**4. Conclusions**

This study demonstrates advancements regarding the action of green solvents on food by-products, in combination with the use of an innovative non-thermal drying method. The results, in particular the lycopene extraction from the non–thermal-dried tomato by-product, confirm ethyl acetate:ethyl lactate mixture as an effective alternative to the traditional solvents.

Regarding the drying methods tested, it is difficult to compare the differences in energy consumption, since the non-thermal drying prototype was produced only at a lab scale. However, its upgrade to an industrial or semi-industrial plant would surely bring significant advantages in terms of sustainability, compared to heating, which is typical of traditional dryers, or long-time freezing at low temperatures for freeze-drying, both of which require high energy consumption. This preliminary work has highlighted the possibility of drying and the potential of non-conventional extraction techniques to extract carotenoids; the use of HPLC to quantify them would be needed in further studies to confirm these findings.

Furthermore, the synergy between a sustainable drying process and the green solvent used for the extraction appears to be a valid strategy to reduce energy consumption and, at the same time, sustain the environment.

In particular, for the tomato by-product and lycopene and β-carotene extraction, the valorization can be part of a project of industrial symbiosis, where the two technological phases—(i) concentration/stabilization and possible packaging of the by-product to guar-

antee a defined shelf-life and preserve it from spoilage and degradation and (ii) extraction of the fractions/molecules of interest—could be held in two different factories or even industrial chains. The first (stabilization/packaging) could become a new final phase of the tomato supply chain, and the second (extraction) could be conducted elsewhere in a biorefinery or in a specific industrial environment, putting in place tailored flux diagrams for cosmetic, food supplement, and/or pharmaceutical applications.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, T.G.T., A.B. and E.V.; methodology, C.L., E.C. and E.V.; validation, T.G.T.; formal analysis, C.L., M.T. and L.R.; investigation, C.L., M.T. and L.R.; resources A.B. and T.G.T.; data curation, C.L., M.T. and L.R.; writing—original draft preparation, C.L., M.T. and E.C.; writing—review and editing, C.L., M.T., E.C., E.V., L.R., A.B. and T.G.T.; visualization C.L., M.T., L.R. and E.C.; supervision, T.G.T., A.B. and E.V.; project administration T.G.T. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Data Availability Statement:** Data is contained within the article.

**Acknowledgments:** The authors gratefully acknowledge Claudio Bellini, plant manager of La Cesenate Conserve Alimentari S.p.a., for providing the tomato pomace.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
