Project closing day: Sustainable Solutions, exploring protein recovery in the bioeconomy

The closing day of the project "Life byProtval: Protein recovery from the processing of animal by-products".

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The LIFE project, after more than six years of work and a budget of almost one and a half million euros, presenting its results at the closing conference in Almazán, Soria - Spain this final event entitled 'Sustainable solutions: exploring protein recovery in the bioeconomy' took place in the Tirso de Molina Cultural Centre in Almazán (Soria), where the headquarters of Energygreen Gas, a partner in the project which manages the protein recovery plant used during the research, is located. The rest of the project partners, such as the company Trumpler and Otivar, were also present.

In the words of the project manager, Mayra Lacruz, of Inescop (Centro Tecnológico del Calzado de Elda, Alicante), the project's coordinating body, the project, the aim of these dynamics is the recovery, recovery and recycling of proteins not intended for recycling of proteins not intended for human consumption for products with a higher added value products."The project is aligned with the circular bioeconomy strategies of the European Commission, since it promotes an industrial symbiosis between different sectors, reducing the environmental impact of organic waste",highlighted the project manager.

Dr. Francisca Arán, INESCOP's R&D coordinator, was in charge of presenting the project after the institutional opening by the councillor for the Environment of Almazán, Teresa Ágreda. Dr. Arán highlighted the excellent results obtained in the recovery of meat and bone meal, as well as in water from the rendering process, where 85% of the total proteins contained in these animal by-products of category SANDACH 2 and 3 have been recovered.

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This was followed by a round table discussion on the current situation of the circular bioeconomy in Europe, the policies adopted and the opportunities it offers. The participants included the Director General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission, a representative of the European Biorefinery Cluster and the project manager of LIFE byProtVal, INESCOP researcher Mayra Lacruz.

INESCOP's bioprocess specialist, the researcher Henoc Pérez, participated in the second round table in which the solutions achieved in the recovery of proteins were presented. "The product has been validated for its use as a biostimulant and retanning agent, analysing all the conditions established in the regulation," Pérez emphasised.

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The third round table focused on the challenges and opportunities offered by the bioeconomy. The specialist in bioprocesses participated in it, who presented cases of success in terms of the recovery of organic waste and industrial symbiosis, thanks to the Ovoval and Superbiodiesel projects, in which INESCOP participates.

LIFE ByProtVal RESULTS

The main contributions of this project to the circular bioeconomy include the minimisation of waste generation through a demonstrator with the capacity to convert up to 58.4 tonnes of protein per year. ByProtVal has achieved a biostimulant product based on a more sustainable process of enzymatic hydrolysis, capable of recovering more than 85% of the proteins present in the animal by-products studied.

The research has allowed the development of a pre-industrial prototype, capable of demonstrating the technical and economic viability of the bioprocess and the technology developed in the project. "This project has allowed us to innovate and research into two products with greater added value, boosting sustainability in the chemical industry, agriculture and leather", said Arán, before the participants in the conference were able to visit the protein recovery plant in Almazán.

 

 

Sustainable Solutions: Exploring Protein Recovery in the Bioeconomy

The LIFE byProtVal project organising an international event, "Sustainable Solutions: Exploring Protein Recovery in the Bioeconomy", as part of the European project closure which would be held on February 15, 2024, in Almazán, Soria, Spain.

This event will be an opportunity to interact with main authorities, professionals in bioeconomy and circular economy strategies gathering industrial experiences in rendering plants, bioprocesses technologies, impact perception, policies perspectives and exchange of good practices from other European projects related with protein valorisation.

 The event is mainly aimed at companies, research centres and government agencies and will be attended by representatives of the European Commission and partners of the several projects presented at the event.

The session will also include a networking space and a visit to the plant developed in the project, with the aim of promoting possible collaborations between participants and exchanging industrial experiences and transferring project results.

