ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Sustainable Food Processing
Volume 9 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2025.1594745
This article is part of the Research TopicSustainable Synergy: Balancing Food, Energy, and Water for Improving SustainabilityView all 5 articles
Evaluation of Energy and Exergy Analysis of Apple Juice Production and Waste Valorization Processes
Provisionally accepted
- 1Ege University, Bornova, İzmir, Türkiye
- 2Yaşar University, Bornova, Türkiye
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Apple juice production is a significant component of the global beverage industry, with notable impacts on sustainable development. This study evaluates the sustainability of apple juice production using an exergy analysis method. The study identifies the exergy performance of production processes, offering feasible solutions to enhance process sustainability. Additionally, the benefits derived from the process are enhanced by converting the pomace generated during apple juice production into value-added by-products such as dietary fiber and jam. This study examines the exergy performance of apple juice production, focusing on two common methods: aseptic filling and glass bottle filling. The total exergy destruction for aseptic filling was 608.15 kW, while for glass bottle filling, it was 538.27 kW. The energy efficiencies of these processes were determined as 80.8% and 98.8%, respectively, with exergy efficiencies calculated at 58.9% and 59.9%. The highest exergy destruction occurred in the mixing tank, accounting for 307.1 kW, followed by the second pressing stage at 80.82 kW and the cooling-1 stage at 75.97 kW. The byproduct of the process, apple pomace, was utilized to produce apple jam and dietary fiber, which significantly improved the system's exergy efficiency. In apple juice production, aseptic filling results in an exergy efficiency of 82.5% when apple pomace is used for jam production and 72.4% when it is utilized for dietary fiber production. With glass bottle filling, the system's efficiency improves to 83.5% for jam production and 73.4% for dietary fiber production. The exergy results of each process were illustrated through Sankey-Grasmann diagrams. These findings underline the critical role of chemical exergy and demonstrate how utilizing waste materials can enhance efficiency and sustainability. This approach reduces waste and ensures more efficient use of natural resources. Such innovative practices optimize resource utilization, contributing to a more environmentally friendly and sustainable production model.
Keywords: Apple juice, Exergy Analysis, sustainability, food processing, Waste valorization
Received: 16 Mar 2025; Accepted: 02 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Çabuk Kök, Genç and Goksungur. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Seda Genç, seda.genc@yasar.edu.tr
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