PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE bioresources.com Sánchez et al. (2014). “Fruit residue to ethanol,” BioResources 9(2), 1873-1885. 1873 Characterization of Lignocellulosic Fruit Waste as an Alternative Feedstock for Bioethanol Production Raymundo Sánchez Orozco, a,b * Patricia Balderas Hernández, c Gabriela Roa Morales, c Fernando Ureña Núñez, d Juan Orozco Villafuerte, c Violeta Lugo Lugo, e Nelly Flores Ramírez, f Carlos Eduardo Barrera Díaz, c and Pablo Cajero Vázquez a To use a new potential lignocellulosic bioresource that has several attractive agroenergy features for ethanol production, the chemical characterization and compositional analysis of several fruit wastes were carried out. Orange bagasse and orange, banana, and mango peels were studied to determine their general biomass characteristics and to provide detailed analysis of their chemical structures. Semiquantitative analysis showed that the components for each fruit waste differed with respect to chemical composition. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) of the residual biomass showed the presence of various functional groups – aldehydes or ketones (C=O), alkanes (C-C), and ethers (C-O-C). Even water molecules were detected, indicating the complex nature of the feedstocks. The concentrations of total sugars ranged between 0.487 g∙g −1 and 0.591 g∙g −1 of dry weight biomass. The thermal profiles (TG-DSC) of the residual fruits occurred in at least three steps, which are associated with the main components (hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin). The decomposition by thermal analysis was completed at around 600 °C and was influenced by the nature of the component ratio. Keywords: Fruit waste; Lignocellulosic biomass; Cellulose; Fruit waste Contact information: a: Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Jocotitlán, Jocotitlán, Estado de México C.P. 50700, México; b: Universidad Politécnica de Atlacomulco, Ignacio Zaragoza No. 1, Col. Centro, Atlacomulco, Estado de México C.P. 50450, México; c: Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Paseo Colón esq. Paseo Tollocan s/n, Col. Residencial Colón, Toluca, Estado de México C.P. 50120, México; d: Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares, Apartado Postal 18-1027, Col. Escandón, México D.F. C.P. 11801, México; e: Universidad Tecnológica del Valle de Toluca, Carretera del Departamento del D.F. Km 7.5, Ejido de Santa María Atarasquillo, Lerma, Estado de México C.P. 52050, México; f: Facultad de Ingeniería en Tecnología de la Madera, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Edif. D, Cd. Universitaria, Morelia, Michoacán C.P. 58060, México; *Corresponding author: rsanchez_o@yahoo.com.mx INTRODUCTION México is well known for its important production of fruits such as orange (3.7 million tons/2012), mango (1.5 million tons/2012), and banana (2.2 million tons/2012) (SAGARPA 2013; FAO 2013). This agricultural field is of great interest because it satisfies the needs of the country for fresh fruits over an appreciable period of the year. Approximately 42 wt% of the fruit production is used to obtain juice, essential oils, citrus honey, marmalade, pectin, and cattle feed (Miranda et al. 2009). Agroindustrial residue, such as peels, seeds, and pulps, represents about 50% of the raw processed fruit. These fruit residues do not find any commercial importance and are largely disposed of in municipal dumps (Mamma et al. 2008; Oberoi et al. 2010).