Potato Waste Upcycling Improves Revenue

The amount of waste and by-products of the potato industry is estimated to be around 12-20% of their total production volume. Potato processing generates waste in the form of peels, pulp and rejects. Potato peels, pulp and unmarketable potatoes can further be processed in starch plants, incorporated into animal feed formulations, or turned into ethanol. Thus the attempts to up-cycle the industrial potato waste will provide additional feed options for the livestock and make potato growing and processing more economical.
Despite sustained efforts, food waste remains a problem in our society, with most of the food loss in some areas of the world occurring during harvest and storage, or not being eaten by consumers in the western economies. The FAO estimates that annually 30% of food produced for human consumption is either lost in the supply chain or wasted before it can be consumed. This means that 1 in every 3 calories produced is not eaten by people it was produced for.
Components of Potato Processing Waste
Raw Pieces – Raw pieces that are not suitable for processing range in size from whole potatoes to small fragments.
Raw Pulp – Raw potato that has been finely subdivided is usually designated as raw pulp. Sources: abrasion peeler discharge, cutting waste and pulp from starch separation. Equipment for handling raw potatoes will release finely divided raw potato solids when the equipment is cleaned. The raw pulp may be removed from the waste stream by fine screening or settling.
Cooked pulp – The softening action of heat during peeling or processing steps weakens the intercellular bonds of the potato tuber and results in separation of large quantities of potato cells and agglomerates of cells during washing and handling steps. These rapidly disperse in the wastewater. Many such agglomerates are removed in screening, but the greatest portion passes through the normal 20-mesh screen opening. These solids settle rapidly in a properly designed clarifier and represent a major portion of the settle-able solids removed in primary treatment of potato-processing waste streams.
Dissolved solids – Constituents of the potato that are readily water-soluble appear as dissolved solids in the final waste stream. These include solubilized starch, proteins, amino acids, and sugars. This organic portion of the waste stream can be removed only by secondary treatment, namely some form of biological oxidation or land disposal.
You can read the rest of this article in the Winter Issue of Potato Business Digital magazine, which you can access by clicking here.