**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO EXAMINE THE SEPARATION BEHAVIOR OF A DRY OR CHEMICAL-FREE TRIBO-ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATION (TES) TECHNIQUE FOR CLASSIFICATION OF LEGUMES AND CEREALS INTO THEIR MAJOR CONSTITUENTS OF PROTEIN AND STARCH, FOLLOWED BY UTILIZING THE PROTEIN ENRICHED FRACTIONS AS PRINTING MATERIALS THROUGH EXTRUSION-BASED 3D PRINTING TO PRODUCE NUTRITIONALLY BALANCED PROTEIN SNACK FOOD. FRACTIONATION OF LEGUME AND CEREAL RESOURCES STILL RELIES ON WET CONVENTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES THAT NECESSITATE THE USE OF LARGE AMOUNTS OF WATER AND ENERGY AS WELL AS HARSH PROCESSING CONDITIONS AND/OR CHEMICALS, SACRIFICING NATIVE PROTEIN FUNCTIONALITY. HERE, THE PI WILL EVALUATE THE USE OF A NOVEL TRIBO-ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATOR TO TRIBO-CHARGE THE PROTEIN AND STARCH CONSTITUENTS OF CEREAL AND LEGUME FLOURS TO DIFFERENT LEVELS, THEREBY SEPARATING THEM UNDER AN EXTERNAL ELECTRIC FIELD. THE PROPOSED TES APPROACHPRESERVES THE NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT AS IT PRODUCES NO EFFLUENT WASTEAND ELIMINATES THE WATER CONSUMPTION AND ITS SUBSEQUENT REMOVAL BY SPRAY/FREEZE DRYING, CAPABLE OF SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCING THE ENERGY CONSUMPTION COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL WET FRACTIONATION PROCESSES. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ARE TO (I) EVALUATE THE TRIBO-CHARGING BEHAVIOR OF SINGLE-COMPONENT PARTICLES OF PROTEIN AND STARCH AS WELL AS THEIR MODEL BINARY MIXTURES AT DIFFERENT OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS; (II) ESTIMATE THE EFFECTS OF SEVERAL FACTORS SUCH AS ELECTRIC FIELD STRENGTH AND MILLING CONDITIONS ON THE PURITY OF THE ENRICHED FRACTIONS; (III) QUANTIFY THE FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES OF THE ELECTROSTATICALLY-ENRICHED PROTEIN FRACTIONS COMPARED TO WET-FRACTIONATED PROTEIN PRODUCTS; (IV) ASSESS THE RHEOLOGICAL AND VISCOELASTIC PROPERTIES OF THESE FRACTIONS AS ECO-FRIENDLY PRINTING MATERIALS FOR PRODUCTION OF HEALTHY CUSTOMIZED SNACKS THROUGH 3D FOOD PRINTING. WITH THIS PROPOSAL, THE PI SEEKS TO SATISFY THE GROWING DEMAND FOR HEALTHY NOVEL PLANT PROTEIN FOOD PRODUCTS AND DRAMATICALLY CHANGE THE ECONOMICS AND THE TYPE OF PROTEIN INGREDIENTS USED FOR FOOD PRODUCTION IN THE U.S.