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Papers
61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Cocoa Bean Shell: A By-Product with High Potential for Nutritional and Biotechnological Applications
ClearMollusk shells as marine bioactive materials: Composition, bioactivities, and prospects for food and health applications
Researchers reviewed the bioactive properties of marine mollusk shells, which are generated in large quantities as seafood processing waste. They found that shell-derived compounds exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and bone-building properties, supporting potential uses as natural calcium sources and functional food ingredients. The study highlights an opportunity to turn an abundant waste material into valuable health and food science applications.
Exploration of antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of prunus dulcis and arachis hypogaea shells extracts
Researchers explored the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of almond and peanut shell extracts, finding that these agricultural waste products contain bioactive compounds with potential antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory activities.
Exploring Agricultural and Industrial Fruit-Based Waste/By-products for Eco-friendly Multifunctional Bio-based Food Packaging and Coating Materials
Researchers reviewed how agricultural and industrial fruit waste — including peels, seeds, and pomace — can be converted into multifunctional bio-based food packaging materials with demonstrated antimicrobial, antioxidant, and shelf-life-extending properties, while identifying scalability and regulatory alignment as key barriers to widespread adoption.
Valorization of Cork Stoppers, Coffee-Grounds and Walnut Shells in the Development and Characterization of Pectin-Based Composite Films: Physical, Barrier, Antioxidant, Genotoxic, and Biodegradation Properties
Researchers developed biodegradable composite films using pectin combined with waste materials from cork stoppers, coffee grounds, and walnut shells as a sustainable alternative to plastic packaging. The films showed antioxidant properties, were non-genotoxic, and biodegraded effectively in both soil and seawater within weeks. The study demonstrates that food industry and agricultural waste can be repurposed into functional, environmentally friendly packaging materials.
Chitosan as a sustainable alternative for fresh food packaging: Structural insights, modification strategies, and innovations for commercial viability
Researchers reviewed how chitosan — a natural biopolymer derived from crustacean shells — can serve as a biodegradable alternative to single-use plastic food packaging, detailing chemical modification strategies, nanocomposite reinforcement approaches, and recent advances in antimicrobial and antioxidant performance that improve its commercial viability.
An overview: exploring the potential of fruit and vegetable waste and by-products in food biodegradable packaging
Researchers reviewed how fruit and vegetable processing waste — rich in polyphenols, vitamins, and fiber — can be transformed into biodegradable food packaging films and coatings, offering an eco-friendly alternative to conventional plastic packaging. Repurposing food waste this way could simultaneously reduce plastic pollution (including microplastics from packaging degradation) and address agricultural waste disposal challenges.
Eco-friendly and safe alternatives for the valorization of shrimp farming waste
Researchers reviewed eco-friendly bioconversion strategies for valorizing shrimp farming waste — shells, heads, and wastewater — into high-value products including chitin, carotenoids, bio-nanomaterials, and nutraceuticals, arguing that microbial fermentation and enzymatic processing offer safer, more sustainable alternatives to chemical extraction methods.
Antibacterial properties of functionalized cellulose extracted from deproteinized soybean hulls
Researchers extracted cellulose from soybean hull byproducts and functionalized it with antimicrobial properties, demonstrating a pathway to upgrade an agricultural waste stream into a value-added antibacterial biomaterial.
Development of Eco-Friendly Packaging Films from Soyhull Lignocellulose: Towards Valorizing Agro-Industrial Byproducts
Researchers developed a biodegradable packaging film from soyhull waste, a byproduct of the soybean industry, as an alternative to petroleum-based plastics. The film showed good barrier and mechanical properties suitable for food packaging applications. This type of innovation is important because replacing conventional plastic packaging with biodegradable alternatives could reduce the generation of microplastics that contaminate food and the environment.
Low-Quality Coffee Beans Used as a Novel Biomass Source of Cellulose Nanocrystals: Extraction and Application in Sustainable Packaging
Researchers developed bio-based methylcellulose films reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) extracted from low-quality coffee beans as a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastic food packaging. The extracted CNCs showed needle-like morphology (~221 nm length), 65.75% crystallinity, and good thermal stability, providing a promising path to reduce microplastic accumulation in food chains.
The Production of High-Added-Value Bioproducts from Non-Conventional Biomasses: An Overview
This paper is not relevant to microplastics research — it is a broad review of biomass valorisation from food-processing residues for producing bioproducts, focused on circular economy applications in the food and materials sectors.
The Potential of Spent Coffee Grounds in Functional Food Development
This review explores whether spent coffee grounds, the leftover material after brewing coffee, could be used as a health-promoting food ingredient rather than being thrown away. Spent coffee grounds contain beneficial compounds like caffeine and antioxidants that may help protect against heart disease, cancer, and liver problems. While not directly about microplastics, repurposing this waste could reduce the millions of tons of coffee grounds sent to landfills each year, where they contribute to environmental pollution.
