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Lycopene is a red tetraterpenoid-carotenoid pigment in fruits and vegetables, highly available in tomatoes, and has a lipophilic nature, i.e., insoluble in water. A unique feature of this carotenoid is that it allows for various applications, such as nutritional supplements due to its antioxidant properties, age-defying treatments, and a natural red colorant for food and beverages. Its advantages result in an expanded global market size, expected to be around $215 million by 2033. The environmental impacts of conventional lycopene extraction from tomato by-products are investigated with a life cycle assessment. The Environmental Footprint method, developed by the European Commission, is applied to calculate the impact categories for the process. Various scenarios and extraction methods are considered to assess the impact of different variables and identify hotspots. The electricity source is a hotspot on the laboratory scale. Otherwise, the solvents used for the extraction have the most significant environmental impact. Therefore, methods involving solvents are the most harmful. Some measures to reduce the environmental impact include recycling solvents or using other low-carbon substances for the extraction.

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Harvesting Nature’s Red Gold: An Environmental Assessment of Lycopene Conventional Extraction

  • 会议论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年

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  • Ana Pinzon,
  • Yannick Baumgarten,
  • Jennifer Kendler,
  • Surya Maechtlen,
  • Maximilian Schutzbach,
  • Robert Miehe,
  • Alexander Sauer

摘要

Lycopene is a red tetraterpenoid-carotenoid pigment in fruits and vegetables, highly available in tomatoes, and has a lipophilic nature, i.e., insoluble in water. A unique feature of this carotenoid is that it allows for various applications, such as nutritional supplements due to its antioxidant properties, age-defying treatments, and a natural red colorant for food and beverages. Its advantages result in an expanded global market size, expected to be around $215 million by 2033. The environmental impacts of conventional lycopene extraction from tomato by-products are investigated with a life cycle assessment. The Environmental Footprint method, developed by the European Commission, is applied to calculate the impact categories for the process. Various scenarios and extraction methods are considered to assess the impact of different variables and identify hotspots. The electricity source is a hotspot on the laboratory scale. Otherwise, the solvents used for the extraction have the most significant environmental impact. Therefore, methods involving solvents are the most harmful. Some measures to reduce the environmental impact include recycling solvents or using other low-carbon substances for the extraction.