Enhanced Extraction of Vitamin C from Orange Peels using Microwave Technology: A Comparative Study with Conventional Heated Maceration

Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) is an essential nutrient for human health, playing a vital role in immune system enhancement, collagen synthesis, and connective tissue support. While citrus fruits are primary sources, orange peels constitute approximately 15% of the total fruit weight and contain nearly three times the ascorbic acid concentration found in the pulp. Utilizing these peels—typically considered agricultural waste—presents a highly sustainable and economically viable opportunity for bio-resource recovery. This study focuses on a comparative performance analysis between Microwave-Assisted Extraction (MAE) and Conventional Heated Maceration (CHM). Our results demonstrate that MAE technology achieved a 38.3% increase in Vitamin C yield compared to conventional methods. Notably, the extraction time was drastically reduced from 45 minutes to just 2 minutes, reflecting a high energy efficiency with 94.1% savings. Furthermore, a stable thermal steady-state of 60°C was achieved within 180 seconds, effectively preventing the thermal degradation of the heat-sensitive ascorbic acid. These findings establish MAE as a superior, green engineering solution for the industrial valorization of citrus by-products.