Seafood Waste-Based Materials for Sustainable Food Packing: From Waste to Wealth
This review examines how biopolymers derived from seafood processing waste — such as chitin and proteins from shells and fish byproducts — can be transformed into sustainable, biodegradable food packaging materials, supporting circular economy goals by converting waste streams into valuable products.
Extraction and Application in Sustainable Packaging
Researchers developed bio-based methylcellulose films reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) extracted from low-quality coffee beans as a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastic food packaging. The extracted CNCs showed needle-like morphology (~221 nm length), 65.75% crystallinity, and good thermal stability, providing a promising path to reduce microplastic accumulation in trophic chains.
Exploring the Role of Chitosan in Fabricating Biodegradable Films for Functional Food Packaging: A Review
This review examines the use of chitosan — a biopolymer derived from crustacean shells — in fabricating biodegradable food packaging films, evaluating its mechanical, antimicrobial, and barrier properties as a sustainable alternative to conventional plastics.
Effects of Particle Size on Physicochemical and Nutritional Properties and Antioxidant Activity of Apple and Carrot Pomaces
Researchers investigated how particle size affects the nutritional properties and antioxidant activity of apple and carrot pomace flours. The study found that reducing particle size altered the physicochemical characteristics and bioactive compound availability, suggesting these food processing by-products could be repurposed as functional food ingredients.
Development and Functionality of Sinami (Oenocarpus mapora) Seed Powder as a Biobased Ingredient for the Production of Cosmetic Products
Researchers characterized sinami (Oenocarpus mapora) seed powder from Amazonian agro-industrial waste for its proximal composition, phenolic content, and antioxidant activity, then developed a gel exfoliant cosmetic formulation using the seed powder as a novel biobased ingredient with high in vitro antioxidant capacity.
Fungal chitosan in focus: a comprehensive review on extraction methods and applications
Researchers reviewed fungal-derived chitosan as a biodegradable plastic alternative for food packaging, highlighting advantages over marine-sourced chitosan — including lower mineral content, year-round supply, and reduced microplastic contamination risk — alongside advances in extraction techniques such as deep eutectic solvents and enzymatic processing.
Removal of emerging pollutants from water using enzyme-immobilized activated carbon from coconut shell
Researchers developed an enzyme-based system using activated carbon from coconut shells to remove pharmaceutical pollutants from water. By immobilizing the enzyme laccase onto the carbon, they created a material that could break down antibiotics and other drugs more effectively than the carbon alone. The approach offers a sustainable, low-cost method for treating water contaminated with emerging pharmaceutical pollutants.
Exhausted Grape Seed Residues as a Valuable Source of Antioxidant Molecules for the Formulation of Biocompatible Cosmetic Scrubs
Not relevant to microplastics — this study repurposes exhausted grape seed residues (waste from previous extractions) to create cosmetic exfoliating scrubs that release antioxidant phenolic compounds during use.
Potential Routes and Innovative Technologies for Valorisation of Cassava Peels
This review examines various ways to convert cassava peel waste — a byproduct of food processing — into useful materials including biofuels, animal feed, and compost. While not directly about microplastics, finding value in agricultural waste can reduce reliance on plastic packaging and single-use materials. Better waste valorization practices also reduce the open burning and dumping that releases pollutants into the environment.
Bacterial Cellulose Production within a Circular Economy Framework: Utilizing Organic Waste
This paper examines bacterial cellulose production using organic waste materials like coffee grounds, tea leaves, and food scraps as feedstock within a circular economy framework. Researchers found that bacterial cellulose produced from waste sources retains key material properties suitable for textile and other industrial applications. The study highlights the potential of this approach to reduce reliance on synthetic fibers and support more sustainable manufacturing practices.
Thermal Properties Study of Recycled Espresso Coffee Capsules for Biocomposite Application
This study evaluated the thermal properties of recycled espresso coffee capsule waste for use in biocomposite applications, finding the material has suitable characteristics as a reinforcing filler. The research supports finding productive secondary uses for growing volumes of single-use plastic capsule waste.
Environmental and Economic Viability of Chitosan Production in Guayas-Ecuador: A Robust Investment and Life Cycle Analysis
Researchers evaluated the environmental and economic feasibility of producing chitosan, a biopolymer derived from shrimp shell waste, in Ecuador. They found that the process is financially viable and offers environmental benefits compared to disposing of shrimp waste, which is generated in enormous quantities by Ecuador's shrimp industry. The study suggests that converting seafood processing waste into valuable biopolymers could reduce both pollution and dependence on petroleum-based plastics.