Отходы цитрусовых из Флориды могут стать экологичным растворителем для асфальта

Citrus waste itself is a significant by-product of Florida's juice industry. According to Biomass Magazine, the state's citrus processing produces up to five million tons of citrus waste annually, much of it dried and fed to cattle at reduced cost, or simply discarded. The waste problem Citrus waste is hardly a topic of discussion, even though it's a massive amount of waste that's concentrated in one area: Florida's juice belt. It is not simply a large volume of wet, fast-rotating, relatively cheap-to-process peel. When researchers claim this waste stream could be covertly diverted to a different product, perhaps one of value, rather than a dump or a low-value feed pellet, it's more than just a feel-good chemistry story. An actual logistics opportunity that can be found in an industry that is already run on a huge scale by the US. From smoothie leftovers to street solvent D-limonene is actually quite useful in the asphalt and road-paving industry. It is an effective bitumen solvent (which bonds asphalt together), helping to dissolve and separate old asphalt for testing, recycling and re-use. A 2020 literature review, "Extraction and recovery of asphalt binder: a literature review," published in the International Journal of Pavement Research and Technology, discusses a d-limonene-based solvent as a potential safer, more environmentally friendly alternative to the chlorinated solvents historically used to extract and recover asphalt binder from old road material, though the review notes such bio-based solvents remain little used, with considerable research potential still untapped. A partially peeled orange. Image credits: Wikimedia Commons Why this matters Every year, the U.S. surfaces and repairs staggering quantities of asphalt, and most of that work still relies on petroleum-derived materials as solvents and additives. That could benefit both the environment and the citrus industry by reducing waste in Florida and lowering demand for virgin fossil chemicals. This doesn't mean that your city's potholes are being plugged with orange juice sludge tomorrow. The use of D-limonene-based products is still a niche, specialty market for asphalt solvent and rejuvenator and not a broad replacement for asphalt binders themselves. Scale, supply consistency, and cost are very real challenges, and Florida's citrus supply has faced its own pressures in recent years. This isn't a settled research area, but it is a well-established one worth watching. Limonene extracted from orange peel. Image credits: Wikipedia (Catch all the US News, UK News, Canada News, International Breaking News Events, and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily International News Updates. (Catch all the US News, UK News, Canada News, International Breaking News Events, and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily International News Updates.