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Improving Small-Scale Value Chains in Tropical Forests. The Colombian Case of Annatto and Açai

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Abstract

Tropical forests provide a development opportunity for communities that subsist on small crop value chains. Annatto and açai are exotic fruits used as a source of natural dyes and high-calorie beverages, respectively. However, the processing of these fruits generates considerable residues that have a negative environmental impact and can be used for biofuel production. This work elucidates valorization schemes of annatto and açai in integrated raw material systems to improve the value chains of tropical forest fruits. The economic and environmental pre-feasibility for producing annatto dye, açai powder, and biogas was evaluated through experimental and simulation data. As the main results, it was obtained that the extraction of dye by abrasion shows to be a methodology with high carotenoid content. Additionally, freeze-drying improves the antioxidant activity and the content of polyphenols and anthocyanins on açai pulps. The processing residues of both fruits were used as the substrate for anaerobic digestion purposes and as a low-cost valorization alternative, showing the best biogas yields for the exhausted annatto seed. The experimental results were fed to the simulation of small-scale processing schemes based on exotic fruits. The main results demonstrated that working in batch six-monthly schemes allows for obtaining economic feasibility based on fruit production lower than the national scale. Although freeze-drying is an expensive process, the production of açai fruit powder is the most cost-effective scenario. From an environmental perspective, the disposal of digestate as waste drastically affects the environmental analysis. However, for the five environmental indices analyzed, producing açai powder, biogas, and digestate valorization as fertilizer is the scenario with the lowest environmental impact. Finally, the results were analyzed regarding the impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the region. This work demonstrated that small-scale schemes based on the processing of tropical forest fruits improve the regional agribusiness performance by strengthening the value chain considering economic, environmental, and social issues.

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Data Availability

Data supporting the results of this study are available upon request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their gratitude for the program “Reconstrucción del tejido social en zonas posconflicto en Colombia” SIGP code: 57579 with the project entitled “Competencias empresariales y de innovación para el desarrollo económico y la inclusión productiva de las regiones afectadas por el conflicto colombiano” SIGP code 58907. Contract number: FP44842-213-2018”.

Funding

This work was supported by the “Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (MINCIENCIAS)”, Colombia. (Contract number: FP44842-213–2018).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biotechnology and Agribusiness, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Manizales, 170001, Manizales, Caldas, Colombia

    Jhonny Alejandro Poveda-Giraldo, Natalia Salgado-Aristizabal, Sara Piedrahita-Rodriguez, Mariana Ortiz-Sanchez, Carlos Eduardo Orrego Alzate & Carlos Ariel Cardona Alzate

  2. Faculty of Natural Sciences, Biology Program, Universidad Tecnológica del Chocó, 270002, Quibdó, Chocó, Colombia

    Eva Dolores Ledezma Rentería

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  1. Jhonny Alejandro Poveda-Giraldo
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  2. Natalia Salgado-Aristizabal
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  3. Sara Piedrahita-Rodriguez
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  4. Mariana Ortiz-Sanchez
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  6. Carlos Eduardo Orrego Alzate
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  7. Carlos Ariel Cardona Alzate
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the conceptualization, validation, and design of the study. Methodology, investigation, software, and formal analysis were performed by JAlP-G, NS-A, SP-R, and MO-S. The funding acquisition and project administration was carried out by CEOA and CEOA. The first draft of the manuscript was written by JAlP-G and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Carlos Ariel Cardona Alzate.

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Poveda-Giraldo, J.A., Salgado-Aristizabal, N., Piedrahita-Rodriguez, S. et al. Improving Small-Scale Value Chains in Tropical Forests. The Colombian Case of Annatto and Açai. Waste Biomass Valor 14, 3297–3313 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-022-02002-6

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