**2.1 Banana waste**

Banana residues are not considered among the primary agro-industrial waste to be utilized as biorefinery biomass supply in developing countries. Therefore,

#### **Figure 4.**

*(a) Composition of global solid waste in 2015 [14]; (b) estimated biomass crop residue flows for Latin America in 2012 [15].*

*Nano-Cellulosic Fibers from Agricultural Wastes DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98637*

banana waste treatment has become an issue that needs to be resolved [18]. The common banana plant wastes include the pseudostem, floral stalk, banana peels and leaves. Elanthikkal et al. [19] added that banana peel waste is a by-product of processing banana chips and baby foods. The edible part of banana consists of 12 wt% of the whole plant, which indicates the remainder is discarded as agricultural waste thereby causing environmental problems. Chang [20] also mentioned that about 40% of bananas that do not fit standards set by supermarkets are discarded by farmers [2]. The waste produced by a single banana plant can account for nearly 80% of the total plant mass. It is estimated that 220 tonnes of by-products are produced per hectare per year [21], which requires innovative ideas to convert the agricultural wastes into value-added products. **Figure 5a** illustrates a mountain of banana waste being discarded daily as it does not fit the cosmetic look set by the buyers.
