Whey2Value: valorising waste whey into high-value products

Informazioni relative al progetto

WHEY2VALUE

ID dell’accordo di sovvenzione: 663742

DOI

10.3030/663742

Progetto chiuso

Data della firma CE 21 Gennaio 2015

Data di avvio 1 Febbraio 2015

Data di completamento 31 Maggio 2015

Finanziato da

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Climate action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials

Costo totale

€ 71 429,00

Contributo UE

€ 50 000,00

Coordinato da

ACIES BIO BIOTEHNOLOSKE RAZISKAVE IN RAZVOJ DOO
Slovenia

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - WHEY2VALUE (Whey2Value: valorising waste whey into high-value products)

Periodo di rendicontazione: 2015-02-01 al 2015-05-31

Sintesi del contesto e degli obiettivi generali del progetto

Acid whey is a major unsolved high-cost environmental challenge for the world’s dairy industry. Around 200 million tons of waste whey is produced annually, of which nearly 50% goes unprocessed and ends up clogging the wastewater treatment stations or, in less regulated environments, is released into streams thus heavily polluting the environment. W2V meets the unmet challenge of sustainable milk processing with a make-use-reuse principle: from milk industries (cheese production) through waste whey management to vitamin B12 production, used as a high-value animal feed additive, and a purified water which is again reused by the dairy industry.

Lavoro eseguito dall’inizio del progetto fino alla fine del periodo coperto dalla relazione e principali risultati finora ottenuti

Within the scope of SME INST Phase 1 we performed a feasibility study of four main components of the project: technical, market, financial and managerial feasibility. The feasibility study provided an important insights for preparation of optimal business model with in-depth analysis of market conditions, technical specifications and risk assessments and financial modeling.

Progressi oltre lo stato dell’arte e potenziale impatto previsto (incluso l’impatto socioeconomico e le implicazioni sociali più ampie del progetto fino ad ora)

The W2V project aims to bring to market a unique patent-pending eco-innovation bioprocess to utilize acid whey as a primary ingredient for microbial fermentation to produce sustainable high value products. The W2V technology converts the organic content of acid whey into feed-grade microbial biomass with high content of valuable vitamin B12, while the remaining water can be reused by the dairy factory or released into the water streams. The implementation of W2V technology will greatly reduce the environmental footprint, lower the production costs and increase competitiveness of dairy companies. Particularly, W2V technology will be highly relevant for European dairy industry, where most companies consist of small and medium sized dairy factories, which cannot afford costly processing facilities for disposal of acid whey. W2V project will generate an entirely new type of product for the EU and global markets: an organic vitamin B12-enriched microbial biomass, which can be used as very high quality animal feed, creating a perfect example of sustainable and economical circular zero-waste economy. W2V technology requires a low-cost processing facility, which can be installed on site of the dairy company. W2V technology is a game-changing solution for small-to-medium sized dairy companies and to the dairy industry in general. We expect rapid European and global market adoption of this unique disruptive technology demonstrating resource efficient circular economy.

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