Coffee Agroindustrial Lignocellulosic Biomass in Brazil and Colombia: Types, Composition, and Potential Applications

Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages worldwide and plays an important cultural, economic, and social role in producing and consuming regions. This review provides an overview of the residues generated throughout the coffee production chain in Brazil and Colombia and critically evaluates their composition, valorization pathways, and potential contribution to a circular bioeconomy. Coffee consumption exceeds 2 billion cups daily, generating substantial amounts of residues from fruit processing, roasting, and beverage preparation. Dry, wet, and semidry processing generate distinct residual streams, including coffee hulls, pulp, parchment, and wastewater, while silverskin and spent coffee grounds (SCG) are generated during roasting and beverage preparation, respectively. These residues contain lignocellulosic fractions and bioactive compounds, supporting their application in food ingredients, bioactive extracts, biofuels, biopolymers, biocomposites, fertilizers, and other value-added products. However, the review indicates that their valorization remains fragmented and faces important technical, logistical, economic, safety, and regulatory barriers. In addition, techno-economic and life-cycle assessments remain unevenly available across residues and valorization routes, limiting the identification of economically viable and environmentally beneficial alternatives. Future research should prioritize process scale-up, standardized residue management, integrated biorefinery strategies, and combined techno-economic and life-cycle assessments to support sustainable circular coffee value chains.