Processing of wet Kinnow mandarin (Citrus reticulata) fruit waste into novel Brønsted acidic ionic liquids and their application in hydrolysis of sucrose

Leveraging Automation and Data-driven Logistics for Sustainable Farming of High-value Crops in Emerging Economies

Technology innovations present an opportunity for the agricultural sector to leverage in-field data and inform resource-demanding operations to ultimately promote Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The need for data-driven innovations in farming is particularly pertinent to resource-scarce regions, such as the Indian Punjab, where an amalgam of obscure policies and lack of real-time visibility of crops typically leads to the excessive use of farming inputs like freshwater. To this end, this research investigates the use of Internet of Things (IoT) implementations to cultivate Kinnow (a high-value citrus fruit) for assessing the impact of data-informed irrigation practices on the appropriation of natural sources, farming operations efficiency, and the well-being of smallholder farmers. First, a literature taxonomy demonstrates that studies on agri-field logistics often do not consider operations' environmental and energy impact. In addition, the application of IoT and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) for informing farmers about precision irrigation planning has not been sufficiently explored. Second, an empirical-driven numerical investigation explores four alternative irrigation scenarios for cultivating Kinnow, namely: (i) flood irrigation; (ii) manual irrigation; (iii) AGV-informed manual irrigation; and (iv) AGV-assisted irrigation, which was cast as a Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem. The analysis results compare the overall sustainability impact of the investigated practices on the water-energy nexus. This research is innovative as it focuses on data-driven logistics operations on the environmental, energy and farmers' well-being impact associated with irrigation practices in agronomy. This study further supports the role of data-driven technology innovations towards the transition to SDG-centric food supply chains by providing guiding principles for community-led in-field logistics planning.

Solvothermal conversion of spent aromatic waste to ethyl glucosides

On-farm extraction of commercially important essential oil from aromatic crops generates huge spent aromatic waste. This massive waste is often disposed in the unregulated landfills or burned in the open air to vacate the fields. Hence, a new method for processing of aromatic spent waste has been developed to obtain platform chemicals, such as, xylose and ethyl glucosides. The thermochemical liquefaction of acid pre-treated palmarosa (cymbopogon martini) biomass furnished a mixture of ethyl glucopyranosides in good yield (∼17 wt% relative to biomass) and selectivity (∼77%) by heating with p-cymen-2-sulphonic acid (p-CSA) in the presence of ethanol as a solvent. The detection, quantification and isolation of ethyl glucosides may provide a new application of spent aromatic biomass for use as a feed stock in the production of value added chemicals.

A divergent approach for the synthesis of (hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF) from spent aromatic biomass-derived (chloromethyl)furfural (CMF) as a renewable feedstock

Extraction of commercial essential oil from several aromatic species belonging to the genus Cymbopogon results in the accumulation of huge spent aromatic waste which does not have high value application; instead, the majority is burned or disposed of to vacate fields. Open burning of spent aromatic biomass causes deterioration of the surrounding air quality. Therefore, a new protocol has been developed for chemical processing of spent biomass to obtain 5-(chloromethyl)furfural (CMF) with high selectivity (∼80%) and yields (∼26 wt% or ∼76 mol% with respect to pre-treated biomass) via refluxing in aqueous HCl in the presence of NaCl as a cheap catalyst. No black tar formation and gasification were observed in the processing of the spent aromatic biomass. Spent aromatic waste-derived CMF was further converted to 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF) in good yields by a novel one pot method using iodosylbenzene (PhIO) as a reagent under mild reaction conditions.

Valorization of byproducts from tropical fruits: Extraction methodologies, applications, environmental, and economic assessment: A review (Part 1: General overview of the byproducts, traditional biorefinery practices, and possible applications)

Tropical fruits represent one of the most important crops in the world. The continuously growing global market for the main tropical fruits is currently estimated at 84 million tons, of which approximately half is lost or wasted throughout the whole processing chain. Developing novel processes for the conversion of these byproducts into value-added products could provide a viable way to manage this waste problem, aiming at the same time to create a sustainable economic growth within a bio-economy perspective. Given the ever-increasing concern about sustainability, complete valorization through a bio-refinery approach, that is, zero waste concept, as well as the use of green techniques is therefore of utmost importance. This paper aims to report the status on the valorization of tropical fruit byproducts within a bio-refinery frame, via the application of traditional methodologies, and with specific attention to the extraction of phenolics and carotenoids as bioactive compounds. The different types of byproducts, and their content of bioactives is reviewed, with a special emphasis on the lesser-known tropical fruits. Moreover, the bioactivity of the different types of extracts and their possible application as a resource for different sectors (food, pharmaceutical, and environmental sciences) is discussed. Consequently, this review presents the concepts of tropical fruit biorefineries, and the potential applications of the isolated fractions.

Bio-sorbents, industrially important chemicals and novel materials from citrus processing waste as a sustainable and renewable bioresource: A review

Citrus waste includes peels, pulp and membrane residue and seeds, constituting approximately 40-60% of the whole fruit. This amount exceeds ~110-120 million tons annually worldwide. Recent investigations have been focused on developing newer techniques to explore various applications of the chemicals obtained from the citrus wastes. The organic acids obtained from citrus waste can be utilized in developing biodegradable polymers and functional materials for food processing, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The peel microstructures have been investigated to create bio-inspired materials. The peel residue can be processed to produce fibers and fabrics, 3D printed materials, carbon nanodots for bio-imaging, energy storage materials and nanostructured materials for various applications so as to leave no waste at all. The article reviews recent advances in scientific investigations to produce valuable products from citrus wastes and possibilities of innovating future materials and promote zero remaining waste for a cleaner environment for future generation.

