Artificial Coalification of Orange Peel for Extraction of Value Added Chemicals

Waste to value added products is the aim of circular economy. Typical waste to value processes such as composting, briquetting, digestion are time consuming and gasification, and pyrolysis only produces energy. In the present research, a thermochemical process called as hydrothermal carbonization process is used to convert the organic wet waste to useful products. The HTC process converts the organic wet waste into coal like high carbon content material called hydrochar and the liquid component called as biocrude. The biocrude is a mixture of chemicals such as 5-HMF, Levulinic acid, Furfural and other chemicals used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. Orange peel waste is processed in a HTC reactor in temperatures ranging between 180 to 220 o C, with the autogenous pressure. The calorific value of hydrochar produced is measured using bomb calorimeter, and is found to have enhancement over the feedstock. The biocrude is analysed using UV spectrometer and gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy to identify the components present. Compounds including anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial molecules are identified and reported.