Potato peel valorization through ethanolamine reactive organosolv treatment

Abstract

Approximately 30% of the global potato supply is processed, generating substantial amounts of potato peel (PP) as a byproduct. Potato peel is a suberoligneous biomass, commonly found in the barks and peels of tuberous roots and tubers, and remains underutilized despite being a valuable source of cutin and suberin. The primary challenge in valorizing these compounds lies in the complexity of their extraction. To address this, an organosolv pretreatment based on ethanolamine aminolysis of esters was investigated. The ethanolamides produced from suberin deconstruction were thoroughly characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), and the results indicated that agricultural byproducts such as potato peels have the potential to diversify the sources of biobased compounds for diols in polymers, foam boosters, and bioactive materials, offering a sustainable alternative feedstock.