Advancing a circular bioeconomy: Unlocking the potential of banana pseudostem for microbially-derived value-added products

Bananas have been touted as a vital food crop, that is typically cultivated under tropical climates and generates high volumes of wastes. Of particular interest, banana pseudostem (BP) is a lignocellulosic waste that is renewable, abundant and may serve as a low-cost carbon source for generating a spectrum of high-value bio-based products. However, high production costs have restricted its mainstream adoption. This review explores the suitability of BP as a bioprocessing substrate, assessing advances in pretreatment strategies for enhanced sugar recovery towards efficient downstream microbial conversion into value-added products. Additionally, comparative analysis of reported studies identifies the gaps encountered in bioprocess development and optimization, and highlights the opportunities for process integration and waste valorization. Beyond the bioprocessing stage, logistical constraints surrounding BP characteristics, decentralized availability, and transportation inefficiencies were summarized. Potential mitigation strategies such as localized biorefinery hubs, preprocessing, and integrated supply chain networks were critically discussed as pathways to improve substrate availability and process economics. Finally, the review outlines future prospects to integrate BP-based systems into circular bioeconomy models by coupling waste-based pretreatment optimization with value-added product recovery and sustainable logistics planning.