Composite functional materials from the biomass of Baijiu distiller's grains

Baijiu, a traditional Chinese spirit integral to the cultural heritage, has Moutai and Wuliangye as its most prominent global exemplars. Distiller's grains, a typical byproduct of the Chinese Baijiu industry, have gained increasing prominence as a renewable biomass resource. However, the common practices of discarding distiller's grains or utilizing them in low-value applications result in significant resource waste and serious environmental pollution. The preparation of functional materials and composite functional materials from distiller's grains for high-value utilizations is currently in the early exploration stage. This review critically summarizes recent advances in functional and composite functional materials derived from distiller's grains for applications in sodium-ion batteries, electrochemical supercapacitors, environmental adsorbents, heterogeneous catalysts, and other emerging energy and sustainability-related fields. This work outlines high-value development directions for distiller's grains-derived functional materials, focusing on their practical industrial applications. Finally, four key challenges, including component heterogeneity, process specificity, application prospects, and large-scale application, were proposed for the future development of functional materials and composite functional materials from distillers' grains. The detailed future development direction is pointed out for addressing these challenges, aiming to promote the upgrading of the Chinese Baijiu industry and the vigorous development of the China's economy of new quality productive forces.