7EL996 (Independent Scholarly Activity) draft proposal form
Name and ID number:
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Name of potential supervisor:
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Indicate what type of research you propose undertaking:
i. a project; ii. a dissertation iii. an exhibition iv. a work-based project
Proposed title:
Development of Biobased Material from Food Waste and Crop Waste Streams
Rationale for proposed research:
Food waste and agriculture residues are significantly important form of biobased materials. These
waste streams have potential to be upcycled into value added biobased materials. This research
would develop a sustainable solution to mitigate the food wastage consequences and give urge to
circular bioeconomy.
Aim(s):
I aim to develop a novel biobased polymer material with the help of food waste and rotten corps as
renewable feedstock.
Objectives:
1. Identify suitable food/crop waste streams for material development.
2. Extract/isolate polymers and compounds from selected waste streams.
3. Synthesize and characterize biopolymer materials developed.
4. Evaluate material properties and potential applications.
Proposed methodology:
1. Waste feedstock collection from local food/crop processing facilities.
2. Characterization of collected waste streams (composition analysis, moisture content etc.)
3. Extraction of polymers/compounds from waste using chemical or biological techniques (e.g.
solvent extraction, fermentation)
4. Synthesis of biopolymer materials from extracted compounds
5. Testing and characterization of developed materials (e.g. tensile strength, SEM,
biodegradability)
6. Life cycle assessment of materials to evaluate environmental impacts.
Preliminary References:
[1] Farmer, J. et al. (2019). Bio-based materials from agricultural biowaste. Chem Soc Rev, 48, 3866-
3890.
[2] Rivard, C. et al. (2021). Upcycling food waste into valuable biobased materials. Green Chem, 23,
4579-4593.
