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Isolation and Characterization of Cellulose from Different Fruit and Vegetable Pomaces
Monika Szymańska-Chargot1, Monika Chylińska2, Karolina Gdula3
1Institute of Agrophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Doswiadczalna 4, 20-290 Lublin, Poland. m.szymanska@ipan.lublin.pl.
Polymers
|April 11, 2019
Summary
A novel fractionation process converts fruit and vegetable pomaces into valuable feedstocks. This biorefinery approach yields cellulose for biofuels and other useful materials from agricultural waste.
Area of Science:
- Biomass valorization
- Green chemistry
- Sustainable materials
Background:
- Fruit and vegetable pomaces represent a growing source of agro-industrial biomass.
- Valorization of these residues is crucial for developing a circular economy.
- Existing methods for pomace utilization are limited, necessitating novel approaches.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a novel fractionation process for converting fruit and vegetable pomaces into valuable feedstocks.
- To characterize the residual fractions, particularly cellulose, for potential applications.
- To explore the potential of pomaces in fuels, chemicals, and polymers through a biorefinery concept.
Main Methods:
- Sequential treatment of pomaces (apple, cucumber, carrot, tomato) with water, acid, alkali, and oxidative reagents.
- Characterization of pomaces for dry matter, neutral detergent solubles, hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin.
- Analysis of obtained fractions for pectin (galacturonic acid) and hemicellulose (xyloglucan) content.
- Characterization of the final cellulose fraction using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
Main Results:
- The fractionation process successfully separated pomaces into fractions rich in sugars, pectic polysaccharides, hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin.
- All pomace materials exhibited high pectin content and low lignin levels.
- Hemicellulose content was consistent across all pomace types.
- Cucumber pomace yielded the highest cellulose fraction.
- Isolated cellulose displayed a fine structure with a high crystalline index and small crystallites.
Conclusions:
- The developed fractionation process effectively valorizes fruit and vegetable pomaces.
- The process yields cellulose with desirable characteristics for biofuel applications.
- Pomaces are a promising low-cost feedstock for biorefineries, producing diverse materials for fuels, chemicals, and polymers.
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