Project Grant 20223353036984

INCORPORATING BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS AS AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGY TO ENHANCE FOOD QUALITY BY OFFERING MULTIPLE HEALTH BENEFITS HAS ACCELERATED THE GROWING DEMAND FOR FUNCTIONAL FOODS. TWO KEY FACTORS LIMITING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY ARE THE SOURCE AND COST OF THESE BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS. NATURAL POLYPHENOLS AS PHYTOCHEMICALS HAVE GAINED POPULARITY AS A FUNCTIONAL FOOD INGREDIENT BECAUSE IT PROVIDES ADVANTAGES ASSOCIATED WITH THE PREVENTION OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, CANCER, DIABETES, NEURODEGENERATIVE CONDITIONS, AND AGING AND SKIN-RELATED PROBLEMS. A SIGNIFICANT SOURCE OF NATURAL POLYPHENOLS IS POTATOES. POTATO HAS BECOME ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FOODS DUE TO ITS LOW COST, LOW-FAT CONTENT, HIGH CARBOHYDRATE, AND QUALITY PROTEIN CONTENTS, AND RICH VITAMIN C AND B. ABOUT 50% OF THE POTATO PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS LOCATE IN THE PEELS AND ADJOINING TISSUES. ABOUT 12 MILLION TONNES OF THE 19 MILLION TONNES HARVESTED POTATOES WERE PROCESSED INTO FRIES AND OTHER PRODUCTS IN THE US. DURING THE PROCESSING, POTATOES ARE PEELED BY STEAM, RESULTING IN THE GENERATION OF A LARGE AMOUNT OF POTATO PEEL (PP) AS A MAJOR SIDE-STREAM THAT IS OFTEN CONSIDERED A WASTE. CLEARLY, RECOVERING POLYPHENOLS FROM POTATO PEELS OFFERS A WIN-WIN SOLUTION THAT NOT ONLY REDUCES THE COST OF NATURAL POLYPHENOLS BUT ALSO ADDRESSES THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES CAUSED BY THE WET PP MATERIALS.THE GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO COMMERCIALIZE THE SEQUENTIAL HYDROTHERMAL LIQUEFACTION (SEQHTL) TECHNOLOGY FOR HARVESTING POLYPHENOLS FROM PP. USING WATER AS THE EXTRACTION SOLVENT, THE PROCESS IS ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN, THE PRODUCT IS FOOD COMPATIBLE, THE METHOD IS SIMPLE, AND THE SYSTEM IS EASY TO INSTALL. THE PROJECT HAS TWO OBJECTIVES: (1) OPTIMIZING THE EXTRACTION PROCESS AT A BENCH SCALE TO GAIN PERFORMANCE CERTAINTY AND OBTAIN DATA FOR SYSTEM INTEGRATION AND SCALE-UP, AND (2) INTEGRATING THE SEQHTL WITH PRODUCT PURIFICATION AND CONDUCTING TECHNO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE COMPLETE SYSTEM. THE PROJECT ACTIVITIES INCLUDE MODELING, ANALYSIS, AND EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION AT A BENCH SCALE. THE PROJECT WILL BE CONDUCTED THROUGH A COLLABORATION BETWEEN RESEARCH ENGINEERS IN THE SMALL BUSINESS AND RESEARCHERS OF THE UNIVERSITY. THE ANTICIPATED OUTPUTS OF THE PROJECT ARE AN ENABLING TECHNOLOGY WITH DEMONSTRATED TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE AND FEASIBILITY ALONG WITH ENGINEERING DESIGN AND OPERATIONAL PRINCIPLES AND PRODUCT DATA FOR THE NEXT STEP OF SCALE-UP AND COMMERCIALIZATION.THE GLOBAL POLYPHENOLS MARKET SIZE WAS VALUED AT $1.28 BILLION IN 2018 AND IS EXPECTED TO REGISTER AN ESTIMATED CAGR OF 7.2% FROM 2019 TO 2025. ON THE OTHER HAND, IT IS ESTIMATED THAT SEVERAL MILLION TONNES OF POTATO WASTE ARE GENERATED EVERY YEAR IN THE US. COMMERCIALIZATION OF THE SEQHTL TECHNOLOGY WILL RESULT IN AN ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY SOLUTION FOR VALORIZING THE FOOD PROCESSING BY-PRODUCT STREAMS TO MEET THE DEMAND OF THIS SUBSTANTIAL YET GROWING NATURAL POLYPHENOLS MARKET. THIS TECHNOLOGY IS APPLICABLE TO POTATO PEELS AND OTHER WASTES FROM FOOD OR BIOMASS PROCESSING, SUCH AS APPLE POMACE AND GRAPE POMACE. THE PROJECT RESPONSES TO THE FOOD QUALITY- ENGINEERING PRIORITY AREA OF THE FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITION TOPIC AREA (8.5) THAT CALLS FOR DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES OR MATERIALS THAT REDUCE POSTHARVEST LOSSES IN FOODS AND FOOD WASTE WHILE MAINTAINING SAFETY, QUALITY, AND NUTRITION OF THE PRODUCT.