Valorization of Kitchen Food Waste for Sustainable Biofuel Production: A Review of Cutting‐Edge Technologies, Opportunities, and Challenges

Abstract

ABSTRACT Kitchen food waste (KFW) represents a critical environmental challenge, characterized by its rapid generation, high biodegradability, and significant contribution to landfill methane emissions. Simultaneously, it stands as a substantially underutilized resource with considerable potential for renewable energy recovery within circular economy frameworks. This review critically examines cutting‐edge technologies, opportunities, and persistent challenges in valorizing KFW into sustainable biofuels, offering explicit insights for integrated waste management and environmental decision‐making. Adopting a systems‐oriented perspective, the review assesses the entire valorization chain from feedstock characterization and pretreatment to biochemical, thermochemical, and hybrid conversion pathways. It evaluates their technical performance, environmental benefits, and applicability under real‐world waste management conditions. The analysis confirms KFW's suitability as a high‐strength, carbon‐neutral feedstock while highlighting key operational constraints such as compositional variability, high moisture content, and process inhibition, which directly affect treatment reliability and scalability. Emerging innovations, including advanced pretreatment methods, engineered microbial consortia, and AI‐driven process optimization, are identified as crucial enablers for enhancing conversion efficiency and system resilience amid feedstock fluctuations. From an environmental management standpoint, KFW valorization offers substantial benefits: landfill diversion, methane emission avoidance, lifecycle greenhouse gas reductions, and improved resource circularity. These advantages position it as a strategic tool for climate change mitigation and sustainable urban waste management. However, its successful implementation hinges on coordinated policy frameworks, supportive infrastructure, and active stakeholder engagement. Overall, this review provides an integrated, decision‐focused resource for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working to incorporate KFW valorization into environmentally sustainable waste management systems.