Acid-catalyzed transformation of orange waste into furfural: the effect of pectin degree of esterification.

The transformation of biomasses from agro-industrial waste can significantly impact the production of green chemicals from sustainable resources. Pectin is a biopolymer present in lignocellulosic biomass as Orange Peel Waste (OPW) and has possibilities for making platform compounds such as furfural for sustainable chemistry. In this work, we studied the transformation to furfural of OPW, pectins, and D-galacturonic acid (D-GalA), which is the main component (65 wt%) of pectin.

Evaluation of pectin extractions and their application in the alkaline Maillard reaction.

A 2 factorial design was used to evaluate the influence of temperature, catalyst and time and esterification degree (DE) of pectin obtained from mango, orange and tangerine peels as well as tamarind seeds by using the acid hydrolysis method. The study showed that a high temperature positively influenced the percentage of pectin yield for the four second generation biomasses. Nevertheless, the temperature showed a greater influence in the solubility and diffusion of the acid solvent in the tamarind seed matrix, resulting a pectin recovery 32.

Plasma Synthesis of Graphene from Mango Peel.

The excess of mango peels is considered manufacturing waste in the sugar and juice industry. There is an increasing interest in looking for alternative ways to employ this waste to address this overload. Here, we show the efficient use of mango peels as a noncost carbon source for the synthesis of graphene.