Cassava (Manihot esculenta) also known as tapioca, is a key agricultural crop in Jamaica, valued for its potential in value-added products like known as Bammy, Pancake Mix, Cassava Chips, and Bammy Sticks. However, the production of these items generates significant waste, including peelings (20-30% of the tuber weight), fibrous by-products (pulp waste), starch residue, and wastewater.
The sustainability of agricultural practices is increasingly critical amid environmental challenges. While effective, traditional soil-based agricultural methods often contribute to soil degradation and resource depletion. The earth’s topsoil has eroded by 50% during the last 150 years. In addition to this, soil has also been affected by agricultural practices. These effects include compaction, loss of soil structure, nutrient degradation, and soil salinity [1].
The global population, projected to reach 10 billion by 2025 (FAO, 2022), poses challenges to food security. Plant-based meat analogs are sustainable alternatives, requiring fewer resources and supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Jarunglumlert, 2023). However, replicating meat-like characteristics remains a challenge. High-moisture extrusion is a key technology in the formulation of meat analogs.
2nd co-funded call
(NOW OPEN)
“Integrating environmental, economic and social perspectives in assessing the performance of agroecology. Value-chain and policy implications”
This call focuses on the performance of agroecology, under different aspects: evaluating this performance in its various dimensions, quantifying environmental impacts, transforming value chains, and contributing to the design of public policies to better support the transition.
The goal of this research was to develop advanced silica materials from rice husk ash. A renewable and abundant agro-industrial waste that causes problems of accumulation and final disposal in the environment. Using extraction and synthesis methods, nanometric silica was produced. This silica was then used as a support material for nickel-based catalysts applied in CO2 hydrogenation reactions.This silica was then used as a support material for the development of nickel-based catalysts applied in CO2 hydrogenation reactions.
