A digital art icon of green peas in a pea pod, representing plant-based meat. Plant-Based

Development and standardisation of novel, sustainable and green technologies for plant protein extraction

Adopting a sustainable, scalable, and mild extraction technology is central to the functionality of plant proteins. Optimising green technologies for protein extraction and assessing their environmental impact will aid in their commercialisation.

Production platform
  • A digital art icon of green peas in a pea pod, representing plant-based meat. Plant-Based
Value chain segment
  • R&D
Technology sector
  • Ingredient optimization

For more information, please see the following resources: 

Previous GFI-funded research related to this topic:

Current challenges

The various challenges associated with plant protein production are represented in the below illustration. Several limitations are associated with the conventional methods employed for protein extraction from different food materials, including accelerated protein denaturation, generation of large quantities of wastewater causing environmental hazards, usage of hazardous solvents (chemicals), high production costs, and low extraction yield. These extraction method-mediated challenges are serious bottlenecks for plant protein producers as well as end-product manufacturers who face problems with the loss of techno-functional properties (Hewage et al., 2022). In the above background, the aim of companies dealing with plant protein manufacturing is to achieve protein ingredients with high purity (e.g., isolates, concentrates), nutritional quality, organoleptic properties, and functionality, using sustainable techniques with minimal energy and water requirements. Therefore, many companies are keen on exploring green processes that would not depend on hazardous solvents (e.g., hexane) and use GRAS (Generally Recognised as Safe) solvents to result in protein products with optimal purity and functional properties.

Figure 1. Challenges related to plant-based proteins (Adapted from Adams, 2023)

Proposed solutions

Green chemistry can offer sustainable solutions to resolve the challenges associated with currently employed techniques for plant protein extraction. Moreover, green chemistry-based extraction approaches use less solvent and energy to result in higher extraction yield and purity, enhanced nutritional and functional properties, safer food ingredients, and a clean-label advantage (Pojić et al., 2018; Wen et al., 2019). Recent studies have highlighted the potential of unconventional technologies such as enzyme-assisted extraction, deep eutectic solvent extraction, reverse micelle extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, and ultrasonic-assisted extraction for the isolation of plant proteins. 

Successful proposals are expected to focus on the following aspects: