1. Inulin Content in Chipped and Whole Roots of Cardoon after Six Months Storage under Natural Conditions
- Author
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Federico Liuzzi, Anna Ciancolini, Walter Stefanoni, Isabella De Bari, Vito Valerio, Francesco Latterini, V. Alfano, and Luigi Pari
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,020209 energy ,agricultural residues exploitation ,Geography, Planning and Development ,Inulin ,TJ807-830 ,02 engineering and technology ,Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law ,Cynara roots ,TD194-195 ,01 natural sciences ,Bioplastic ,Renewable energy sources ,Crop ,marginal lands ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,fermentable sugars ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,GE1-350 ,multipurpose crop ,Mathematics ,biorefinery ,Environmental effects of industries and plants ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,Sustainable supply chain ,Direct cost ,Biorefinery ,Bulk density ,Environmental sciences ,Horticulture ,chemistry ,010606 plant biology & botany ,Jerusalem artichoke - Abstract
Industries currently rely on chicory and Jerusalem artichoke for inulin extraction but also cardoon is proved to synthetize and store high quantity of inulin in roots as well. Cardoon is a multipurpose crop, well adapted to marginal lands, whose main residues at the end of cropping cycle consist of roots. However, cardoon roots are a suitable source of inulin, that is of high interest for new generation biodegradable bioplastics production. On the other hand, a sustainable supply chain for inulin production from cardoon roots has not been developed yet. In particular, in the inulin supply chain the most critical part is storage, which can negatively affect both cost and inulin quantity. In the present study the effect on inulin content in cardoon roots stored as dried chipped roots (CRt) and dried whole roots (WRt) was investigated in a 6-month storage trial. Our findings suggest that chipping before storage did not affect the inulin content during the storage. Furthermore, it reduced the time needed for drying by 33.3% and increased the bulk density by 154.9% with the consequent reduction of direct cost for drying, transportation and storage., This research was performed within the Italian Project COMETA-Autoctone Mediterranean crops and their valorization with advanced green chemistry technologies. The project was funded by Ministry of Education, Universities and Research in the frame of PON "Ricerca e Innovazione" 2014���2020 and FSC/ARS01_00606 COMETA/CUP. B2G18000180004/Azione II.
- Published
- 2021