Lignins from banana residues evaluated as chelating agents and controlled-release formulations

• Grant number: 20/01900-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2020
• Effective date (End): April 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Technology
• Principal Investigator: Adilson Roberto Gonçalves
• Grantee: Rosangela Almeida Maia
• Host Institution: Instituto de Pesquisa em Bioenergia (IPBEN). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 17/22401-8 - Fruit-refinery: obtention processes, characterization methods and generation of products derived from residues of the fruitculture, AP.TEM

Abstract

The objective of this project is to obtain lignins from different parts of banana plant (mainly pseudo stem, leaves and peels) and perform their complete analyzes, oxidation and application as chelating agents and controlled-release formulations. This PhD project is connected to the thematic project "Fruit-refinery: obtention processes, characterization methods, and generation of products derived from residues of the fruitculture" (FAPESP Grant 2017/22401-8). Expected results are: complete characterization of different lignins obtained from the banana biomass; development of oxidation methods (chemical and enzymatic) to convert lignins in oxidized materials to be further evaluated; apply oxidized lignins in effluent containing heavy metals removing such ions; development of controlled-release formulations with different release rates among different lignins; construct a tool to correlate products properties (quelating agents, formulations) with lignin properties (spectroscopy, chemical) to decide which lignin and biomass source is more suitable for each application. (AU)