VALENCIA, 16 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Researchers from the University of Alicante (UA) are working on the development of an active packaging, with material from almond shells and olive pits, which will better preserve fruits and vegetables, through the adsorption of the gas emitted by these foods during their production process. maturation using activated carbon obtained from these wastes.
The ‘Encarbio’ team, a project financed with 190,009 1 euros by the Generalitat in the valorization and transfer of research results to companies program, is made up of Diego Cazorla, Emilia Morallón, Ángel Berenguer and Jéssica Chaparro. In addition, it has the collaboration of ITENE, a technological center specializing in R&D in containers and packaging.
Specifically, the Carbonaceous Materials and Environment Research group of the UA develops active packaging that incorporates components capable of absorbing harmful substances to prolong the useful life of food. One of these components is activated carbon, which is synthesized in the UA laboratories, using biomass waste such as almond shells and olive pits as starting material.
These activated carbons have “an excellent adsorption capacity for ethylene, which is the gas that fruits and vegetables emit during their ripening process, so the objective of the packaging is to delay their ripening, helping to reduce food waste and In addition, to take advantage of waste from other companies, giving them useful life and creating biodegradable packaging,” the researchers explain in a statement.
Furthermore, those responsible for the project defend the development of this type of conservation trends to reduce the trend of food waste for human consumption.
This project has advantages related to the conventional methodology for the synthesis of activated carbons, by using a more efficient method and in which the moisture content of the raw material is not a problem and in this way almost 40% of the weight of the waste can be transformed into a new resource.
Currently, ‘Encarbio’ is in the validation phase, in which the impact on the useful life of packaged products will be evaluated and an analysis of color, smell and texture will be carried out.
The results of this new packaging will be known next June. According to the researchers, many companies in the fruit and vegetable sector have shown interest in the possibilities of this material.
