Multi-purpose strategies for broadband agro-forest and fisheries by-products valorization: a step forward for a truly integrated biorefinery

The objective of the MultiBiorefinery project is to develop and use multi-purpose strategies and innovative and sustainable technologies, using industrial biotechnology and green chemistry, for the valorization of by-products and waste in order to move towards a truly integrated biorefinery capable of dealing with diverse raw materials.

Will be selected case studies of forest by-products (Eucalyptus globulus roots and nests and Pinus pinaster bark and needles), agriculture (by-products of melon, wine cellar and tomato) and fishing (fish bones, waste water from cod salting and baking equipment of the canning industry) with a view to processing them into value-added products.

The main end products will include biopolymers and a range of bioactive compounds, base chemicals and biofuels.

More specifically, the MultiBiorefinery project focuses on:
1. the extraction and characterization of high value products obtained by sustainable techniques;
2. the development of new processes of chemical transformation and bioconversion;
3. formulating suitable forms for the conservation, use and incorporation of bioactive and functional extracts;
4. assessing the toxicity and bioactivity of compounds extracted and formulated using preclinical assays (chemical, enzymatic, cellular models);
5. the demonstration of new pilot-scale processes.