COLD-ADAPTED BIOREFINERY CONCEPT FOR ENERY EFFICIENT AND CARBON NEUTRAL VALORIZATION OF WASTE FROM FOOD SYSTEMS

Sustainable management of waste from food systems to recover value-added products such as bioenergy, chemicals, and nutrients using bio-based production processes is crucial in the transition to a sustainable society.

However, bio-based production in cold climates requires high energy input to raise the temperature, making it less energy-efficient.

The overall aim of theCOLDREFINERY project is to develop a cold-adaptative biorefinery concept to recover biogas, volatile fatty acids (VFA) and nutrients from wastes from food systems in a sustainable, carbon-neutral and energy-efficient manner.

The project will use a naturally cold-adapted mixed microbiome for the robust production of value-added products (bioenergy and VFA).

This project will also use energy-efficient pretreatment strategies and introduce conductive materials to enhance carbon recovery in the biorefinery concept. The NPHarvest technology will be employed for simultaneous recovery of nitrogen and phosphorous.

Moreover, the project will integrate cutting-edge technologies and methodologies to create digital twins that simulate the behaviour of the biorefinery in real-time to provide a dynamic and responsive virtual representation for process optimization and decision support.

The project will provide an energy-efficient cold-adapted biorefinery platform suitable as a sustainable strategy for valorization of waste from food systems.