Sustainable development in the Legal Amazon: energy recovery from açaí seeds

Abstract

AbstractThe Brazilian açaí industry reached national and international prominence in the last few years. Its final product, mainly frozen pulp, became popular worldwide, accounting for a high market share, including exports. Nevertheless, the solid by‐products arising from the processing are not always discarded in an environmentally suitable manner. This review presents a scientometric analysis of açaí research in the last 27 years (1993 to 2019), applying a longitudinal bibliometric study. Through data analysis, it can be observed that Brazil and the USA are the countries that mostly contributed to the development of açaí research. Although Brazil has more publications, the USA presents more articles in partnership with 21 countries. The results also showed that few documents addressed renewable energy recovery with the following technologies: combustion, pyrolysis, supercritical water hydrolysis, and anaerobic digestion. Further analysis of the anaerobic digestion of the totality of açaí seeds generated in Brazil indicated that, theoretically, the electric energy from biogas burning could supply the whole frozen pulp industry requirement with an additional surplus for sales to the grid. Hence, electricity replacement contributes to greenhouse gas mitigation. The assessment of the potential electric energy generation illustrates how technological integration can be an innovative way to rethink the açaí production chain using a circular economy concept. Moreover, the technological advances could stimulate sustainable agro‐industrial intensification in areas such as the Legal Amazon, considered a hotspot for climate change mitigation. © 2021 Society of Industrial Chemistry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.