Bioprocessing agricultural waste to recover natures most abundant protein

Project lead

Douglas Orr

Institute

Lancaster University

Summary:

Agriculture uses plants to produce much of the food we eat, but also leaves behind waste leaves and stems that from many crops are inedible. All crops use photosynthesis to grow and generate biomass, capturing light energy and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to power growth of leaves and produce the edible parts of plants such as grains or fruits. The protein responsible for capturing carbon from atmospheric CO2 is Rubisco, and is present at high levels in plant leaves.  This project is seeking to assess the potential to recover Rubisco from bio processed tomato waste streams as a potential protein source for various industries due its useful properties as a potential emulsifier or foaming agent. Better understanding the protein composition and Rubisco abundance within waste from tomato production will enable Biotech Services to assess the potential for liquid mixtures and foam from their bioprocessing systems to be a valuable source of protein for other industries.

Biotech services already engage with a range of end users for other outputs from their tomato waste bioprocessing workflow, and is an award winning innovator in the area of waste bioprocessing for green materials production. Better understanding of protein within underutilised outputs from tomato waste bioprocessing can enable further innovation to repurpose agricultural waste into useful, environmentally friendly products.

This project will seek to better understand the protein content, including Rubisco, of liquid mixtures and foams produced from bioprocessing of waste leaves from tomato production, and the potential to utilise this for industries including pharmaceuticals and cosmetics in addition to other industries where its chemical properties could be beneficial. Rubisco and plant protein researchers at Lancaster University will contribute world leading expertise in Rubisco to understand the presence, purity, and quality of the protein produced from tomato leaf waste. This work will inform work toward future reuse of natures most abundant protein, so that in addition to its central role in plant growth to produce food, it can be a further part of sustainable production processes for products as diverse as pharmaceutics, cosmetics, and firefighting foams.

Academic partner: Douglas Orr, Lancaster University

Industrial partner: Stephen Price, Biotech Services UK Ltd