Enhancing the Quality of Pulp-Mold Packaging for the Export of Horticultural Produce by Using Citrus Pomace Fibers and Functional Surface Coatings

The increasing demand for sustainable horticultural-produce packaging has created the need for eco-friendly materials with improved mechanical properties and storage performance.Citrus pomace, an abundant agricultural byproduct, has considerable potential as a biomass resource; however, its direct application to pulp molds is limited by its coarse and heterogeneous particle structure.In this study, we subjected citrus pomace to an alkaline pretreatment, followed by wet milling, to produce fine and uniform particles, which we incorporated into pulp fibers to fabricate functional pulp-mold packaging.We systematically evaluated the effects of adding citrus pomace to the pulp molds on their mechanical properties, storage performance, and insect-repellent functionality.The alkaline pretreatment and particle refinement we employed significantly improved the dispersion and interfacial bonding of citrus pomace with the pulp fibers, which enhanced the mechanical strength of the molded products.The optimum performance occurred at a citrus pomace content