EURO 2025 Leeds
Abstract Submission

1180. A multidimensional framework for evaluating circular orange peel waste management

Invited abstract in session TA-39: Sustainability in Logistics, stream Sustainable & Resilient Systems and Infrastructures.

Tuesday, 8:30-10:00
Room: Newlyn LG.01

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Patrizia Lombardi
DIST, Polytechnic of Turin
2. Silvia Barbero
Department of Architecture and Design, Politecnico di Torino
3. Silvia Fiore
DIATI, Politecnico di Torino
4. Ilaria Orlandella
DIATI, Politecnico di Torino
5. Fabiana Rovera
DAD Dipartimento di Architettura e Design, Politecnico di Torino
6. Elena Todella
DIST, Politecnico di Torino
7. Tonia Tommasi
Dept. of Applied Science and Technology, POLITECNICO DI TORINO

Abstract

Adopting a circular economy approach helps significantly reduce waste and aligns with the EU’s strategic objectives of prevention, reuse, and recycling (EC, 2019). Italy is the EU’s second-largest agricultural producer and confronts relevant issues, such as food waste (ISTAT, 2023). In alignment with the EU Green Deal, the National Research Centre for Agricultural Technologies (AGRITECH) tackles the challenges of circular agriculture in Italy using an integrated approach. This study focuses on orange peel waste (OPW) considering that, during the orange juice production process, approximately 55 million tons of OPW is generated annually, representing up to 60% of the fresh citrus weight. There are various possible uses of OPW, including anaerobic digestion, solid state fermentation, animal feed and incineration. Seeking new ways to make waste management circular, this research proposes a multi-dimensional evaluation of the technology currently developed by an Italian company, which is currently producing an orange-based biocomposite with a biopolymer matrix. An innovative three-step sustainability assessment framework is proposed which includes: (i) a Holistic Diagnosis; (ii) a Life Cycle Assessment of OPW streams; and (iii) a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis and Circular Economy Assessment of the technology. The research is ongoing, but preliminary results are interesting for supporting possible improvements in the current technology used.

Keywords

Status: accepted

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