Harnessing lignocellulosic biomass: Insights into pre‐treatment strategies and hydrolytic enzyme production

Enzymes hold significant value in the industry due to their precision in targeting substrates and generating high-value desirable products and their ability to function under moderate reaction conditions. They play pivotal roles in high-yielding products and manufacturing processes. Expenses on raw materials alone account for up to 30 % of the total enzyme production costs. Annually, millions of tonnes of agro-waste rich in lignocellulosic macromolecules are discarded and burned into the environment, leading to pollution. With appropriate treatment, lignocellulose can be a sustainable alternative to traditional carbon sources in formulating media for industrial enzyme production via solid-state and submerged fermentations. The media with lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) as a carbon source not only replaces the chemical carbon source but also reduces the cost of media and environmental pollution caused by the dumping and burning LCB. This review emphasizes an overview of LCB, its importance, various agro residues used as substrates for enzyme production, types and importance of enzymes in biomass conversion, enzyme production, and recent technologies in reducing the cost of enzyme production, and enzyme immobilization. Further, this review discusses the importance of lignocellulosic biomass in the circular economy.