Smart and flexible Separation and Valorisation of mixed bio-waste from along the agri-food value chain.

Project Information

MixMatters

Grant agreement ID: 101112409

DOI

10.3030/101112409

EC signature date 15 May 2023

Start date 1 June 2023

End date 31 May 2027

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 6 598 412,50

EU contribution

€ 5 651 163,50

Coordinated by

AINIA
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MixMatters (Smart and flexible Separation and Valorisation of mixed bio-waste from along the agri-food value chain.)

Reporting period: 2023-06-01 to 2024-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Mixed bio-waste generated along the agri-food value chain is an abundant resource, rich in valuable compounds e.g. polysaccharides or polyphenolic constituents. Yet, its potential as a source of recycled components is untapped 75% of the generated bio-waste (approx. 85 M/y) is landfilled or incinerated, constituting 3% of total EU GHG emissions. Valorisation of mixed bio-waste from the agri-food sector is hindered by (1) technological challenges of removing impurities (e.g. plastics, cardboard, or metals) that would otherwise decrease the process quality, (2) logistics challenges of collecting seasonal, geographically dispersed feedstock that lower valorisation cost-benefit.
MixMatters proposes an innovative system that efficiently separates and valorises three types of mixed bio-waste streams containing impurities from the agri-food industry (wholesale markets, greenhouses, food and drink industry) and obtains six high value-added outputs (powder ingredients, sugar concentrates, recombinant proteins, green fibres, bioactive compounds, plastic monomers). The MixMatters system is modular and multi-purpose, able to treat a range of mixed bio-waste streams (ensuring feedstock supply). The separation stage is automated, integrating advanced Airject system and AI. It is also containerised, separating the bio-waste at waste generation sites to avoid inefficient transportation of water and stream spoilage. The system functioning is optimised via a Decision Support while transparency + traceability are ensured via a Digital Product Passport.
In the project, the system will be demonstrated during 15 months at three waste generation sites, along with output validation with 6 bio-based industries and active involvement of value chain actors (partner networks outreach + 2,280 members), to ensure result deployment.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the first periodic report the following achievements for each WP have been reached:
WP1 (Biowastes Producers) : The detailed characterization of the 3 biowaste producers (wholesale market, Food & Drink insdustry and Greenhouse) waste stream and sites has been carried out. Based on the characterization of the biowaste stream a first demonstration plan and identification of potential industrial symbiosis opportunities has been developed and the design of a decision support system to optimize the configuration and operation of the Integrated System is under progress.
WP2 (Separation Unit): The selection of machines and the initial tests were carried out separately for each of the 3 biowastes. Once the equipment was selected, the design of the separation unit was defined to be operational on each of the 3 sites, and the construction phase started at the end of the period 1. In the same time, small trials were conducted to provide the valorization Hub partners with secondary streams.
WP3 (Valorisation Hub): The testing scale design and the optimisation of the 5 Unit of the valorisation Hub have been carried out. Spiral Filter Press process (Unit 1) is able to successfully separate biomass into fibers and sugar-rich streams. Saccharification of the 3 biowaste streams allows sugar release (Unit 2) and and sugar concentrates were successfully used to produce recombinant proteins and biomolecules by fermentation. Extracted high-purity green fibers using innovative solvents (Unit 3), with scalable processing up to 10L were obtained. Likewise, supercritical CO2 Extraction (Unit 4) allowed antioxidant bioactive compounds recovery. Degraded PET into monomers using novel enzymes (Unit 5), advancing circular recycling processes, is under progress. This Unit 5 is facing a supply issue because most of the plastic identified at the 3 sites is made of Polypropylene.
WP5 (Safety & Assessment Impacts) : The identification of the integrated process flow diagram has been done for each of the 3 biowaste producers. In the same time, the analysis of EU regulations directly affecting the project’s activities was conducted to ensure compliance with (1) waste management standard and (2) food safety requirements for future valorization into high-quality products. The social assessment is under progress thanks to the conducted desk research, and defining the relevant questions for the survey.
WP6 (Exploitation): The Multi-Actor Engagement Plan has been defined at the begining of the project. 2 Multi-Actor session workshop have been done and stakeholders recruitment and engagement is under progress. Likewise, the preliminary plan for result exploitation is under progress.
WP7 (D&C): The brand recognition and visual identity of Mixmatters have been done and an extensive media coverage of the project has been initiated during the first period. Collaboration with other projects and initiatives have been established as weel as the engagement with stakeholders through events and networking.
WP8 (Project Management): Financial, contractual, and legal obligations have been fullfilled. The Data Management Plan was developped at the begining of the project; MS Teams (Internally) and Zenodo (Public) have been designated as repositories. The Open Science Plan was defined in alignment with FAIR data principles.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Natural de Montaña was selected as the demonstration site for Food & Drink compagnies. The company's waste is generated by return from the supermarket. The amount of waste generated, in the different metrics, is 200-1000 kg (variable) per week / 2000 kg per month / 24000 kg per year. Regarding the wholesale market (Mercavalencia), overall, in 2022, a total of 370,34 tons of waste were collected at the waste collection point and ecopark (green point), of which 133,38 t were bio-waste. The quantity of mixed waste collected in containers over the same period reached up to 4.516,74 tons. It is foreseeable that in spring there will be a higher amount of fruit waste since fruits are more perishable at this time of the year. SACh manages an average amount of 200.000 m3/year (approximately 70.000 Tons/year) of organic biomass from vegetable waste, a mixture of plant and non-commercial fruit. The typical distribution of long-cycle crops, pepper, tomato and aubergine, shows production peaks between May and July, the biomass produced by these crops during the rest of the year ranges between 100-300 Tons/month and corresponds to pruning activities. Due to some issue to sort the raffia in the Separation Unit, raffia free biowaste was selected for the project.
The testing scale optimisation of the processes of (1) the separation unit and (2) the 5 units of the Valorisation Hub are under progress and the feasability at pilot scale has been demonstrated. To implement the IPR strategy of the differents technologies used, the early identification of the knowledge to be generated was initially carried out and 4 new Key exploitables results have ben identified are IP is under review.

Mixmatters Integrated System