Utilization of mango wastes as a potential feedstock for the production of HMF

Abstract

Agro-industrial wastes could become a source of revenue through their valorization while reducing their management and disposal issues. In this work, residues from the mango industry have been investigated as a source of sugars for the synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a high value platform chemical. Mangoes, which were past the last stage of ripening, were used as feedstock for microwave-assisted synthesis of HMF under hydrothermal conditions. The product was quantified through HPLC-DAD. The experimental conditions permitted a maximal HMF yield of 21.2 mol% in a 20-min reaction time at 150 °C with a 1:19 dilution ratio. The advantages of the synthesis pathway include the use of microwave heating and water as solvent media, which renders the reaction pathway eco-friendly. High temperatures and prolonged reaction times seem to lead to unidentified side products which lead to a reduction in HMF yield. The results presented in this work highlight mango fruit waste as a potential biomass for HMF production. This would give value to a current agro-industrial waste while attending to current problems linked to its disposal.