| [Solid and liquid wastes from industrial processes: Innovations in material recovery and environmental protection] Protein By-products Recovery and Reuse for Sustainable Agriculture and Medical Applications Protein By-products Recovery and Reuse for Sustainable Agriculture and Medical Applications Carmen Gaidau1; Mihaela Niculescu2; Stanca Maria2; Cosmin Alexe2; Marius Becheritu3; Roxana Horoias3; Jiri Pecha4; 1, , ; 2R&D NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR TEXTILES AND LEATHER, Bucharest, Romania; 3SC PROBSTDORFER SAATZUCHT ROMANIA SRL, Bucharest, Romania; 4TOMAS BATA UNIVERSITY IN ZLIN, FACULTY OF APPLIED INFORMATICS, CEBIA-TECH, Zlin, Czech Republic; PAPER: 121/Recycling/Regular (Oral) SCHEDULED: 15:55/Mon. 28 Nov. 2022/Arcadia 2 ABSTRACT: The leather industry processes a by-product of the meat industry, being an ecological activity and contributing to the pollution mitigation generated by the food industry [1,2]. However, raw hide and skin processing generates, in addition to a unique product, unmatched by any synthetic material, a large amount of collagen by-products valuable to other industries [3]. The presentation will talk about the experience gained in capitalizing on leather, aquaculture and wool by-products through chemical-enzymatic extraction and refining processes in bioactive proteins for use in agriculture or for the production of biomaterials with cell regeneration properties for wound treatment. In recent years, concerns have been raised over excessive use of pesticides, their toxicity, and the potential to pollute the environment [4]. In this context, the interest for innovation in biostimulants and fertilizers with systemic effects on plant metabolism has increased, as an alternative for pesticide reduction. Collagen and keratin have been extracted, solubilized, refined, and conditioned by the processing of collagen and keratin-based by-products such as: hide fleshings, leather shavings, fish skins or unmarketable wool. For this purpose, chemical and chemical-enzymatic hydrolysis processes allowed new products to be adapted to the nutritional needs of different plant species. Thus, wheat seeds were treated with low amounts of pesticides in admixture with collagen hydrolysates. Greenhouse and field experiments have shown that plants are more resistant to climate change and extreme soil pH. The formulation and experimentation of mixtures of collagen hydrolysates, keratin, and essential oils for foliar fertilization of cereal plants have led to substantial production increases for wheat crops. Another direction of research was that of crosslinked collagen-based products with long-term nitrogen release that have been experimented with promising results for treating seeds and leguminous plants. The elastic properties of fish collagen have been exploited to cover rapeseed pods in order to improve indehiscence and reduce production losses. The collagen extracts with spinnable properties were designed for fabrication of wound healing nanofibers and showed high biocompatibility and low cytotoxicity. Keratin powders with low molecular weights were prepared for gel and cream formulations intended to be used in recalcitrant skin wound healing. Regenerative properties of new protein extracts will be shown as results of testing on standardized cell lines specific to the dermo-epidermal layer and vascular endothelium. The versatility of collagen and keratin extracts was proved and the premises for biomass recovery and reuse in agriculture and medicine open the door for increased circularity of many economic domains. References: [1] A.Saiddain, International Leather Maker, 2019, https://internationalleathermaker.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/7289/The_honest_truth_about_leather.html [2] De Rosa-Giglio P., Fontanella A., Gonzalez-Quijano G., Ioannidis I., Nucci B., Brugnoli F, Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules-Leather, 2018 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/smgp/pdf/PEFCR_leather.pdf [3] R. Sole, L. Taddei, C. Franceschi and V. Beghetto, Molecules, 24, 2979, 2019, doi:10.3390/molecules24162979 [4] F. Hüesker, R. Lepenies, Environmental Science & Policy,128, 2022, 185-193 |
