Delivering a new, efficient and biobased plant oil and protein extraction system

Project Information

EcoXtract

Grant agreement ID: 970931

DOI

10.3030/970931

Project closed

EC signature date 22 April 2021

Start date 1 May 2021

End date 30 April 2024

Funded under

• Horizon 2020 Framework Programme

Total cost

€ 3 959 062,50

EU contribution

€ 2 771 343,75

Coordinated by

AGRIPROTEIN GMBH
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - EcoXtract (Delivering a new, efficient and biobased plant oil and protein extraction system)

Reporting period: 2022-11-01 to 2024-04-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Solvent-based extraction of vegetable oil is an essential step for many plant-based products, especially for vegetable oil and protein. The solvent is used to extract the oil that cannot be extracted by mechanical pressing. This level of extraction is required to maximise the yield of oil and to produce adequately defatted high protein residues both for food and feed markets. Our goal is bring EcoXtract® and its related oilseed processing chains/products to the market. This will eliminate toxic hydrocarbon (hexane) from food, non-food and feed products and reduce related emissions to the environment. We are using three business lines strategically to overcome the Valley of Death problem leading to global scaling up of this solvent technology, This involves more than exchanging one solvent for another. The nature of the solvent impacts on a wide range of technical and economic parameters that have to be optimised within a whole system context, right up to the agri-food system scale. The resulting disruption will bring economic benefits to Europe and environmental, food safety and manufacturing safety benefits to the world. EcoXtract® will have positive implications for Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge 2. It replaces petroleum use with biobased processes and so is a contribution to the development of the (non-food) biobased sector.

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

Work has focused on the technical optimisation of using EcoXtract under commercial conditions. This has involved intense collaboration between all partners in identifying testing needs and in responding quickly to early test results. The progress made can be summarised as follows:


Technical optimisation
The consortium has concentrated on technical optimisation. This involved detailed test planning, plant preparation, and testing.

Social and environmental performance
Understanding the social and environmental performance of EcoXtract is an important part of the development work. We have worked on the understanding the product safety compared with hexane to support a successful EFSA application and to support ongoing considerations by EGTOP. Work has also progressed on the assessment of environmental performance, in particular through work on life-cycle analyses. Our investigations indicate that EcoXtract presents no particular problems for workplace safety.

Building the value chains
Due to the high focus on finding solutions to the technical challenges, there has been less emphasis than was planned on developing the value chains. The unexpected greater effort made into solving the technical challenges in has meant that work on value chain development was reduced.

The companies that build extraction plants are key actors in these value chains. We have established alliances with key industrial engineering companies, particularly AirLiquide. This close collaboration has laid the foundation of scaling up of the use of EcoXtract across the sector.

Test results show that residues of EcoXtract are very low and present no negative consequences for large-scale uses.

Dissemination and communication
The consortium conducted a detailed audit of intellectual property and identified management of the Pennakem intellectual property portfolio is core to our dissemination strategy. The consortium agreement protects that portfolio. Our detailed assessment of the portfolio provided compelling evidence that the technology is protected. Furthermore, we have identified opportunities to reinforce the portfolio using the results

Progress has been made in promoting awareness of EcoXtract in key stakeholder communities.

• The EcoXtract website was rebuilt and updated to provide a solid basis for all internet-based communication going forward. This includes a project page.
• We have completed the dossier for the EFSA clearance of EcoXtract for food and feed use. As a result EcoXtract is now approved as a processing aid in food production. We have also presented dossiers to the Expert Group for Technical Advice on Organic Production (EGTOP) and support these with communication activities targeted at key stakeholders.

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)

The EcoXtract consortium overcame significant technical difficulties to lay the foundations of a new business called EcoXNew dedicated to bringing 2-methyloxolane to the market as EcoXtract. EcoXnew is led by the chief engineer in Pennakem. It started on 1 May 2024, the day after the EcoXtract project ended. The confidence of investors that this business represents is a major outcome of the project and provides the major pathway to impact for the project’s achievements.

The consortium has significantly advanced the EcoXtract technology. The consortium overcame very significant difficulties from the pandemic (material shortages, inflation, obtaining services) to start testing as scheduled. The tests enabled the production of the first oil and soybean meals in a plant originally designed for hexane. The feed meals obtained have been successfully tested for animal feed. They can replace hexane extracted meals and they reduce or eliminate the transfer of hexane residues in milk and butter. But longer runs revealed difficulties due to the precipitation of solids in the oil/solvent mixture earlier than in the classical hexane process. The technical testing programme was extended complemented by the Solids Working Group supported by close interaction with engineering companies. The management of these solids will require further process optimisation to ensure stables and long term runs without clogging.

The commercial potential of EcoXtract for extracting oilseeds has been clarified. Agriprotein and DeWit together led work to identify ways forward for the use of EcoXtract in both high volume processing for food and feed and for speciality oils. Drawing on the technical investigations, and working closely with a global leader in oilseed processing technology, the consortium has generated comprehensive engineering guidance for both value chain types. Parallel to this, a business plan for an entry-level commodity processing plant has been developed.

EcoXtract is now approved as a food and feed processing aid. The consortium has clearly established that EcoXtract is a safe solvent for use in the food and feed industry. Its normal use presents no toxicological risk to consumers and livestock. This option to replace hexane represents a very significant step forward for food and feed safety.

EcoXtract can contribute to a carbon neutral world. The project’s lifecycle assessment of EcoXtract compared with hexane reveals that the conversion of biomass co-products into 2- methyloxolane is relatively energy demanding. However, the solvent itself is carbon neutral and this characteristic means its relative environmental performance improves as energy systems are decarbonised. Along with decarbonisation of energy, this will enable carbon neutrality in oilseed processing.

Practical experience and engineering studies confirm that EcoXtract is a step forward for work-place safety. The practical conversion of the NHE plant and the engineering plans highlight the work-place safety of EcoXtract.

Schematic overview of the concept to bring EcoXtract to the market. From left to right: the outlinin