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".

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.

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.

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.