Valorisation of Seafood Side-Streams through the Design of New Holistic Value Chains: WaSeaBi Project
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2024

Growing demand in the fisheries sector has resulted in a high generation of side-streams that are mainly treated as waste despite their potential value in terms of protein, fatty acids, and minerals. The WaSeaBi project, funded by the EU under the Horizon 2020 BBI JU initiative, seeks to address this problem by promoting the sustainable and economically viable utilisation of these side-streams, thus contributing to improved food security and environmental conservation. The project focuses on the development of innovative technologies and methodologies for the efficient valorisation of seafood side-streams into marketable products such as protein-based food ingredients, bioactive peptides, and mineral supplements. The WaSeaBi project started with a comprehensive analysis to identify the bottlenecks hindering the efficient utilisation of side-streams. To this end, a comprehensive study of the European seafood industry was conducted to understand the existing challenges. The main obstacles identified were technological deficiencies, lack of space and personnel, and a limited market for the resulting products. Several laboratory-scale technologies, such as pH-shift, enzymatic hydrolysis, membrane concentration, and flocculation with centrifugation, were explored in order to extract valuable components from the side-streams. Subsequently, these technologies were scaled-up and tested on a pilot scale. For example, membrane concentration technology facilitated the recovery of valuable molecules from mussel cooking side-streams while reducing environmental impact. Flocculation helped recover proteins and phosphates from process waters, crucial for reducing the organic load of effluents. In addition, decision-making tools were developed to help select and build the most appropriate valorisation strategies, taking into account technical, legal, economic, and environmental aspects. Environmental sustainability was assessed through life cycle assessment, which highlighted the factors that contribute most to the environmental impact of each technology. The results revealed that reducing chemical consumption and improving energy efficiency are key to optimising the environmental performance of the valorisation technologies. The WaSeaBi project outlines a promising path towards sustainable and economically beneficial utilisation of seafood side-streams. By employing innovative technologies, the project not only contributes to reducing waste and environmental impact, but also facilitates the transformation of low-value side-streams into high-value products. In addition, it provides a structured framework to help industry stakeholders make informed decisions on the valorisation of secondary streams. This initiative marks a substantial step towards a more sustainable and economically viable fisheries and aquaculture industry, setting a precedent for future projects aimed at overcoming technological and infrastructural barriers to the valorisation of seafood side-streams.

membrane concentration

pH-shift technology

flocculation

seafood side-streams

enzymatic hydrolysis

side-stream valorisation

carbon footprint

savoury compound recovery

Författare

Erasmo Cadena

Universiteit Gent

Ozan Kocak

Universiteit Gent

J. Dewulf

Universiteit Gent

Bruno Iñarra

Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA)

Carlos Bald

Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA)

Monica Gutierrez

Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA)

David San Martin

Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA)

Jone Ibarruri

Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA)

Ann Dorit Moltke Sørensen

Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU)

G. Hyldig

Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU)

Mehdi Abdollahi

Chalmers, Life sciences, Livsmedelsvetenskap

Ingrid Undeland

Chalmers, Life sciences, Livsmedelsvetenskap

Bita Forghani Targhi

Chalmers, Life sciences, Livsmedelsvetenskap

Haizhou Wu

Chalmers, Life sciences, Livsmedelsvetenskap

Huazhong Agricultural University

Geert Bruggeman

Nutrition Sciences N.V.

C. Jacobsen

Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU)

Sustainability

20711050 (eISSN)

Vol. 16 5 1846

Ämneskategorier

Livsmedelsteknik

Miljöledning

Annan kemi

DOI

10.3390/su16051846

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2024-04-02