The global trade of tropical fruits is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. In 2018, the production was approximately 100 million tones, an increase of 3.3% compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization, every year one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption is lost or wasted. More specifically, around 45% of the fruits, constituted mainly by peels, seeds, and pulps after juice extraction, are discarded mainly in the agricultural and processing steps. Therefore, decreasing and/or using these byproducts, which are often rich in bioactive components, have become an important focus for both the scientific community and the fruit processing industry. In this line, supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) technology is expected to play a significant role in the valorization of these byproducts. This review presents the concepts of a tropical fruit biorefinery using supercritical CO2 extraction and the potential applications of the isolated fractions. There is a specific focus on the extraction of bioactive compounds, that is, carotenoids and phenolics, but also oils and other valuable molecules. Moreover, the techno-economic and environmental performance is assessed. Overall, the biorefinery of tropical fruits via SFE provides new opportunities for development of food and pharmaceutical products with improved economic and environmental performance.
Keywords: biorefinery; circular economy; environmental impact; technoeconomic assessment; tropical fruits.
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