Project description
Microalgae as a sustainable source of eco-friendly surfactants
Surfactants are essential ingredients in cleaning products, cosmetics, agriculture, and industrial processes. However, the majority are derived from petrochemicals, which contribute to environmental pollution and poor biodegradability in aquatic ecosystems. This necessitates the development of sustainable bio-based alternatives. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the NEXUS-BIO project aims to develop a biorefinery approach to produce surfactants from microalgae. These photosynthetic microorganisms naturally have a high lipid content and are amenable to surfactant production, but cost barriers have limited scale-up. To overcome this and increase productivity, researchers will optimise biological signalling and low-energy extraction processes. The resulting production model will have a net-negative carbon footprint and support the transition to a sustainable bioeconomy.
Objective
Surfactants are ubiquitous in modern industrial applications, ranging from personal care products and household cleaners to agriculture and oil recovery. However, over 60% of commercial surfactants are derived from petrochemical sources, contributing to environmental toxicity, poor biodegradability in aquatic living beings, leading to long-term harm to ecosystems. Moreover, the increasing global demand for eco-friendly surfactants, coupled with the urgent need to reduce reliance on fossil-derived chemicals, has spurred interest in bio-based alternatives. Microalgae, as photosynthetic microorganisms, present a promising green alternative for sustainable bio-surfactant production due to its high lipid content and ability to thrive in diverse environments. In this respect, the present proposal NEXUS-BIO aims to demonstrate an integrated approach to producing bio-surfactants from algal biomass, combining cultivation optimization, green extraction methods, and biosurfactant synthesis to achieve a circular bioeconomy model. However, the low economic performance due to higher production cost are the main voids in scaling up this technology for real-life applications. To overcome productivity and processing barriers, NEXUS-BIO will combine three innovations: (i) strain optimization of freshwater algae with high lipid and biosurfactant content; (ii) quorum-sensing (QS) modulation using signal molecules to trigger biosynthetic pathways and natural flocculation, boosting yield and easing harvesting; and (iii) low-energy downstream processing to recover biosurfactant at industrial purity. These strategies in a CO2-driven algal biorefinery aim to achieve the viable yield of biosurfactant in a selected strain of 2.5–5.0 g/L, paving the way for industrial deployment. Therefore, the development of a closed-loop biorefinery concept integrating algae for biosurfactant production with valorization of biomass into high-value bioproducts, aiming for a net-negative carbon footprint.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology phycology
- social sciences economics and business economics production economics productivity
- social sciences economics and business economics bioeconomy
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture
- engineering and technology industrial biotechnology biomaterials
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
SW7 2AZ London
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.