TITLE:
Valorization of Rice Residues: A Systematic Review of the Uses of Rice Straw, Rice Husk, and Rice Bran
AUTHORS:
Wagnilo Arnaud Anonmoan Akakpo, Aude Sena Alda Yemadje, Bossèdé Patricia Lucrece Vlavonou, Moutakilou Assoumanou, Yédia Pamphile Ainoukou
KEYWORDS:
Rice Straw, Rice Husk, Rice Bran, Rice Residue Valorization, Environmental Sustainability, Circular Economy
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.17 No.10,
October
28,
2026
ABSTRACT: Global rice production generates large quantities of agricultural and agro-industrial residues annually, particularly rice straw, rice husk, and rice bran. These by-products remain largely underutilized despite their significant energy, agronomic, environmental, and industrial potential. This study presents a systematic review assessing the main valorization pathways of rice residues and their contributions to environmental and economic sustainability. A bibliographic search was conducted in the Scopus database using Boolean operators (“AND” and “OR”) and keywords including “rice residues,” “rice straw,” “rice husk,” “rice bran,” “valorization,” “environmental upcycling,” “carbon,” “utilization,” “circular economy,” and “biomass.” The identified references were imported into Sysrev for deduplication, PRISMA-based screening, data extraction, and qualitative and quantitative synthesis. A total of 3,112 articles published between 2010 and 2025 were identified, of which 1,076 were retained after applying the inclusion criteria according to PRISMA guidelines. Rice straw (89.3%) was the most extensively studied residue, followed by rice husk (4.5%), rice bran (0.8%), and combinations of these residues (5.4%). The main valorization pathways were bioenergy (31.9%), agriculture (25.7%), biochemistry (13.2%), construction materials (11.2%), animal feed (7.6%), and other applications (10.4%). Publications were predominantly from Asia (49.16%), followed by Europe (23.14%), the Americas (17.94%), Africa (8.08%), and Oceania (1.67%). In Africa, Benin accounted for only 1.14% of publications, compared with 73.5% for Egypt and 25.3% for other African countries. This systematic review highlights the need to promote sustainable rice-residue valorization strategies to support the energy transition, reduce agricultural waste, and foster a circular economy in agri-food systems.