BIOPROTO

Bioplastic production from tomato peel residues

Coordinatore	FONDAZIONE ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI TECNOLOGIA    more  Organization address address: VIA MOREGO 30 city: GENOVA postcode: 16163 contact info Titolo: Mr. Nome: Gabriele Cognome: Ballero Email: send email Telefono: +0039 01071781716
Nazionalità Coordinatore	Italy [IT]
Totale costo	187˙414 €
EC contributo	187˙414 €
Programma	FP7-PEOPLE Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)
Code Call	FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF
Funding Scheme	MC-IEF
Anno di inizio	2014
Periodo (anno-mese-giorno)	2014-04-01   -   2016-03-31

 Partecipanti

#	participant	country	role	EC contrib. [€]
1	FONDAZIONE ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI TECNOLOGIA  Organization address address: VIA MOREGO 30 city: GENOVA postcode: 16163 contact info Titolo: Mr. Nome: Gabriele Cognome: Ballero Email: send email Telefono: +0039 01071781716	IT (GENOVA)	coordinator	187˙414.80

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'This proposal aims to develop an integral re-exploitation of the tomato fruit peels from processing tomato industries. In particular, the project is focus on the bio-mimicry of the plant cuticle, in order to obtain bioplastics with commercial purposes. Tomato fruits were chosen for, first, their high proportion of cuticular components, second, the inexpensive price of their peel, and, third, the high industrial volume of work (European tomato processing industry processed 11,380,100 tonnes of raw tomatoes in 2004). The plant cuticle is an essential component of terrestrial plant life, providing protection against the dehydrating atmosphere. The cuticle has been modified and refined in various plant lineages to fill an impressive range of multi-functional purposes and interesting properties (e.g., it is hydrophobic, viscoelastic, moderately flexible, chemically inert and has high values of specific heat and good mechanical properties). This is the result of the combination of their main components: polysaccharides and the long-chain polyester cutin. The aim in this proposal is the exploitation of these biopolymers from tomato fruit peel residues to bio-mimic the plant cuticle, producing plant cuticle-like plastics. For this, initially, the combination and reactivity of model substances (commercial cutin monomer and cellulose) will be studied, characterizing the resultant products. Subsequently, the properties will be improved and adapted to industrial necessities. The second stage of the project will be the integral refinery of the tomato peel residues and the production of bioplastics from the natural components. Likewise, the properties of these bioplastics will be tailored. This proposal is novel because no previous studies have developed a strategy to bio-mimic the plant cuticles, and timely because, in times of economic crisis, of the opportunity of revaluing the inexpensive tomato residues into bioplastics with added value.'