technologies, application prospects, and industrialization challenges are analyzed, with inhibitor tolerance, substrate conversion efficiency, and economic feasibility identified as major bottlenecks. Future perspectives include next-generation microbial chassis, synergistic conversion strategies, microbial co-culture systems, and intelligent fermentation control. Overall, synthetic biology–driven microbial conversion of non-food biomass offers a promising technical route toward carbon neutrality and the development of circular, green bio-based industrial systems.