PROJECT RESULTS

THIS WORK EVALUATED THE USE OF SEVERAL LOW-COST AGRO-FOOD BY-PRODUCTS AND EDIBLE MUSHROOM SPECIES FOR MYCOPROTEIN PRODUCTION THROUGH SOLID SUBMERGED FERMENTATION. PLEUROTUS OSTREATUS SHOWED THE BEST BALANCE BETWEEN FUNGAL BIOMASS YIELD AND MYCOPROTEIN PRODUCTION, WHILE BREWER'S SPENT GRAIN WAS THE MOST PROMISING SUBSTRATE AND SUPPORTED SUCCESSFUL SCALE-UP IN A 3 L BIOREACTOR WITHOUT COMPROMISING MYCOPROTEIN CONTENT.

THIS STUDY EVALUATED THE USE OF AGRICULTURAL BY-PRODUCTS, INCLUDING BREWER'S SPENT GRAIN, BANANA PEELS AND COCOA BEAN SHELLS, AS ALTERNATIVE FEED SUBSTRATES FOR TENEBRIO MOLITOR LARVAE. THE RESULTS DEMONSTRATED THAT SELECTED SIDE-STREAMS CAN SUCCESSFULLY REPLACE CONVENTIONAL FEED INGREDIENTS WHILE MAINTAINING LARVAL GROWTH PERFORMANCE, SUPPORTING CIRCULAR BIOECONOMY STRATEGIES AND SUSTAINABLE INSECT PROTEIN PRODUCTION.

THIS WORK DEMONSTRATES HOW AGRICULTURAL SIDE-STREAMS CAN BE CONVERTED INTO HIGH-VALUE INSECT MEAL THROUGH SUSTAINABLE TENEBRIO MOLITOR REARING. THE STUDY HIGHLIGHTS THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF REPLACING CONVENTIONAL FEED WITH AGRO-INDUSTRIAL BY-PRODUCTS, CONTRIBUTING TO RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY PRINCIPLES.

THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED FISH-PROCESSING BY-PRODUCTS AS A SUSTAINABLE SOURCE OF PROTEINS, LIPIDS AND OTHER VALUABLE BIOMOLECULES. SUPERCRITICAL CO2 EXTRACTION WAS SUCCESSFULLY APPLIED AS A GREEN TECHNOLOGY TO RECOVER BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS FROM FISH VISCERA, PROMOTING THE VALORISATION OF SEAFOOD PROCESSING RESIDUES WITHIN AN INTEGRATED BIOREFINERY APPROACH.

THIS WORK PRESENTS A PILOT-SCALE SUPERCRITICAL CO2 EXTRACTION PROCESS FOR RECOVERING DHA-RICH LIPIDS FROM SCHIZOCHYTRIUM MICROALGAE. THE PROCESS PROVIDES A SOLVENT-FREE AND SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE FOR PRODUCING HIGH-VALUE OMEGA-3 OILS WHILE ENABLING THE FURTHER VALORISATION OF THE DEFATTED BIOMASS WITHIN A BIOREFINERY FRAMEWORK.