Recovery of Valuable Bioactive Compounds from Potato Peels

Unmet Need: High-yielding extraction of bioactive compounds without the use of toxic solvents

The growing consumption of fresh potatoes in food processing industries has led to a fast-increasing generation of potato peels. More than 1.01 million metric tons of fresh peels were produced in the northwest of the United States in 2011. The lack of efficient way to handle these vast amounts of peels could cause severe environmental issues due to microbial spoilage. Additionally, limited storage options and high transportation costs of fresh peels with high moisture content prevent cost-effective utilization of peels. This invention provides an economic way to valorize peel wastes for polyphenol production directly from untreated wet materials.

The Technology: Method of extracting important compounds from food waste using water

The inventors have developed a novel two-stage process to optimize the extraction of high value polyphenols from raw potato peels in an environment-friendly and cost-effective manner. The new method recovers up to 57 mg/g of bioactive compounds. The two-stage process enables fractionation of potato peels to produce different types of polyphenols. The enhanced mass and heat transfer of the process promotes the recovery and results in a low-cost operation.

Applications: