| Issue |
4open
Volume 2, 2019
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | 1 | |
| Number of page(s) | 6 | |
| Section | Chemistry - Applied Chemistry | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/fopen/2019001 | |
| Published online | 11 February 2019 | |
Rapid Communication
Solar air drying for innovative Opuntia ficus-indica cladode dehydration
1
Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati, CNR, via U. La Malfa 153, 90146 Palermo, Italy
2
Bioinagro, via G. Garibaldi 225 E2, 92027 Licata, AG, Italy
3
via C. Giaquinto 14, 90135 Palermo, Italy
* Corresponding author: mario.pagliaro@cnr.it
Received:
3
June
2018
Accepted:
21
January
2019
Providing a case study of general applicability in all world's semi-arid regions where the plant is increasingly harvested, we describe the use and outcomes of solar air heating and ventilation coupled to a conventional kiln to dehydrate Opuntia ficus-indica cladodes. For the first time, the dried cladodes and the ground dehydrated ‘Nopal’ cladodes retain their natural green-yellow color. New applications to functionalize foodstuff and to formulate nutraceutical, personal care and cosmetic products of even higher efficacy and broader scope are anticipated.
Key words: Opuntia ficus-indica / Cladodes / Solar drying / Nopal / Bioeconomy
© R. Ciriminna et al., Published by EDP Sciences 2019
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.