Proximate Analysis of Vegetable and Fruit Waste Collected from the Kadi Vegetable Market, Gujarat

Vegetable and fruit waste are produced in huge quantities in the market. These wastes are also nutritionally very rich and, can be a viable option to be used as a substrate for the generation of value-added products. However, there is a need to characterize these wastes before using them as raw materials for the production of any value-added product. In this regard, the present study was taken up to determine the proximate analysis of vegetable and fruit waste. Proximate analysis is a way to determine the distribution of moisture, ash, volatile matter, and fixed carbon when the samples are heated under specified conditions. The discarded vegetable and fruit waste was collected from Kadi municipal vegetable market. The proximate analysis was carried out for 23 waste samples viz, 20 samples were a wet waste of individual fruits and vegetables and 3 samples were of consolidated sundried vegetable and fruit waste. Presented Proximate analysis of vegetable and fruit waste includes the determination of moisture, ash, volatile matter, and fixed carbon via standard test methods. The result revealed that for wet waste moisture content was in the range from 6.56 % to 77.57 %. Percentage of volatile matter was in the range from 8.06% to 86.46 %. Percentage Ash content was in the range from 1.32 % to 20.18 %.Percentage Fixed carbon was in the range from 1.76 % to 28.63 %. The moisture content in sundried consolidated waste was in the range from 5.83 % to 8.86 %. The percentage of the volatile matter was in the range from 62.06 % to 72.33 %. Percentage Ash content was in the range from 11.16 % to 12.83 %. Percentage Fixed carbon was in the range from 8.79 % to 16.27 %.