Periodic Reporting for period 2 - IRODDI (Innovative Refining Process for Valorization of Vegetable Oil Deodorizer Distillates)
Reporting period: 2022-03-01 to 2023-08-31
The project IRODDI (Innovative Refining process for valorization of vegetable Oil Deodorizer DIstillates), funded by BBI JU, has successfully concluded by demonstrating that waste (bio)materials such as by-products of the refining industry of vegetable oils and fats (technically known as deodorizer distillates) are a profitable resource to obtain high-value products, beyond energy uses for biofuel production.
In this sense, IRODDI represents an example of direct application of how the bioeconomy and circularity have a place in the industrial environment, providing benefits to both today's industries and society. The technologies developed in the project have successfully led to the integral transformation of low-value resources into chemical products of direct commercial application. Specifically, the following processes have been successfully developed:
• In combination with bio-based ionic liquids, deodorising distillates have become key ingredients for readily biodegradable detergents that exhibit higher efficacy and lower toxicity than their oil-based counterparts. The technologies developed for the production of these compounds are green, as they generate only water as a residue in the production process.
• Using highly selective, non-wasteful enzymatic technologies, deodorising distillates have been converted into ingredients for biodegradable biolubricants that pollute much less than those currently used commercially.
• New green (non-wasteful) processes have been developed to extract high-value molecules (squalene) present in deodorising distillates and are successfully applied in sectors such as cosmetics, resulting in very high-quality products.
Technologies developed have proved to be competitive in comparison with commercial alternatives in the market.
In this sense, IRODDI represents an example of direct application of how the bioeconomy and circularity have a place in the industrial environment, providing benefits to both today's industries and society. The technologies developed in the project have successfully led to the integral transformation of low-value resources into chemical products of direct commercial application. Specifically, the following processes have been successfully developed:
• In combination with bio-based ionic liquids, deodorising distillates have become key ingredients for readily biodegradable detergents that exhibit higher efficacy and lower toxicity than their oil-based counterparts. The technologies developed for the production of these compounds are green, as they generate only water as a residue in the production process.
• Using highly selective, non-wasteful enzymatic technologies, deodorising distillates have been converted into ingredients for biodegradable biolubricants that pollute much less than those currently used commercially.
• New green (non-wasteful) processes have been developed to extract high-value molecules (squalene) present in deodorising distillates and are successfully applied in sectors such as cosmetics, resulting in very high-quality products.
Technologies developed have proved to be competitive in comparison with commercial alternatives in the market.
The research efforts in the IRODDI project have been oriented into two lines:
1) the production of new bio-materials from DODs (bio-surfactants for green detergents, bio-based base oils for lubricants and bio-polyols for PU adhesives)
2) the development of new green extraction techniques for isolation of minor valuable compounds contained in the DODs. The most relevant results obtained can be summarized as:
• Surfactant production. Starting with a screening study that considers several biocompatible ionic liquids and DODs, different structures were synthesized and selected the most promising one as a cleaning agent. The best bio-surfactants developed have been included in the formulation of green detergents. The final product shows cleaning efficiencies equal or higher than the commercial alternatives.
• Base oils for bio-lubricants. An enzymatic esterification process has been developed which can be applied to the deacidification of different types of DODs. In the literature, the enzymatic process is mostly used only for the neutralization of vegetable unrefined oils and not for the neutralization of DODs. Moreover, IRODDI has shown that this enzymatic process makes possible to produce an alternative base medium for the lubricant industry.
• Squalene could be concentrated more than 8 times in one simple Sc-CO2 stripping step, something impossible with any other technology.
1) the production of new bio-materials from DODs (bio-surfactants for green detergents, bio-based base oils for lubricants and bio-polyols for PU adhesives)
2) the development of new green extraction techniques for isolation of minor valuable compounds contained in the DODs. The most relevant results obtained can be summarized as:
• Surfactant production. Starting with a screening study that considers several biocompatible ionic liquids and DODs, different structures were synthesized and selected the most promising one as a cleaning agent. The best bio-surfactants developed have been included in the formulation of green detergents. The final product shows cleaning efficiencies equal or higher than the commercial alternatives.
• Base oils for bio-lubricants. An enzymatic esterification process has been developed which can be applied to the deacidification of different types of DODs. In the literature, the enzymatic process is mostly used only for the neutralization of vegetable unrefined oils and not for the neutralization of DODs. Moreover, IRODDI has shown that this enzymatic process makes possible to produce an alternative base medium for the lubricant industry.
• Squalene could be concentrated more than 8 times in one simple Sc-CO2 stripping step, something impossible with any other technology.
The main innovation of IRODDI's new bio-based products has been to produce them from a side-stream of vegetable oil refining, instead of from the vegetable oil itself. This has relevant implications from economic as well as circularity point of view. Thus, surfactants and base oils from deodorizer distillates have been developed and polyols have been explored.
On the extraction techniques, the main progress consists on the use of supercritical CO2 for the concentration of squalene, more efficient and generating no waste.
Moreover, IRODDI has contributed to the bioeconomy and circularity objectives of the European Union, paving the way to the reduction of the dependence of the different industries on non-renewable resources, helping to mitigate climate change and strengthening the European commercial competitiveness.
On the extraction techniques, the main progress consists on the use of supercritical CO2 for the concentration of squalene, more efficient and generating no waste.
Moreover, IRODDI has contributed to the bioeconomy and circularity objectives of the European Union, paving the way to the reduction of the dependence of the different industries on non-renewable resources, helping to mitigate climate change and strengthening the European commercial competitiveness.