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A Simplified Biorefinery Concept for the Valorization of Sugar Beet Pulp: Ecofriendly Isolation of Pectin as a Step Preceding Torrefaction

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Abstract

The valorization of sugar beet pulp (SBP) from sugar industry as a source of valuable substances has been taken in consideration in this work. In particular, the eco-friendly extraction of pectins with citric acid has been adopted as a preliminary step in a simplified biorefinery concept where the pectin-free solid is subsequently subjected to a torrefaction treatment for its upgrading into a commodity solid biofuel. An extensive physicochemical characterization of the raw feedstock and the isolated pectins has also been performed, which may be useful to identify suitable application routes. Results show that the extraction conditions [1.5 pH, 90 °C, 4 h contact time and SBP-to-solvent ratio of 1:30 (g/mL)] selected in this work allow obtaining a relatively high yield (25% wt, db) of high methoxyl pectins (with some impurities), which exhibit the same colorimetric characteristics of commercial citrus pectins and are not conducive to microbial growth. A further purification step of isolated pectins is required to improve the emulsifying properties.

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Abbreviations

SBP:

Sugar beet pulp

PE-SBP:

Pectin-extracted sugar beet pulp

HHV:

Higher heating value

LHV:

Lower heating value

TA:

Titratable acidity

FTIR:

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy

SEM-EDX:

Scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-Ray

DE:

Esterification degree

O/W:

Oil-in-water

EA:

Emulsifying activity

ELV:

Emulsified layer volume

WV :

Whole sample volume

LMP:

Low Methoxyl Pectin

HMP:

High methoxyl pectin

AIR:

Alcohol-insoluble residue

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Dr. Luigi Vertuccio (University of Salerno) for the valuable support to perform FT-IR analyses and the Dr. Cortese Luciano (IRC-CNR) for providing expertise and access to SEM–EDX facilities. The financial support from the Russian Ministry of Education is acknowledged (Grant No. 6444280-4403ES/1 of September 2, 2016). Special thanks are given to COPROB (Cooperativa Produttori Bieticoli) for the feedstock supply.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Salerno, Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84084, Fisciano, SA, Italy

    Giuseppina Adiletta & Michele Miccio

  2. Institute for Research on Combustion, National Research Council, P. le Tecchio 80, 80125, Napoli, Italy

    Paola Brachi

  3. Republic of Bashkortostan, Ufa State Aviation Technical University, K. Marks 12, 450077, Ufa, Russian Federation

    Evelina Riianova & Natalia Kostryukova

  4. Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems (IMM) of the National Council of Research (CNR), Via Pietro Castellino, 111, 80131, Napoli, Italy

    Alessio Crescitelli

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  1. Giuseppina Adiletta
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Adiletta, G., Brachi, P., Riianova, E. et al. A Simplified Biorefinery Concept for the Valorization of Sugar Beet Pulp: Ecofriendly Isolation of Pectin as a Step Preceding Torrefaction. Waste Biomass Valor 11, 2721–2733 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-019-00582-4

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