In this work, a valorization of the starch stemming from downgraded potatoes was approached through the preparation of starch nanoparticles using different physical methods, namely liquid and supercritical carbon dioxide, high energy ball milling (HEBM), and ultrasonication on the one hand and enzymatic hydrolysis on the other hand. Starch nanoparticles are beneficial as a reinforcement in food packaging technology as they enhance the mechanical and water vapor resistance of polymers. Also, starch nanoparticles are appropriate for medical applications as carriers for the delivery of bioactive or therapeutic agents. The obtained materials were characterized using X-ray diffraction as well as scanning and transmission electron microscopies (SEM and TEM), whereas the hydrolysates were analyzed using size exclusion chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detection (SEC-PAD). The acquired results revealed that the physical modification methods led to moderate alterations of the potato starch granules’ size and crystallinity. However, enzymatic hydrolysis conducted using Pullulanase enzyme followed by nanoprecipitation of the hydrolysates allowed us to obtain very tiny starch nanoparticles sized between 20 and 50 nm, much smaller than the native starch granules, which have an average size of 10 μm. The effects of enzyme concentration, temperature, and reaction medium pH on the extent of hydrolysis in terms of the polymer carbohydrates’ fractions were investigated. The most promising results were obtained with a Pullulanase enzyme concentration of 160 npun/g of starch, at a temperature of 60 °C in a pH 4 phosphate buffer solution resulting in the production of hydrolysates containing starch polymers with low molecular weights corresponding mainly to P-10, P-5, and fractions with molecular weights lower than P-5 Pullulan standards.

ZnCl₂-modified hexagonal mesoporous alumina was successfully synthesized, yielding Al–O–Zn–Cl species for supporting methyltrioxorhenium towards methyl oleate self-metathesis.

The biostimulation potentials of carrot peel waste and carob kibbles for bioremediation of crude petroleum-oil polluted soil were investigated. Temperature, pH, moisture, total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH), and changes in microbial counts during 45 days were monitored when 4 mL of carrot peel waste or carob kibbles media were added to 200 g of crude oil polluted soil samples. Gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) was used to compare hydrocarbon present in the crude oil polluted soil and in pure fuel, composition of crude oil polluted soil was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the TPH was measured by distillation using distiller mud. The results showed that, at the end of experiments, the concentration of TPH decreased in crude oil polluted soil containing carrot peel waste with a percentage of 27 ± 1.90% followed by crude oil polluted soil containing carob kibbles (34 ± 1.80%) and in the unamended control soil (36 ± 1.27%), respectively. The log [Colony Forming Unit (CFU)/g] of total heterotrophic bacteria in the crude oil polluted soil increased from 10.46 ± 0.91 to 13.26 ± 0.84 for carrot peel waste, from 11.01 ± 0.56 to 11.99 ± 0.77 for carob kibbles and from 8.18 ± 0.39 to 8.84 ± 0.84 for control, respectively. Such results demonstrated that carrot peel could be used to enhance activities of the microbial hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria during bioremediation of crude petroleum-oil polluted soil.

Yeasts Candida tropicalis, Yarrowia lipolytica, Wickerhamomyces anomalus, Issatchenkia orientalis, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Saprochaete suaveolens and Trichosporon coremiiforme were isolated and identified by physiological, biochemical tests with API 20C AUX system and molecular methods by restriction fragment analysis of PCR-amplified 28S-rRNA from Algerian fermented raw bovine milk (Rayeb). Selected yeasts S. suaveolens, I. orientalis, K. marxianus and W. anomalus produced esters and higher esters which can exert a pertinent influence on the sensory characteristics of Rayeb. Viability of S. suaveolens and W. anomalus using three methods of drying (freeze-drying, convective drying, and spray-drying) and during 4 months of storage at 4 °C and 25 °C in the darkness was studied. Immediately after each drying method, high survival was obtained using freeze-drying followed by convective drying in rice cakes and spray-drying respectively. During storage at 4 °C, convective drying provided better survival of yeast cultures of S. suaveolens and W. anomalus than freeze-drying. At 25 °C of storage, convective and freeze-dried yeast cultures showed no significant loss of viable cells up to 2 months of storage. Spray-dried yeast cultures had the greatest loss of viable count during the 3 months of storage at 25 °C.