Extração de compostos funcionais e bioativos de subprodutos do processamento do tomate e sua valorização em potenciais aplicações biomédicas, filmes ativos para alimentos e embalagens

The main general objectives of the TomatoVal+ project are: i) to extract biobased monomers and bioactive compounds from industrial tomato processing biowastes, ii) to synthesize new biobased polyesters and develop new polyester materials for packaging and biomedical applications, and iii) to evaluate the technical-economic and environmental benefits that the TomatoVal+ project leads to new Sustainable industrial activity. The specific objectives are: 1. Optimize a sequential extraction of functional and bioactive compounds from industrial tomato processing biowastes supplied by CONESA-Portugal. 1.1. Reduce the size of tomato biowastes using wet grinding. 1.2. Extraction of functional and bioactive compounds assisted by the application of ultrasound and/or enzymes. 1.3. Concentration and purification of carotenoids by extraction with green or GRAS solvent. 1.4. Refining and purifying soluble polyphenols by polymeric resins from aqueous extracts. 1.5. Characterization of carotenoids, and blend and pure polyphenols in antimicrobial, antioxidant, and enzymatic inhibition, among other properties. 1.6. Recovery and purification of monomers and other compounds by pH partition from aqueous extracts and characterization of their physicochemical properties. 2. Synthesis of biobased and biodegradable polyesters via Green Chemistry and Biocatalysis. 2.1. Optimize the synthesis of polyesters using the extracted and/or commercial biobased monomers linear and containing functional pendant groups available in the EU. 2.2. Study and establish some guidelines or models related to polymerization media, reactor and type of impeller, catalysts, temperature, and others to increase productivity. 2.3. Optimize and implement greener downstream processing based on recycling catalysts and the polymerization reaction media to achieve “zero pollution” and “zero waste”. 3. Develop and implement Process Analytical Technologies (PAT) based on NIR spectroscopy for monitoring and control 3.1. The extraction of monomers and bioactive compounds. 3.2. Synthesis and purification of polyesters. 4. Design and develop edible films and packaging materials from the synthesized biobased polyesters. 4.1. Evaluate their characteristics namely oxygen permeability, antioxidant properties and antimicrobial activity, and other properties. 4.2. Evaluate the potential to replace PET and other fossil-based polyesters. 5. Design and validate synthesized polyesters for biomedical applications. 5.1. Building 3D scaffolds for skin disease studies. 6. Evaluation of the depolymerization of biobased polymeric materials and hydrolysis of polyesters for upcycling the monomers and/or building blocks. 6.1. Develop chemical and/or enzymatic (e.g., cutinases) processes for the depolymerization and hydrolysis of biobased polyesters and polymeric materials. 6.2. Technological, sustainability, and biodegradability assessment of these polyester products to contribute to a polyester circular economy. 7. Proof of concept, scale-up studies, and evaluation of the technical, economic, and environmental sustainability of the integrated project. 7.1. Proof of concept of the integrated process and scale-up in the third year of the project taken at CONESA-Portugal in a business environment. 7.2. Technical, economic, and environmental assessment of tradable products and integrated processes using software such as SuperProDesign or Aspen.