Present Situation and Prospective of Camellia Nut Shells Utilization

Abstract

With the rapid development of Camellia oleifera industry, more and more Camellia nut shells have been produced, leading to serious environmental pollution problem. This paper reviews the works on the characterization of the physical and chemical properties of Camellia nut shells, active ingredient extraction, its application in chemical production, growing media and animal feed and its properties as a biomass. Based on the review, we proposed a novel all-component high value application strategy to covert camellia nut shells into high value biomasses, which could realize waste recycling and environmental protection.