From Bio-Resin To Natural Lacquer Thanks To Tomato Skins

Cutin

What Is The Cutin?

Cutin

Cutin is a natural polymer, polyester type, found in the cuticle of tomato skins and is the substance used to produce the organic-based lacquer. It is possible to extract the cutin regardless of the origin of the tomatoes and the type of peel.

How Is Cutin Extracted

The cutin extraction process does not use organic solvents and is based on well-tested technologies, with high performances and productivity at relatively low costs.

This process consists in the separation of the skins by flotation, in the thermal treatment of the skins in an alkaline solution, in the separation by centrifugation of a liquid solution, where the cutin is precipitated by acidification and separated by centrifugation.

How Is Cutin Extracted?

Cutin extraction process

The cutin extraction process does not use organic solvents and is based on well-tested technologies, with high performances and productivity at relatively low costs.

This process consists in the separation of the skins by flotation, in the thermal treatment of the skins in an alkaline solution, in the separation by centrifugation of a liquid solution, where the cutin is precipitated by acidification and separated by centrifugation.

Benefits Of Cutin And Bio-Lacquer

The use of a bio-resin derived from cutin to produce a natural lacquer, has first the advantage of increasing the safety for the health of consumers. The use of standard oil-based lacquers can in fact cause exposure to dangerous contaminants such as bisphenol A, which is unfortunately found in most food packaging.

Another big advantage is to reduce the waste from the industrial processing of tomatoes, recycling agro-industrial by-products and, at the same time, reducing the costs of disposal.

The use of TomaPaint reduces significantly the environmental impact: in comparison to a standard lacquer of fossil origin, For each eco-can produced the CO₂ equivalent emissions are 730 mg lower. Considering that in Italy 650 tons of metal containers are used every year, the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions could be impressive: 1 million kg of CO_2e per year.

Last but not least, there is the possibility of exploiting the residue peels that remain after the cutin extraction for the production of biogas, even with better yields

What Is The Circular Economy?

The circular economy is a self-regenerating economic system that recycles the materials used in production cycles and uses them in subsequent ones. The goal is to preserve the greatest possible value of products and materials, allowing long life, optimal re-use, renewal, regeneration and recycling.