Feasibility Study of Valorizing Rejected Peas as a Food Ingredient

The agri-food sector faces the dual challenge of reducing waste and meeting the growing demand for sustainable plant-based ingredients. This study investigated the valorization of rejected peas through two alternative pathways, pea flour production and pea protein production, with the aim of identifying the most suitable option for industrial implementation. A two-stage methodology was adopted. First, a preliminary screening comparison was carried out using qualitative criteria related to process complexity, implementation time, sustainability, expected material yield, market relevance, investment requirements, and operating costs. This initial assessment identified pea flour as the more feasible route under the industrial conditions considered. Second, the selected pea flour pathway was investigated in greater detail through process mapping, mass and energy balances, preliminary equipment sizing, and early-stage economic assessment. The results show that pea flour production can be organized as a flexible process combining seasonal upstream preprocessing with stabilized downstream conversion supported by freezing and controlled thawing. Under the base case considered, the route achieves an annual packaged-flour recovery of 46.5% relative to the recoverable rejected peas. Overall, the study indicates that pea flour represents a practical and scalable first-step valorization strategy, whereas pea protein remains a potentially valuable but more complex alternative requiring further dedicated development and quantitative assessment.