Characterization of Lignocellulosic Fruit Waste as an Alternative Feedstock for Bioethanol Production

To use a new potential lignocellulosic bioresource that has several attractive agroenergy features for ethanol production, the chemical characterization and compositional analysis of several fruit wastes were carried out. Orange bagasse and orange, banana, and mango peels were studied to determine their general biomass characteristics and to provide detailed analysis of their chemical structures. Semiquantitative analysis showed that the components for each fruit waste differed with respect to chemical composition. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) of the residual biomass showed the presence of various functional groups – aldehydes or ketones (C=O), alkanes (C-C), and ethers (C-O-C). Even water molecules were detected, indicating the complex nature of the feedstocks. The concentrations of total sugars ranged between 0.487 g∙g−1 and 0.591 g∙g−1 of dry weight biomass. The thermal profiles (TG-DSC) of the residual fruits occurred in at least three steps, which are associated with the main components (hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin). The decomposition by thermal analysis was completed at around 600 °C and was influenced by the nature of the component ratio.