Invited review on ‘maize in the 21st century’ Emerging trends of maize biorefineries in the 21st century: scientific and technological advancements in biofuel and bio-sustainable market

The United States is the largest global bioethanol producer and maize is the leading crop contributing towards it. Improvement in maize quality and yeast strains have enhanced ethanol production to a great extent. The high-titer ethanol production from maize biorefineries has enabled the maize biorefineries to meet the government set blending limits, which plateaued the demand for ethanol in the United States. On the other hand, growing industrial biotechnology with an emphasis on sustainability has accelerated demand for bio-based products. Therefore, the focus of maize biorefineries is now shifting on branching out the application of maize towards the bio-based markets. Recent scientific and technological advancements in the field of cellular agriculture, polymer development, and process engineering have diversified the usage of maize and inexpensive coproducts of maize biorefineries. The abundant fermentable sugars, vegetable oil, fiber, germ, and coproducts of maize fermentation have become the new platform compounds to produce next-generation high-value bio-based polymers, bulk and specialty chemicals along with biofuels and food. To meet this growing new demand, traditional maize biorefineries are evolving and positioning themselves in bio-based sustainable market sectors. This review analyzes the recent advancements in science and technologies leading to the emerging trends of maize biorefineries.