BY KAVIMALAR DEVARAJ
Former design student in Milan, Adriana Santonocito, found an innovative way of converting the largely produced orange rinds in her native city of Catania, Sicily, into environment-friendly textiles. This method enables tonnes of orange waste to be recycled into fibre that can be made into clothes.
The problem statement in her university dissertation, ‘Could a luxurious silk foulard be made from citrus by-products, that would otherwise be thrown away or fed to cattle?’ was the inspiration that led to Santonocito’s concept. After subsequent laboratory experiments, she found her answer, which then also earned her a patent.
Santonocito turned the readily extracted cellulose from orange rinds into yarns using chemical reagents. The yarns could then be dyed and blended with other fabrics such as cotton or polyester.
Following that, the 39-year old, together with a colleague, Enrica Arena,[ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] founded Orange Fiber in 2014 and started selling the silk-like material produced to clothes manufacturers.
Salvatore Ferragamo, the famous Italian fashion label, incorporated this material into their spring-summer collection this year with an aim of manufacturing high-end yet sustainable shirts, dresses and foulards.
Orange Fiber, which is now operated by a team of 12, is based in a local juice-processing plant which supplies them with free waste material. This business is however partially seasonal, as they are only in operation during the months of the year the juice-making plant works. Nonetheless, the cellulose extracted from the orange rinds can be stored for later use.
According to BBC News, Antonio Perdichizzi, an early investor in Orange Fiber, said that the firm stood out to him because unlike most innovative start-ups in Italy, it isn’t digital. “Italy doesn’t invest much in innovation, but brilliant ideas and skills win despite a lack of resources” he added.
Moreover, a professor of business, economics and management at the University of Catania, told BBC News that the firm is an example of how ‘creativity and entrepreneurial spirit’ is creating new jobs and businesses in the region.
Rinds to flour
Orange rinds, seeds and part of the pulp not used in juice-making could also be converted into an innovative fat-free flour, which makes baked goods healthier and remain fresher. This new procedure is currently being tested at the University of Catania and has been yielding positive results.
Most bakers generally use fat-based products like butter or margarine in their cooking. Findings obtained from the research suggest that the flour produced from orange wastes could replace the use of fat by half. Like Orange Fiber, the researchers get their supplies of waste materials from local juice-making plants.
According to the news release, Salvatore Barbagallo, an agriculture professor from the University of Catania, the flour is ‘perfectly sustainable’ and costs almost nothing to produce. It also has ‘no impact’ on the taste and fragrance of food that contains it. His team produced 300 kg of the flour for the local bakers in Acireale, near Catania, to try it out. The cooks, often conservative about trying new ingredients, were satisfied with the outcome and in fact, could taste no difference in their pastries.
Besides using it for baking, the researchers also found other uses for the flour. Due to its solubility, it can be added into drinks to provide health benefits. The flour can also be used in the medical field.
Rinds to fuel
Farmers in Sicily are known to use orange rinds as animal feed and fertiliser. However, these waste materials can be turned into energy sources as well.
In Mussomeli, an ancient town in Sicily, orange wastes are used to make biogas which is then turned into electricity.
Last year, the farm Nuova Scala used around 16 430 tonnes of rinds to generate 24 000 kWh of electricity and is expecting to get through about 22 000 tonnes of rinds in 2017. The electricity output is however, dependent on the amount of orange wastes produced.
According to BBC News, Salvatore Imbesi, the owner of a local fruit company, AgrumiGel, said that the rinds, seeds and other non-edible parts of the fruit are called ‘pastazzo’, and he produces about 40 000 tonnes of it in a year. He also said that Sicily as a whole officially generates about 200 000 tonnes of these citrus by-products.
Local fruit companies are also given an incentive for reusing pastazzo, as disposal can be expensive. Imbesi also told BBC News that in Sicily the total cost of disposal can reach 16 million Euros every year, “six for the cost of the transport, and ten for the disposal itself”.
Fruits grown in Sicily, including their famous blood orange, are either sold fresh or turned into juices. About 140 000 tonnes of lemons, 100 000 tonnes of blonde oranges, 100 000 tonnes of blood oranges, 20 000 tonnes of green mandarins and 20 000 tonnes of matured mandarins were juiced in 2016 alone.
Thanks to these state-of-the-art ideas, we are now able to turn tonnes of wastes into exciting yet useful products.
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