 

Event Details:

  • Date: February 15, 2024
  • Location: Tirso Molina Cultural Centre, Almazán, Soria, Spain.
  • Time: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

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LIFE byProtVal participated in 4th edition of the European Sustainable Nutrient Initiative

The 4th edition of the European Sustainable Nutrient Initiative took place on 20th September, 2023

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The conference offered a platform for fruitful discussion and exchange of knowledge where policy-makers, researchers, industry representatives and many other stakeholders to discuss how to improve nutrient recycling.

This year, 12 European-funded projects joined their forces with the Biorefine Cluster Europe to gave an insight on the most innovative solutions developed to create value-added products from nutrient recycling as well as their major outcomes both from a policy and stakeholder perspective.

Paralell workshops attender by our project were:

• Stakeholder perspective - Profitability and market acceptance of bio-based fertilizers
• Policy: New bio-based fertilisers from secondary raw material upcycling – technical, commercial and regulatory implications
• Technology: Bio-based fertilisers recovery from manure and fishery wastes: lessons learnt and future perspectives

The European Sustainable Nutrient Initiative (ESNI) Conference provided a framework for policies promoting Nutrient Recycling and Recovery (NRR) at European level. It was focus on the role of EU-funded Research & Innovation projects in contributing to raising awareness on the benefits of nutrient recycling and recovery.

More information about the event and the programme can be viewed at the following link

LIFE byProtVal publishes in two renowned scientific journals

We are thrilled to share the recent achievements of LIFE byProtVal project, which has reached a significant milestone by publishing scientific papers in two leading journals in their respective fields. These accomplishments underscore the quality and impact of the research conducted within the framework of our project.

Go to journal home page - Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy

Scientific Journal 1: "Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy"

The publications in this journal focused on advances made in the recovery and recycling of high-value proteins from animal processing by-products. One publication was centered on the recovery of proteins from wastewater, SANDACH category 3, while the second publicaction focused on recovering proteins from SANDACH category 2 by-products with feasible results for obtaining hydrolyzed collagen with good yields and promising outcomes in applications such as bio-stimulants and biochemical agents

Scientific Journal 2: "Journal of Plant Science and Phytopathology"

The third publication focuses on the assessment of bio-stimulants based on hydrolyzed proteins recovered from animal by-products as growth enhancers for plants. The results highlight the potential of these bio-stimulants to improve plant growth and productivity while reducing environmental impact by substituting chemical fertilizers, offering sustainable alternatives to promote environmentally friendly practices in agriculture.

These achievements are a testament to the hard work and dedication of the project partners, as well as the importance of European collaboration in advancing science and technology. We hope that these breakthroughs will further drive research in their respective fields and benefit society as a whole

The publications can be viewed at the following link.

EuropaBio's European Forum on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioeconomy

INESCOP participated in the 14th edition of EuropaBio's European Forum on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioeconomy #EFIB 2021 which took place on 5, 6 and 7 October 2021 in Vienna, Austria.

The main theme of EFIB 2021 is "The European Green Pact in action: Integrating industrial biotechnology in business". In this context, around 300 experts, both public officials and private sector professionals will participate and discuss the latest opportunities and up-to-date information on the situation and perspectives of bio-industries.

In this event of international relevance in the field of circular bioeconomy, INESCOP, through its R&D&I technician, Mayra Lacruz, presented as a panellist the LIFE BYPROTVAL project related to the revalorisation of bio-waste, specifically animal by-products, by obtaining products of a protein nature with high added value, for application as a bio-based product in the tanning industry and, highlighting its use as a biofertiliser/bio-stimulant.

The session entitled "Sharing best practices in the circular bioeconomy" was held on 07 September, sharing with other leading projects such as SUSFERT and INGREEN.

This event is of great global importance to learn about the value chain of bio-based products, bioprocesses and the role that bio-based innovation can play in relation to the implementation of the European Green Pact and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of a green recovery.

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This project has received funding from the LIFE Programme of the European Union under Grant Agreement LIFE16 ENV/ES/000467.

Information published in this website reflects only the authors’ view. CINEA and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

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