Advancing Energy Recovery: Evaluating Torrefaction Temperature Effects on Food Waste Properties from Fruit and Vegetable Processing

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Most organic waste from food production is still not used for energy production. From the perspective of energy production, one option is to valorise the properties of organic waste. The fruit juice industry is growing rapidly and generates large amounts of waste. One of the main wastes in food and fruit juice processing is peach pits and apple peels. The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of torrefaction temperature on the properties of food waste, namely apple peels, peach pits and pea shells, in order to improve their energy value and determine their potential for further use and valorisation as a renewable energy source. The aim was to analyse the influence of different torrefaction temperatures on the heating value (HHV), mass yield (MY) and energy yield (EY) in order to better understand the behavior of the thermal properties of individual selected samples. The torrefaction process was carried out at temperatures of 250 °C, 350 °C and 450 °C. The obtained biomass was compared with dried biomass. For apple peels, HHV after torrefaction was (28 kJ/kg), MY decreased by (66–34%), while EY fell by (97–83%). Peach pits, despite a higher HHV after torrefaction (18 kJ/kg), achieved low MY (38–89%) and EY (59–99%), which reduces their efficiency in biochar production. Pea peels had EY (82–97%) and a lower HHV after torrefaction (11 kJ/kg), but their high ash content limits their wider use. The results confirm that, with increasing temperature, MY and EY for all selected biomasses decrease, which is a consequence of the degradation of hemicellulose and cellulose and the loss of volatile compounds. In most cases, increasing the torrefaction temperature improved the resistance to moisture adsorption, as this is related to the thermal process that causes structural changes. The results showed that the torrefaction process improved the hydrophobic properties of the biomass samples. Temperature was seen to have a great impact on mass energy efficiency. Apple peels generally had the highest mass and energy yield.