In the perspective of sustainable development, which involves the use of all biomass, two oilseeds have been selected according to their potential interests: Citrullus lanatus and Lagenaria siceraria. The physico-chemical characterization (oil and extraction cake) has been done. Thus, for extracted oils, unsaturated fatty acids are in the majority with the predominance of oleic and linoleic acids (21.31 to 44.36% and 16.20 to 70.35% respectively). The study of unsaponifiable fractions revealed that: Citrullus lanatus oil contains 134 mg/100g sterols (including 78.60% β-sitosterol) and 83.9mg/100g tocopherols (including 73.7% α-tocopherol) and Lagenaria siceraria oil contains 124mg/100 sterols (including 58.14% β-sitosterol) and 76.4mg/100g tocopherols (including 66.9% α-tocopherol). Phospholipids (0.39 and 0.40% respectively for Lagenaria siceraria and Citrullus lanatus) were quantified on the basis of phosphorus content. This study shows the nutritional value of oils through their compositions in essential fatty acids, their richness in phytosterols and tocopherols on the one hand and the ways in which co-products resulting from the extraction of selected seeds on the other hand are valued. Research showing the influence of stabilizing agents on the quality and stability of oils should be carried out to make their use easier. Tests of the use of these oils in the fields of cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, paints and polymer synthesis industries could be carried out.

The use of plastics from non-biodegradable fossil resources is a major source of pollution. As a result, fossil resources are gradually being replaced or reinforced by renewable resources such as: agropolymers, polymers from microorganisms and biotechnology in the manufacture of ecological plastics. Our study therefore proposed an effective solution to this problem via the valorization of agropolymers from orange peels in bioplastics. The physicochemical parameters of two varieties of orange peel grown in Benin (Valencia and Pineaple) were determined by following international standard protocols. From the obtained results, it appears that the pH of orange peels is comprised between 3.59 and 4.04; orange peels are acidic and constitute a pollution factor for the environment. The peels are also rich in cellulose (19.08% for Valencia and 19.76% for Pineaple) . The pectin content is 23.5% in the peels from Valencia variety while that of the Pineaple variety is 22.00%. Lignin content ranges 4.75% to 6.93%. These fibers’ contents show that orange peels are a potential source of biomass that can be used as reinforcement material in the formulation of bioplastics.

The present study aimed at exploring the potential of producing biofuels from unconventional vegetable oils extracted from Anacardium occidentale kernels. Accordingly, oils were extracted from Anacardium occidentale kernels and subjected to physical and chemical characterization namely: density; lower calorific value (PCI); quality indexes; fatty acid profile, viscosity using French and ISO standards. Results revealed that Anacardium occidentale almonds have a lipidic potential of 52.54%, the transesterification reaction yield was 78.28%. As for the quality indices of the vegetable oil: acidity (˃1%); saponification index (205.29 mg KOH/g-oil); peroxide value (8.08 meq O2/kg-oil) and iodine value (108.84 mg iodine/g-oil) were considerably reduced for biodiesel. The vegetable oil was unsaturated type with the predominance of oleic acid (43.86%). The fuel characteristics of the oil obtained were: acidity (2.89%), density at 40°C (0.796 g/cm3) cetane number (41.47). The raw extracted oil is not usable as fuel for engine due to its very high viscosity ranging 30.69 mm2/s. As a consequence, a prior chemical treatment is necessary to reduce the viscosity.  Our results provided an insight on the energetic potential of the investigated oil, with respect to its use as a source for biodiesel in replacement of the current conventional diesel fuel.

Waste management is a major problem to which the agricultural and food industries must find solutions. The latter use pineapple in most of the processes for the manufacture of fruit juices. These processes result in tons of waste that are often abandoned on dumps near the processing plants, polluting the water table and the quality of surface water after drainage by rainwater. Our study therefore proposed to find an efficient solution to this problem by valorizing agro-industrial pineapple waste in animal feed. Thus, the physicochemical parameters of pineapple peelings and soybean cakes were determined following protocols of French standards. From the results obtained, it appears that pineapple peelings are rich in fermentable sugars, especially cellulose, a source of energy (34% DM) but poor in total nitrogenous matter (6.86%). As feed is a source of protein, soybean meal was added to pineapple peels for enrichment in total nitrogenous matter. The characterized soybean meal showed that it contains 33.46% of total nitrogenous matter. A more complete characterization of the formulated feeds will have to be carried out for their better use in animal feed.