Unlocking the value of food waste: sustainable production of ethylene glycol over low-cost Ni–W catalysts supported on glucose-derived carbons†

Food waste is abundant and holds great potential to be converted into valuable chemicals like ethylene glycol (EG), which is a key compound for the production of commodity polymers and other specialty products. Therefore, the direct conversion of food waste could represent a pivotal alternative for the sustainable production of EG. Nickel-tungsten catalysts supported on glucose-derived carbons were synthesized and evaluated for EG direct production from cellulose and cellulosic urban wastes. A remarkable yield of EG of 62% was attained directly from cellulose after 5 h, while the optimized catalyst allowed to reach notable EG yields around 40% from cellulosic wastes. Furthermore, as far as we are concerned, no previous works have reported the conversion of food wastes, such as fruit peels, directly into EG. Therefore, we report the environmentally friendly production of EG from banana peel, orange peel and spent coffee grounds with promising yields of up to 21%.