SUPROSEA

Sustainable Proteins from Seaweed – An integrated biorefinery design for different types of seaweed to yield proteins and other high-value compounds in a sustainable manner

The SUPROSEA project aims to assess the environmental sustainability and profitability of a novel seaweed value chain with a focus on proteins. Here, aquatic protein-rich biomass, i.e., different species of green, red, and brown seaweeds, will be considered for the extraction of proteins and other high-value compounds such as pigments for the food and feed industry. Moreover, in a cascade biorefinery approach, seaweed residues after extraction will be valorised via fermentation to yield an additional source of protein, i.e., microbial proteins.

The SUPROSEA project strives to strengthen the position of Flanders in the protein shift context, and to contribute to meeting the increasing global demand for sustainable proteins. The project aims to deliver the necessary know-how and technological advancements to identify the most promising biorefinery in terms of sustainability and benchmark this against current animal-based and plant-based protein sources such as soy and wheat. In addition, it will allow to develop a solid proof of concept for a sustainable seaweed biorefinery, validated on lab scale.

ACTIVITIES of the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant

BBEPP will investigate:

• The valorisation of seaweed residues after protein recovery through saccharification
• Fermentation to produce microbial proteins.   

PARTNERS

• Ghent University – Faculty of Bioscience Engineering
  • Sustainable Systems Engineering (STEN)
  • Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET)
• Ghent University – Faculty of Sciences
  • The Phycology Lab
• Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food – Instituut
  voor Landbouw-, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek (ILVO)
  • Technologie en voeding
  • Animal Sciences, Cell Blue Biotech and Food Integrity
• University of Antwerp – Environmental Economics (EnvEcon)
• Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant

SUPPORTED by

This Project has received funding from the Research Organisation – Flanders (FWO) under file number S002525N.