1 research outputs found
Multivalorization of apple pomace towards materials and chemicals. Waste to wealth
[EN] The work presented here uses apple pomace (AP), an industrial waste from apple juice and cider pro-
duction as a renewable raw material (RRM), to obtain materials that can be utilized as biocompatible
scaffolds for osteoblasts and chondrocytes, employed in tissue engineering, valuable extracts that can be
used as nutraceuticals and pectin. All of these have much higher values than the original raw material,
pectin can be priced up to 1 euro/g, chlorogenic acid is ca. 120 euros/g, caffeic acid 3 e 5 euros/g and
especially the scaffolds that are usually made by synthetic methods using non-renewable raw materials
with high fabrication costs and sold at prices higher than 100 euros/g, while the residues used here have
prices lower than 100 euros per ton. Thus, there are clear environmental and financial incentives in
transforming this waste material into valuable substances and materials.
As indicated in the Graphical Abstract, the procedure followed consists in sequential extractions of
antioxidants, pectin and finally the preparation of a biocompatible material, giving priority to the latter
due to its importance as a renewable scaffold for tissue engineering. From a literature search, to date,
although separate ways of valorization have been applied to this kind of waste, the sequential multi-
valorization adopted here, has not been previously attempted. Furthermore, biocompatible scaffolds
from AP have not been described.The authors wish to acknowledge the economic support of Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for the Research Projects âValorization of agri-residues for advanced usesâ (201460E105) and âDevelopment of substances and materials from agroindustrial residues for biomedical usesâ (201480E103). The
authors declare no competing financial interest.Peer reviewe