Sustainable Valorisation of Peach and Apricot Waste Using Green Extraction Technique with Conventional and Deep Eutectic Solvents

Marina Stramarkou (), Vasiliki Oikonomopoulou, Margarita Panagiotopoulou, Sofia Papadaki and Magdalini Krokida
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Marina Stramarkou: Laboratory of Process Analysis and Design, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), 15780 Athens, Greece
Vasiliki Oikonomopoulou: Laboratory of Process Analysis and Design, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), 15780 Athens, Greece
Margarita Panagiotopoulou: Laboratory of Process Analysis and Design, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), 15780 Athens, Greece
Sofia Papadaki: Laboratory of Process Analysis and Design, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), 15780 Athens, Greece
Magdalini Krokida: Laboratory of Process Analysis and Design, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), 15780 Athens, Greece

Resources, 2023, vol. 12, issue 6, 1-20

Abstract: Worldwide, fruit processing industries reject high volumes of fruit waste, which represent rich sources of phenolic compounds and can be valorised through extraction, and then be reused for food, nutraceutical or cosmetic applications. In the present work, the optimisation of the recovery of phenolic compounds from apricot kernels and pulp, as well as peach pulp, through the green method of ultrasound and microwave assisted extraction (UMAE) is performed. Prior to extraction, a drying step of the pulps is conducted using freeze, vacuum and hot air drying. Except for the conventional extraction solvents of water and ethanol:water, a deep eutectic solvent (DES) formed by choline chloride/urea, and a natural deep eutectic solvent (NaDES) from choline chloride with lactic acid, are used, something that presentsecological benefits. With the aim of discovering the optimum extraction conditions, different values of the parameters of extraction time, utrasonic power and solvent/dry solid ratio are examined, and a mathematical model is developed to correlate them to the extraction yield (EY). The phenolic compounds and the antioxidant activity are determined through UV-Vis spectroscopy and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The results of the study demonstrated that the most effective solvent in the extraction of apricot kernels is ethanol: water; DES is more efficient in the extraction of apricot pulp and NaDES in the extraction of peach pulps, reaching EYs of 25.65, 26.83 and 17.13%, respectively. In conclusion, both types of fruit waste are proved to have a significant content of valuable compounds, and the use of DES in fruit by-product extraction is effective and seems to be a promising alternative. Thus, the unexploited amounts of waste can be valorised through simple techniques and innovative solvents.

Keywords: phenolics; antioxidant activity; ultrasound and microwave assisted extraction; mathematical modelling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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