Periodic Reporting for period 3 - MAGNIFICENT (Microalgae As a Green source for Nutritional Ingredients for Food/Feed and Ingredients for Cosmetics by cost-Effective New Technologies) Período documentado: 2020-06-01 hasta 2021-11-30 Resumen del contexto y de los objetivos generales del proyecto The use of microalgae in food, feed and non-food products can support transition to a sustainable economy. Realizing this potential requires expansion of applications of algae in consumer products by a reduction of production costs, an increase of production scale and enhancement of economic revenues through development of new products.The overall objective was to develop and validate a sustainable and economically feasible new value-chain based on cultivation and processing of microalgae into valuable ingredients for food, aquafeed and cosmetics. MAGNIFICENT successfully developed new products with algae ingredients for these sectors, while decreasing production costs, establishing the total biorefinery chain, up to functional studies and product development, for the first time at pilot scale, for three different microalgae species.Several process improvements were implemented at industrial scale, significantly improving productivity and sustainability. Integration and validation of the value chain and assessment of different technological routes for processing 3 different microalgal species with different requirements, to produce multiple valuable ingredients was performed at pilot scale An integrated multistep biorefinery pathway for each microalgae strain was designed based on experimental processing data obtained during the project and validated at pilot scale. New ingredients were produced for the first time at pilot scale and used for product development. Furthermore, the process parameters and data obtained were used as input for the Techno-Economic Evaluation, market and business case studies and a Life Cycle Assessment.Fifteen MAGNIFICENT partners, incl. 10 SMEs, 2 Large Companies and 3 R&D institutes, with complementary expertise, worked closely together in an outstanding manner and successfully developed new products with high market potential. In addition, the way forward and improvement points in the field were accurately identified Trabajo realizado desde el comienzo del proyecto hasta el final del período abarcado por el informe y los principales resultados hasta la fecha The work on Cultivation and harvesting focused on the optimisation of strains and processes for improved and sustainable industrial production of microalgae. Three species highly valued in aquaculture and cosmetic markets were targeted: Nannochloropsis oceanica, Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Tisochrysis lutea. The latter was for the first time cultivated in industrial tubular photobioreactors. Ultimately, two novel, improved and stable strains of T. lutea were successfully selected and cultivated under the optimised protocols, which resulted in cultivation with higher productivities, extended production season and lower production costs.In the framework of Ingredient production from the algae biomass, cell disruption via bead milling was optimized in terms of energy consumption and recovery yield at lab scale. Pilot scale disruption and solid/liquid separation using a centrifuge, was successfully performed. The hydrophobic fraction was provided to partners for extractions using Pressurized Liquid Extraction (PLE) and Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE). Bead milling, separation, membrane filtration, SFE and PLE and extraction using Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES) were optimised at lab scale for each microalgae strain. The obtained data served as basis to design an integrated biorefinery pathway for each strain. Finally, ingredients were produced at pilot scale and used for product development. Obtained process parameters and data were used as input for the Techno Economic Assessment (TEA) and the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).The work on Product development and formulation & regulatory framework, aimed at identifying novel high-value ingredients and developing algae-rich products with applications in the food, (fish) feed and cosmetic sectors, while assessing the legal aspects regulating its use in these various markets. After identifying and characterizing their functional properties, several algae extracts were tested in end-product prototypes. A T. lutea oleoresin, extracted by PLE, was found to act as a natural antioxidant to extend the shelf-life of butter, pork meat sausages and aquafeeds. A water-soluble β-glucans extract from P. tricornutum was an immunostimulant in fish, but showed also a hypocholesterolemic effect with potential interest for use in functional beverages. Peptide/lipid extracts from T. lutea have shown a strong antimicrobial activity towards oral cavity pathogens, raising interest on oral care, confectionary and petfood applications. A fucoxanthin-rich oleoresin extracted from Tisochrysis lutea was successfully used in a cosmetic global anti-aging serum prototype.The work on Value chain analysis resulted in the building of different models to assess cost, environmental and social sustainability. The processes and experimental results from MAGNIFICENT were integrated to develop the bespoke models as well as the baseline models for commercial products. Projections led to results on costs and sustainability. Several potentially economic-profitable scenarios were identified for T. lutea and P. tricornutum. Life-Cycle-Assessment and Social-Life-Cycle Assessment models were produced to understand the environmental and social impacts. These models identified the electricity use in the cultivation phase as the major source of all impacts, and various options were offered to reduce these impacts. The work on Dissemination & Exploitation: The analysis and selection of the most probable industrial scenarios and business cases for the whole value chain were carried out regarding different key aspects such as techno-economic feasibility, market potential and needs, social trends, competition and regulatory issues. The economic feasibility of a unique production facility has been demonstrated as possible in some conditions highlighting both business opportunities and risks for the project. Other activities were realized to reach optimal exploitation, IPR management, communication and dissemination of project results towards all major stakeholders (companies, universities, policymakers…) and the general public. Avances que van más allá del estado de la técnica e impacto potencial esperado (incluida la repercusión socioeconómica y las implicaciones sociales más amplias del proyecto hasta la fecha) The MAGNIFICENT project set as target the development of reliable microalgae-based products serving market demands for a sustainable future. The project has successfully developed and defined market opportunities for novel algae-rich products in the food, (fish) feed and cosmetic sectors. Besides promoting the use of natural and sustainably sourced raw materials, the development of these new algae-based products also takes into account consumers interests by promoting enhanced functionalities on aspects related to healthier foods, naturalness of skin care cosmetics and higher welfare status farmed fish. Another important aspect -under continuous evaluation- is product safety and full compliance to the legal regulatory framework of the various markets.The project results will contribute to the growth of the algae sector with a positive impact on SME’s and will strengthen the competitiveness of the European marine biotechnology industry. Thus the project contributes to the EU’s Blue Growth strategy to support sustainable growth in the marine and maritime sectors including development of new jobs. Furthermore the project results contribute to EU policies and priorities including Resource-efficient Europe, Innovating for Sustainable Growth, Agenda for new skills & jobs, the EU Bioeconomy strategy and the European Green Deal. Equipment for Pressurized Liquid Extraction (PLE) at FRAUNHOFER, DE. Processing of samples at NATAC, ES. Production of fish feed containing microalgae at SPAROS, PT. Photobioreactors for algae cultivation at NECTON, PT.
