Sustainable Synthesis and Physicochemical Characterization of Bio-Derived Catalytic Materials from Fruit and Vegetable Waste Streams

The growing generation of fruit and vegetable waste represents both an environmental challenge and an untapped source of valuable bio-based resources. The development of sustainable catalysts requires innovative synthesis approaches that combine renewable feedstocks with precise control of material structure and surface properties. Within the framework of the PURE-WAY EU project, fruit and vegetable waste streams are explored as alternative sources of carbonaceous and bio-based precursors for the preparation of functional catalytic materials. The proposed approach integrates green extraction and bioconversion processes to obtain precursor fractions with controlled chemical composition, followed by tailored synthesis and post-treatment strategies aimed at tuning catalyst morphology, phase distribution, porosity, and surface chemistry. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding the influence of precursor characteristics and processing parameters on the formation of active surface environments and structural features relevant to catalyst design. The synthesis conditions with catalyst structure and surface characteristics will be correlated, and therefore the work will contribute to the establishment of rational design principles for renewable and waste-derived catalytic materials. The results will support the development of reproducible and scalable synthesis routes while advancing the integration of circular economy concepts into catalyst manufacturing and materials engineering.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS> This work was financially supported by the European Union's Horizon Europe program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions grant agreement No. 101236277 (PURE-WAY).