10 Comprehensive Utilization of Processed Residues …
285
10.2 Processed Residues of Industrial Oil Plants
In recent years, with the rapid development of the processing industrial woody plants
for tung oil, Camellia oleifera, and Litsea cubeba, a large amount of fruit shells and
dregs of the processed residues were produced. The processed residue accounts for
70% of woody oil plant [13]. For a long time, most of these resources have been
regarded as waste, which is not only a waste of resources, but also causes great
pollution to the environment. Therefore, it is important to promote the quality and
efficiency of woody oil plants processing industry by integrating the utilization of
high-valued processed residues. At present, the processed by-products of woody oil
plants are 90 million tons, with an average annual growth rate of 3.9%, including more
than 10 million tons of husks, and over 80 million tons of meals, dregs, oil stocks, and
soap stocks. The comprehensive utilization rate of these by-products was less than
20% [14]. The by-products including carbohydrate, protein, fat, and other effective
substances, are raw materials of food, medicine, healthcare products, energy, and
chemical products [15, 16]. The low rate of comprehensive utilization leads to a large
number of resources being discarded. With the continuous development of the woody
oil plant processing industry, the surplus of processing residues has been increased
obviously. How to efficiently make use of these residues is an urgent problem to be
solved on the way forward in the woody oil plants processing industry, and is also
an important way to sustain development and improve quality and efficiency of the
whole woody oil industry [17, 18].
10.3 Processed Residues of Camellia Oleifera Fruit Shell
Camellia oleifera fruit shell is one of the main by-products of the oil processing of
Camellia oleifera fruit, accounting for as much as 60% of the weight of a whole
fresh fruit [19]. According to an estimated yield of Camellia oleifera oil, supposing
2.5 million tons in 2020, there will be about 1.5 million tons of Camellia oleifera
fruit shell to be produced, if it is used effectively, it will inevitably bring about huge
economic effects [20]. Camellia oleifera fruit shell is rich in active substances such
as tea saponin, tannin, and pentosan, but due to the complexity of the composition,
the husks of the fruits are difficult to be directly used, most of them are burned as
fuel or discarded straightway. The main applications of Camellia oleifera fruit shell
are listed as follows: (1) Camellia oleifera fruit shell can be used to prepare activated carbon because of the high levels of lignin. Sun et al. studied two methods of
preparing activated carbon from Camellia oleifera fruit shell, and obtained the activated carbon with the excellent performance [21]. (2) Saponin is a natural nonionic
surfactant with good dispersing, foaming, wetting, and emulsifying functions. It can
be widely used in paper, leather, and paint industries. Besides, saponin has analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and other pharmacological functions that are often applied
to cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. Based on the diversified applications of
285
10.2 Processed Residues of Industrial Oil Plants
In recent years, with the rapid development of the processing industrial woody plants
for tung oil, Camellia oleifera, and Litsea cubeba, a large amount of fruit shells and
dregs of the processed residues were produced. The processed residue accounts for
70% of woody oil plant [13]. For a long time, most of these resources have been
regarded as waste, which is not only a waste of resources, but also causes great
pollution to the environment. Therefore, it is important to promote the quality and
efficiency of woody oil plants processing industry by integrating the utilization of
high-valued processed residues. At present, the processed by-products of woody oil
plants are 90 million tons, with an average annual growth rate of 3.9%, including more
than 10 million tons of husks, and over 80 million tons of meals, dregs, oil stocks, and
soap stocks. The comprehensive utilization rate of these by-products was less than
20% [14]. The by-products including carbohydrate, protein, fat, and other effective
substances, are raw materials of food, medicine, healthcare products, energy, and
chemical products [15, 16]. The low rate of comprehensive utilization leads to a large
number of resources being discarded. With the continuous development of the woody
oil plant processing industry, the surplus of processing residues has been increased
obviously. How to efficiently make use of these residues is an urgent problem to be
solved on the way forward in the woody oil plants processing industry, and is also
an important way to sustain development and improve quality and efficiency of the
whole woody oil industry [17, 18].
10.3 Processed Residues of Camellia Oleifera Fruit Shell
Camellia oleifera fruit shell is one of the main by-products of the oil processing of
Camellia oleifera fruit, accounting for as much as 60% of the weight of a whole
fresh fruit [19]. According to an estimated yield of Camellia oleifera oil, supposing
2.5 million tons in 2020, there will be about 1.5 million tons of Camellia oleifera
fruit shell to be produced, if it is used effectively, it will inevitably bring about huge
economic effects [20]. Camellia oleifera fruit shell is rich in active substances such
as tea saponin, tannin, and pentosan, but due to the complexity of the composition,
the husks of the fruits are difficult to be directly used, most of them are burned as
fuel or discarded straightway. The main applications of Camellia oleifera fruit shell
are listed as follows: (1) Camellia oleifera fruit shell can be used to prepare activated carbon because of the high levels of lignin. Sun et al. studied two methods of
preparing activated carbon from Camellia oleifera fruit shell, and obtained the activated carbon with the excellent performance [21]. (2) Saponin is a natural nonionic
surfactant with good dispersing, foaming, wetting, and emulsifying functions. It can
be widely used in paper, leather, and paint industries. Besides, saponin has analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and other pharmacological functions that are often applied
to cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. Based on the diversified applications of