VALORIZATION OF CORN WASTE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF XYLITOL
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Date
2024-05-14
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UHF Nauni
Abstract
The present study entitled, “Valorization of corn waste for the production of xylitol” was
conducted in the Department of Food Science and Technology, Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University of
Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (HP). Corn waste (corn cob (23 %) and corn sheath (16 %)) are a
significant byproduct of the corn processing, often underutilized and disposed of as agricultural residues.
However, these waste streams are rich in hemicellulose that can be hydrolyzed into xylitol. For isolation of
hemicellulose, the efficiency of the extraction methods in terms of hemicellulose yield was evaluated.
Conventional method involves traditional heating, while microwave and ultrasound methods utilize
advanced energy sources to expedite the extraction process. The impact of process parameters i.e.
temperature, time and NaOH on hemicellulose yield and degree of polymerization was examined by
Response Surface Methodology and the ultrasound extraction method with 10.00 per cent NaOH
concentration for 35.00 min at 45 ºC temperature with the yield of 82.28 per cent was optimized. The
isolated hemicellulose was further subjected for fermentation for xylitol production by using two strains
viz., Saccharomyces cerevisiae (MTCC 172) and Candida tropicalis (MTCC 230). Among the two strains
Candida tropicalis (MTCC 230) found better for the maximum xylitol production (16.54 g/L) with 200 rpm
agitation speed for 120 hours. The xylitol fermentation broth contains several impurities and to minimize
the interference of the undesirable substances on xylitol recovery, the purification process was performed
using activated charcoal. For purification process, optimization of process parameters through Response
Surface Methodology (RSM) gave optimized conditions i.e time of 60.00 min and activated charcoal
concentration 10.85 per cent and 20 ºC temperature. The liquid xylitol was further concentrated in Bucchi
rotary evaporator at 50 ºC (5 folds) and undergoing lypholization and evaluated for quality and functional
characteristics. However, the xylitol crystals could be stored for 21 months in LDPE and glass jars without
altering the overall quality parameters. Hence, the study concluded that the growing body of knowledge on
the utilization of agricultural waste for value-added product synthesis, offering a potential solution to both
waste management and the demand for renewable and environmentally friendly industrial processes.