Zannini Domenico, Dal Poggetto Giovanni, Malinconico Mario, Santagata Gabriella, Immirzi Barbara
Institute of Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials, National Research Council, Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.
Polymers (Basel). 2021 Apr 14;13(8):1280. doi: 10.3390/polym13081280.
Citrus pomace derived from the industrial processing of juice and essential oils mostly consists of pectin, cellulose, hemicellulose, and simple sugars. In this work, citrus pomace waste from an agricultural company in South Italy was used as source of pectin. The extraction conditions of the polysaccharide were optimized using a suitable combination of time and a concentration of a mild organic solvent, such as acetic acid; thus recovering high M pectin and bioactive molecules (flavonoids and polyphenols). The pectin was structurally (GPC, FTIR), morphologically (SEM), thermally (TGA/DTG), and mechanically characterized, while bioactive molecules were separated and the total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoids content (TFC) were evaluated. With the aim to develop novel biocomposite-based materials, the pectin extracted from citrus waste was reinforced with different amounts of lignocellulose fractions also recovered from citrus waste after polysaccharide extraction, according to a "zero waste" circular economy approach. The prepared biocomposites were morphologically and mechanically characterized to be used as biodegradable mulching systems for crop protection. Thus, the citrus waste biomass was recovered, fractionated into its main raw materials, and these were recombined to develop novel upgraded biocomposites for mulching applications, by means of a cost-effective and eco-sustainable approach.
源自果汁和香精油工业加工的柑橘果渣主要由果胶、纤维素、半纤维素和单糖组成。在本研究中，来自意大利南部一家农业公司的柑橘果渣废弃物被用作果胶来源。使用时间和温和有机溶剂（如乙酸）浓度的合适组合对多糖的提取条件进行了优化；从而回收了高甲氧基果胶和生物活性分子（黄酮类化合物和多酚）。对果胶进行了结构表征（凝胶渗透色谱法、傅里叶变换红外光谱法）、形态表征（扫描电子显微镜）、热性能表征（热重分析/微商热重分析）和机械性能表征，同时对生物活性分子进行了分离，并评估了总酚含量（TPC）和总黄酮含量（TFC）。为了开发新型生物复合材料基材料，根据“零浪费”循环经济方法，用不同量的木质纤维素组分对从柑橘废弃物中提取的果胶进行增强，这些木质纤维素组分也是在多糖提取后从柑橘废弃物中回收的。对制备的生物复合材料进行了形态和机械性能表征，以用作作物保护的可生物降解覆盖系统。因此，回收了柑橘废弃物生物质，将其分离成主要原材料，并通过一种经济高效且生态可持续的方法将这些原材料重新组合，以开发用于覆盖应用的新型升级生物复合材料。
