Descripción del proyecto
Una biorrefinería inteligente para compuestos bioactivos de alto valor
La biomasa residual producida en Europa, bien se utiliza para compost y piensos, o bien se elimina de forma segura. Es rica en varios compuestos bioactivos que son beneficiosos para la salud y el bienestar humanos. Sin embargo, la falta de tecnología para extraer y conservar los compuestos bioactivos impide su uso para aplicaciones de alto valor. Los polifenoles, por ejemplo, no se aprovechan lo suficiente. En el proyecto PHENOLEXA, financiado con fondos europeos, se creará una biorrefinería inteligente en cascada para obtener compuestos bioactivos de alto valor y liberar el potencial de los flujos agrícolas ricos en polifenoles (aceituna, sarmientos y hojas de vides, achicoria y residuos de cebolla). En el proyecto se combina el pretratamiento de la biomasa con una tecnología de extracción con disolventes respetuosos con el medio ambiente. PHENOLEXA demostrará la tecnología y validará la viabilidad tecnoeconómica y la sostenibilidad medioambiental de la biorrefinería.
Objetivo
According to Eurostat, the agricultural sector is by far the biggest producer of the residual biomass in Europe, annually generating ca. 400 million tonnes (Mt) of dry agricultural waste. This residual biomass is usually either utilized for low value applications (compost or animal feed) or have to be deactivated to be safely disposed. On the other side, this residual biomass is highly rich in various bioactive compounds (oils, fatty acids, polyphenols, proteins) which could be used to improve the human health and wellbeing but usually lost for high-value applications due to the lack of comprehensive technology to effectively extract and preserve the bioactives. Among the natural bio-based compounds, polyphenols is the biggest class of bioactives with a range of beneficial properties for human health which have not be utilized for their full potential. PHENOLEXA project proposes to unlock the potential of polyphenols-rich agri-side streams (olive, grape shoots and leaves, chicory and onion residues) to procure bioactive compounds of high value via the development of cascade smart biorefinery which combines pretreatment of the biomass with benign environmentally friendly green solvents extraction technology. PHENOLEXA will focus on the processing of several types of agri and biowaste to create a pool of new functional polyphenolic bioactives with the tuned functionality (anticancer, antiviral, anti-oxidant, antimicrobial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory) whereas the remaining fibres and colorants will be utilised in functional foods. PHENOLEXA will demonstrate the technology of the bioactive ingredients procurement at TRL4/5 and will create lab scale prototypes of cosmetic, nutraceutical, pharma and functional food products with their proved efficacy by the end of the project. PHENOLEXA will also validate the techno-economic feasibility and environmental sustainability of the proposed biorefinery.
Ámbito científico
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringcolors
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculeslipids
- engineering and technologyenvironmental biotechnologybioremediationcompost
- agricultural sciencesagricultural biotechnologybiomass
- agricultural sciencesanimal and dairy sciencedomestic animalsanimal husbandryanimal feed
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
- H2020-EU.3.2. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy Main Programme
- H2020-EU.2.1.4. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies – Biotechnology
- H2020-EU.3.2.6. - Bio-based Industries Joint Technology Initiative (BBI-JTI)
Régimen de financiación
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinador
51010 Tartu
Estonia
Organización definida por ella misma como pequeña y mediana empresa (pyme) en el momento de la firma del acuerdo de subvención.