FRUREFINERY - Production of High-Value Ingredients from Fruit Industry Byproducts through a Cascading Biorefinery Approach

Scientific Director: Prof. Martina Catani
Project Leader: UNIPR - SITEIA.Parma

Project Partners:

• Terra & Acqua Tech

• Ri.Nova Società Cooperativa - CRPV LAB

• UNIBO - CIRI AGRO

• Stazione Sperimentale per l'Industria delle Conserve Alimentari - Fondazione di Ricerca

Granted Funding: €499,644.62
Funding Allocated to Terra&Acqua Tech Laboratory: €60,789.00

Duration: 30 months

In Emilia-Romagna, byproducts from the fruit and vegetable industry account for thousands of tons annually. Currently, these fruit byproducts are mostly discarded, used for biodigestion, or sent to distilleries.

The FRUREFINERY project will develop cascading biorefinery methods for the sequential extraction of all components from these byproducts, including lipids, proteins, and fiber, to reduce waste volume and maximize value in line with sustainability and circular economy principles. The fruit byproducts will be pre-treated with innovative physical and/or biotechnological methods to improve extraction yields and enable ‘mild’ extractions (enzyme-assisted), focused on enhancing product quality and reducing toxic compounds. The extracted oils will be evaluated as alternative raw materials for the oleochemical industry. The remaining biomass will be fractionated into proteins/peptides, soluble fibers, and hemicellulose for the production of food/nutraceutical and cosmetic ingredients. Sugar-rich biomasses will be fermented to produce foods with distinctive aromatic profiles.

To implement the circular economy model effectively, real data on the quantity and geolocation of byproducts will be collected.

Website: https://frurefinery.it/