Orange and Passion Fruit Wastes Characterization, Substrate Hydrolysis and Cell Growth of Cupriavidus necator, as Proposal to Converting of Residues in High Value Added Product

Abstract: Brazil is the world’s largest producer of orange and passion fruit, which are destined mainly for industrialization, generating grand volumes of wastes. The solid portion of these residues is a rich source of pectin - composed mainly of galacturonic acid and neutral sugars, which through the hydrolysis process can be used in biological conversion processes, as the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). This way, we characterized these wastes, followed by the extraction and hydrolysis of pectin for employ as a substrate for the cell growth of Cupriavidus necator. The results confirmed the large portion of pectin (almost 40 g.100g-1) and soluble sugars, present in these wastes. The hydrolyzed extract showed as a good source of carbon for the cell growth of C. necator with YX/S 0.56 and 0.44, µMax 0.27 and 0.21 for orange and passion fruit wastes respectively, similar to other carbon sources. This way, the extraction and hydrolysis of orange and passion fruit wastes for the cellular growth of C. necator, can be a good alternative to converting of residues in high value added product.