Edible Films and Coatings Functionalization by Probiotic Incorporation: A Review

Edible coatings and films represent an alternative packaging system characterized by being more environment- and customer-friendly than conventional systems of food protection. Research on edible coatings requires multidisciplinary efforts by food engineers, biopolymer specialists and biotechnologists. Entrapment of probiotic cells in edible films or coatings is a favorable approach that may overcome the limitations linked with the use of bioactive compounds in or on food products. The recognition of several health advantages associated with probiotics ingestion is worldwide accepted and well documented. Nevertheless, due to the low stability of probiotics in the food processing steps, in the food matrices and in the gastrointestinal tract, this kind of encapsulation is of high relevance. The development of new and functional edible packaging may lead to new functional foods. This review will focus on edible coatings and films containing probiotic cells (obtaining techniques, materials, characteristics, and applications) and the innovative entrapment techniques use to obtained such packaging.

Production of xylose, levulinic acid, and lignin from spent aromatic biomass with a recyclable Brønsted acid synthesized from d-limonene as renewable feedstock from citrus waste

This work aimed to develop a green protocol for chemical processing of spent aromatic biomass to obtain xylose, levulinic acid, and lignin in good yields via treatment with p-cymene-2-sulphonic acid (p-CSA), a Brønsted acid synthesised from d-limonene as a renewable feedstock from citrus waste. Chemical processing of palmarosa biomass with p-CSA under heating in an autoclave resulted in hydrolysate containing xylose (~16% yield). Further processing of pre-treated biomass with p-CSA in presence of aq. HCl under refluxing caused a selective degradation of cellulose to levulinic acid (~22% yield with respect to biomass). The residual biomass was used to afford lignin in good yields.

Post-harvest processing and valorization of Kinnow mandarin (Citrus reticulate L.): A review

Kinnow is a prevalent fruit crop of the mandarin group and belongs to the Rutaceae family. It is nutritionally rich in vitamin C, vitamin B, β-carotene, calcium, phosphorous and other health beneficing compounds. The fruit is grown commercially for fresh consumption and since the processing techniques are less prominent, a plentiful amount of harvested fruit goes for waxing and grading operations. To reduce the post-harvest losses, appropriate processing techniques need to be followed as considerable fruit waste is generated while processing. The foremost fruit wastes viz. peel and seeds are rich source of bioactive compounds and can be utilized for the extraction of aromatic compounds, essential oils and low-methoxyl pectin. Overall utilization of kinnow and its components through various technological interventions will not only enhance the profitability of processing industries but also assist in reducing the pollution load on the environment. The prevailing bitterness in kinnow juice has constrained its processing, value-addition, popularity and acceptability. Limited work has been done on kinnow processing leaving scarce relevant literature published on the post-harvest management. Efforts made by researchers worldwide, regarding the post-harvest application of kinnow and its by-products for product development, value addition and waste utilization is presented and discussed in this paper. This compiled information is envisioned to encourage the cottage food processing units in order to improvise the overall benefits along with achieving complete utilization of kinnow.

Diversity and Biotechnological Potential of Xylan-Degrading Microorganisms from Orange Juice Processing Waste

The orange juice processing sector produces worldwide massive amounts of waste, which is characterized by high lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose content, and which exceeds 40% of the fruit’s dry weight (d.w.). In this work, the diversity and the biotechnological potential of xylan-degrading microbiota in orange juice processing waste were investigated through the implementation of an enrichment isolation strategy followed by enzyme assays for the determination of xylanolytic activities, and via next generation sequencing for microbial diversity identification. Intracellular rather than extracellular endo-1,4-β-xylanase activities were detected, indicating that peripheral cell-bound (surface) xylanases are involved in xylan hydrolysis by the examined microbial strains. Among the isolated microbial strains, bacterial isolates belonging to Pseudomonas psychrotolerans/P. oryzihabitans spectrum (99.9%/99.8% similarity, respectively) exhibited activities of 280 U/mg protein. In contrast, almost all microbial strains isolated exerted low extracellular 1,4-β-xylosidase activities (<5 U/mg protein), whereas no intracellular 1,4-β-xylosidase activities were detected for any of them. Illumina data showed the dominance of lactic and acetic acid bacteria and of the yeasts Hanseniaspora and Zygosaccharomyces. This is the first report on indigenous xylanolytic microbiota isolated from orange juice processing waste, possessing the biotechnological potential to serve as biocatalysts for citrus biomass valorization through the production of high-added value products and energy recovery.

Isolation of a new flavonoid and waste to wealth recovery of 6-O-Ascorbyl Esters from Seeds of Aegle marmelos (family- Rutaceae)

Aegle marmelos is a plant species native to India. Commercially available food products such as jam, jelly, candy, squash etc. are prepared from ripe fruit pulp of A. marmelos. Ripe fruit processing accounts for 60% of whole fruit mass while 40% remains unutilized and generates waste (hard shell, pomace, fiber and seeds) on a massive scale which do not have high value applications. A new flavone 3,5,7-trihydroxy-2-(4'-hydroxy-3'-isopentyloxyphenyl-4H-chromen-4-one (5) in addition to the known compounds 1-4, has been isolated from seeds of A. marmelos. Also, compound 7-(3'-methylbut-2'-enyloxy)-2H-chromen-2-one (2) has been isolated for the first time from A. marmelos. The structure of compounds 1-5 was determined by spectral analysis (UV, IR, NMR, etc.). Additionally, the non-edible oil obtained from seeds was investigated for waste to wealth recovery of 6-O-ascorbyl esters in high regioselectivity via one step semi-synthetic approach in the presence of ascorbic acid and H₂SO₄ at ambient temperature.