Professor Giovanna Bermano g.bermano@rgu.ac.uk
Professor
Valorisation of biomass from seed potatoes production
People Involved
Dr Kyari Yates k.yates@rgu.ac.uk
Associate Professor
Project Description
In the potato industry, over 800 thousand tons of dry foliage are produced, which could be turned into high value chemicals/products across many industries. The cooperative is looking for new value chains and to add value to the by-product from their seed potatoes production.
Currently, leaves from potatoes are ploughed in the soil without any gain apart from its partial use as fertiliser. The additional use of this high yield by-product as a source of high value chemicals, such as solanesol (a precursor of Coenzyme Q10, important in the cosmetic industry) would significantly increase feedstock value and create new value chains.
Type of potatoes grown, quantities of foliage produced, variation in production over the years and quality of raw materials are some of the variables which require consideration in order to create a whole-system and circular approach which fits the company.
The project will explore some of these aspects and, in particular, it will focus on understanding the variability in content of the main components (solanesol, protein, fibre and glycoalkaloids) in the leaves of different potatoes varieties and potential for seasonal variation (if information is available). Based on average yields obtained from the literature review, market values of single components and the amount of by-products produced by the company, it will be possible to create a preliminary cost benefit analysis for valorisation of by-product. The following step will be to characterise the composition of the potato’s leaves using standard lab-based techniques and assess quality and quantities of bioactive components after extraction. In particular it will assess composition of by-products (dry vs green) (e.g. protein content, fibre, lipids, moisture and ash content) using standard laboratory techniques.
| Type of Project | Innovation Centre |
|---|---|
| Status | Project Complete |
| Funder(s) | Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre |
| Value | £29,993.00 |
| Project Dates | Jun 12, 2023 - May 30, 2024 |
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