WP2: Direct biorefinery of plant biomass side-streams
The aim of this part is to recover - through a direct biorefinery approach - multiple valuable products per plant biomass side-stream, including at least 1 major compounds (like proteins, sugars, lipids, …) and at least 1 minor compound (carotenoids, polyphenols, …). Examples of side-streams considered are green leaves like cabbage and sugar beet leaves. The isolated compounds will be charactereised with special attention for functionalisties.
Preservation of side streams prior to use is a current bottleneck. For the most promising side-stream(s), different preservation technologies will be selected and evaluated to avoid degradation of valuable compounds during storage of feedstock.
The figure below illustrates the challenges related to efficient Biorefineries.
Involved partners: VITO (B), University of Parma (I), Nutrition Sciences (B), Innovatiesteunpunt (B)
Direct biorefinery of plant biomass is a biomass specific approach with adapted biorefinery procedures for each biomass type. As such a direct approach is challenging to scale for small biomass streams and is expected to be seasonally dependent and not operational all year. On the other hand, it is an approach that can generate a large variety of potentially high value compounds when applied in a cascading mode (proteins, carbohydrates, fibers, and multiple minor compounds like carotenoids, polyphenols).
