Current Role of Membrane Technology: From the Treatment of Agro-Industrial by-Products up to the Valorization of Valuable Compounds

New tendencies respect to economic development model in the process of agro-industrial materials are oriented to circular economy in which the treatment and reuse of wastes and by-product play a crucial role. Over the last decades, different products from agro-food industries have been processed by membrane technologies (micro, ultra and nano-filtration). Today, these pressure-driven membrane processes have been subjected to various applications, like food wastes, bioproduct, and by-product processing. However, the most challenging issue concerns about the recovery of high-added value components from their by-products. The aim of this work is to provide a wide understanding of the current framework for membrane technology in this field. Thereby, the utilization of aqueous wastes from industries is highlighted; it denotes the real advantages that these methodologies offer in terms of high-added value solute recovery. Finally, this review discusses in detail the following aspects: framework of integrated membrane systems in wastewater fractionation, the economic framework as the limitation of membrane technology, and the environmental benefits of membrane technology (water reclamation).