OBTAINING HIGH-VALUE USES OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLE WASTES AND FOOD PROCESSING BY-PRODUCTS NOT ONLY ENHANCES THE VALUE CHAIN OF AGRICULTURE, BUT ALSO REDUCES ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS. FOR EXAMPLE, LARGE AMOUNT OF POTATO PEELS (PP) IS GENERATED IN THE U. S. PACIFIC NORTHWEST IN POTATO PROCESSING THAT HAS RESULTED IN ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS AS THE WET PEELS ARE HIGHLY PERISHABLE AND PRONE TO MICROBIAL SPOILAGE, AND LIMITED STORAGE ALTERNATIVES INCREASES THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE SANITATION ISSUES. ON THE OTHER HAND, PP CAN BE AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF FUNCTIONAL AND BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS, INCLUDING ANTIOXIDANTS, PIGMENTS, DIETARY FIBER, VITAMINS AND MINERALS. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A NOVEL SEQUENTIAL HYDROTHERMAL LIQUEFACTION (SEQHTL) PROCESS THAT OVERCOMES THE MAJOR WEAKNESS OF THE EXISTING TECHNOLOGIES. THIS PROJECT AIMS AT ADVANCING THIS TECHNOLOGY FOR COMMERCIALIZATION BY TESTING ITS APPLICATION IN PROCESSING PP. THE OVERALL PROJECT HYPOTHESIS IS SUMMARIZED AS: THE CHANGING PROPERTIES OF SUBCRITICAL WATER ALLOW THE SELECTIVE EXTRACTION OF TARGET BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS FROM PP IN A SEQUENTIAL MANNER; DECREASE IN VISCOSITY, INCREASE IN PENETRATION OF WATER AS THE SOLVENT WITH INCREASE IN TEMPERATURE WILL LEAD TO ADEQUATE PROCESS KINETICS WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT DEGRADATION OF THE TARGET PRODUCT; THE CONTINUOUSLY OPERATION MODE OF SEQTHL WILL LOWER THE PROCESSING COST THAT, TOGETHER WITH THE VALORIZATION OF THE PRODUCTS, WILL PROVIDE AN ECONOMICAL OPTION FOR UTILIZING PP. THIS PROJECT INCLUDES THREE OBJECTIVES: (1) EXPLORE THE SEQHTL PROCESS CHEMISTRY AND REACTION NETWORK FOR EXTRACTING THE TARGET BIOACTIVES FROM PP; (2) DEVELOP KINETIC MODEL AND OPTIMIZE THE RECOVERY PROCESS OF THE BIOACTIVES; (3) EVALUATE THE CONTINUOUS OPERATION AND CONDUCT TECHNO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE PROCESS. THE ANTICIPATED OUTPUTS OF THE PROJECT INCLUDE NEW KNOWLEDGE AND ENGINEERING TOOLS FOR DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF THE PROCESS THAT LEADS TO AN ENABLING TECHNOLOGY. COMMERCIALIZATION OF THIS TECHNOLOGY WILL RESULT IN AN ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY SOLUTION FOR VALORIZING FOOD PROCESSING BY-PRODUCT STREAMS AND FOOD WASTES. THE PROJECT IS RESPONSIVE TO AFRI'S BIOPROCESSING AND BIOENGINEERING (A1531) PROGRAM AREA. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THIS PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO MAXIMIZING THE IMPACT OF THE AFRI PROGRAM.