Project description
Creating advanced starches with enhanced structures for sustainable agriculture
The demand for pulse protein reflects a shift to plant-based diets. However, starch by-products from pulses often lack food functionality and are undervalued, contributing to environmental issues. While chemical modifications can enhance starches, they do not meet clean-label standards, underscoring the need for sustainable alternatives. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the CLEAR-UPs project will develop a green process for producing functionalised starches for controlled-release applications. It will modify starch co-products using plasma jet and enzymatic treatments, creating advanced starches with enhanced structures. The project utilises various analytical techniques to study these modifications and uses caffeine as a model compound for testing. It seeks to support European agri-food sustainability goals.
Objective
The increasing demand for pulse protein concentrates and isolates reflects a shift from animal to plant-based diets. At the industrial level, producing high-protein fractions from pulses generates significant starch co-products. However, native starches often lack the functional properties needed for food applications, leading to their undervaluation or use as animal feed, which poses both environmental and economic challenges. While chemical modification is commonly employed to enhance starch functionality, this method does not meet clean or green labeling standards, highlighting the need for more sustainable solutions.
The project aims to develop a high-throughput green process for producing functionalized starches, understand the relationship between starch structure and functionality, and identify starches suitable for controlled-release applications.
Specifically, I will use atmospheric pressure plasma jet and enzymatic treatments to modify starch co-products, creating enhanced starches with porous and branched structures. Advanced analytical techniques, including field emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and size exclusion chromatography, will be employed to investigate the effects of multi-scale structural modifications on starch functionalities. Additionally, I will explore the use of caffeine as a model compound to evaluate the ability of the modified starches to function as controlled-release systems.
Overall, the project will address a significant research gap and provide sustainable solutions for utilizing starch co-products, supporting the European agri-food system’s sustainability goals. It will contribute to reduced waste, enhanced food safety, and increased market competitiveness through the development of advanced, environmentally friendly starches.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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46022 Valencia
Spain
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