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Percorrer por autor "Vicente, Filipa A."

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  • Repurposing orange peel waste for limonene extraction using deep eutectic solvents for cosmetic applications
    Publication . Arnič, Monika; Andrejc, Kristina; Martins, Mónia A. R.; Sosa, Filipe H.B.; Coutinho, João A.P.; Likozar, Blaž; Vicente, Filipa A.
    Orange peel waste, a byproduct of the citrus industry, can be valorized to obtain valuable compounds such as limonene, a terpene widely used in the food and cosmetics industry for its characteristic citrus aroma. Conventional extraction methods rely on organic solvents, which pose significant environmental concerns. To address this, deep eutectic solvents (DES) have emerged as a sustainable alternative. In this work, we screened various DES combinations using the COnductor-like Screening MOdel for Realistic Solvents (COSMO-RS), and the most promising systems containing compounds that are Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) or accepted by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) were subsequently investigated experimentally. Polyethylene glycol 200 and 600 in combination with amino acids, sugars, carboxylic acids and urea were used for DES formulation. Among them, PEG200-urea showed a significantly higher extraction yield of limoneneper g of orange peel (2.7 mg g-1) which is approximately 1.4x higher than that obtained with the reference organic solvent, heptane (1.9 mg g-1). The limonene extracted with DES remained stable for at least five weeks when stored at room temperature and in the dark. In addition, hesperidin, a high-value flavonoid for cosmetic applications, was successfully quantified in the extracts, while bergapten (a phototoxic furanocoumarin) and several limonene oxidation products were not detected. Our results show that DES can achieve limonene yields comparable to, or higher than those of conventional extraction systems while presenting more sustainable metrics. This study emphasizes the potential of DES for the sustainable limonene extraction from dried orange peels and contributes to circular economy initiatives.
    2026Artigo científico Acesso aberto Ver mais