Sustainable Engineering and Agro-Food Processing: Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources

This new book focuses on the challenges of implementing sustainability in different contexts of biodiversity and ecosystems for shaping the future of engineering in the agro-food processing industry and addresses sustainable applications of renewable and nonrenewable resources. It highlights the engineering advancements and processing solutions for agricultural and food engineering and discusses the handling of agro-industrial waste and biorefineries, developing bioactive compounds from agro-industrial waste, using sustainable technologies for resource recovery from waste, employing spray drying in food processing, developing healthy and sustainable replacements for saturated and hydrogenated fats, and creating and enhancing healthy foods for the future.

Jose Juan Buenrostro-Figueroa, PhD, is a Researcher at the Research Center for Food and Development, A.C., Mexico. Dr. Buenrostro has experience in bioprocess development, including microbial processes for enzyme production and recovery of bioactive compounds, valorization of agroindustrial byproducts, and extraction and characterization of bioactive compounds from plants and agroindustrial wastes. He has published 35 papers in indexed journals, 19 book chapters, three books as editor, four patent requests, and more than 65 contributions at scientific meetings. Dr. Buenrostro has been a member of SNI (National System of Researches, Mexico), the Mexican Society of Biotechnology and Bioengineering (SMBB), and the Mexican Society for Food Protection affiliate of the International Association for Food Protection. He became a food engineer at the Antonio Narro Agrarian Autonomous University. He earned his MSc and PhD degrees in Food Science and Technology from the Autonomous University of Coahuila, México, where he worked on the development of bioprocesses for the valorization of agroindustrial by-products. He also worked at in the Biotechnology Department of the Metropolitan Autonomous University, Mexico City, Mexico.

Julio César Tafolla-Arellano, PhD, is a full-time Research Professor in the Department of Basic Sciences of the Autonomous Agrarian University Antonio Narro in Coahuila, Mexico. He is the Head of the Biotechnology and Molecular Biology Laboratory and a member of the Mexican Association of Food Engineering and Biotechnology. He is editor in-chief of the journals Universitas Agri and Revista Agraria. Dr. Tafolla-Arellano is a member of the Mexican National System of Researchers (level I), and his research is focused on the study of the biotechnological use of plants through an interdisciplinary omics approach, biocatalysis, bioinformatics, and food biotechnology. He became an engineer in food science and technology at the Autonomous Agrarian University Antonio Narro. He earned his PhD degree in Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology at the Center for Research and Food and Development A.C. of Sonora, Mexico. Also, he performed postdoctoral research on the postharvest shelf life of fruit and transcriptomics analysis. He has published several books chapters and articles in indexed journals and developed eight research projects. He has been advisor of several PhD, MSc, and BSc theses.

Mónica Chávez-González, PhD, is a Research Professor at the School of Chemical Sciences of the Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila. She is a pharmacobiological chemist; her master’s and doctoral programs were in Food Science and Technology. She is the General Coordinator and founder of the Bioprocessing Mx-LATAM Network, whose objective is to promote R&D in the area of bioprocessing through interaction between universities, institutes, research centers, and relevant industries in Mexico and Latin America. She has been awarded the Latin American Women in Chemistry Awards in the category of ＂Emerging Leader,＂ granted by the American Chemical Society and the Latin American Federation of Chemical Associations (FLAQ). Monica’s expertise is in the areas of fermentation processes, microbial biotransformation, enzyme production, industrial food waste valorization, extraction of bioactive compounds (antioxidants) and chemical characterization.

Pedro Aguilar-Zárate, PhD, is Professor at the National Technological Institute of Mexico, Technological Institute of Ciudad Valles, Mexico. He earned his PhD degree in Food Science and Technology at Autonomous University of Coahuila, Mexico. His research focuses on the development of bioprocesses for the extraction and purification of secondary plant metabolites, the development of microbial fermentations in solid and liquid media to produce metabolites of industrial interest, and the study of protein-polyphenols interactions. Dr. Aguilar has published over 40 articles in indexed journals, over 20 book chapters, and nine articles in refereed journals. He has directed and co-directed 24 undergraduate theses and two MSc theses and has made several presentations at scientific and academic events. He has been in charge of four research projects funded by the National Technological Institute of Mexico and collaborated in two projects funded by the sectoral funds SEP-CONACYT and CONAFOR-CONACYT. He is guest editor of Frontiers in Food Science and Technology, Polymers, Plant Science Today, and the International Journal of Research and Technological Innovation (RIIT). This has earned him recognition as a member of the National System of Researchers level 1 (Mexico). His research and scientific career have been recognized by the Mexican Association of Food Science (2014), the Mexican Society of Biotechnology and Bioengineering (2015), the Mexican Association of Food Engineering and Biotechnology (2020), and the Potosino Council of Science and Technology (2021).

A. K. Haghi, PhD, is a retired professor with over 250 academic research-oriented books as well as over 1000 research papers published in various journals and conference proceedings with over 3350 citations and h-index of 30, according to the Google Scholar database. He is currently a senior material engineering consultant in the UK. Professor A. K. Haghi has received several grants, consulted for several major corporations, and is a frequent speaker to national and international audiences. He is Founder and former Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Chemoinformatics and Chemical Engineering and Polymers Research Journal. Professor Haghi has acted as an editorial board member of many international journals. He has served as a member of the Canadian Research and Development Center of Sciences & Cultures and the Research Chemistry Centre, Coimbra, Portugal. He has supervised several PhD and MSc thesis at University of Guilan (UG) and co-supervised international doctoral projects. Professor Haghi holds a BSc in urban and environmental engineering from the University of North Carolina (USA), and holds two MSc, one in mechanical engineering from North Carolina State University (USA) and another one in applied mechanics, acoustics, and materials from the Université de Technologie de Compiègne (France). He was awarded a PhD in engineering sciences at Université de Franche-Comté (France).