ForceUpValue

Food-grade prebiotic production, merging marine and forest resources for moving up the cellulose value-chain

Project team: Ulrika Rova (project leader), Paul Christakopoulos, Anthi Karnaouri, Eleni Krikigianni, Leonidas Matsakas

Partners: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; Essum; Marin Biogas; Sveaskog; LTU Business; Dyrka

Duration: 2019-2022

Funded by BioInnovation/VINNOVA

The overarching objective of ForceUpValue is to facilitate the production of low-cost food-grade prebiotic cello-oligosaccharides (COS), sourced from abundant non-edible resources. Our focus lies in developing innovative processes, which when integrated with existing methods, enables the utilization of the cellulosic outer layer of Ciona intestinalis and cellulose derived from forest residues for the creation of competitively priced food-grade prebiotic COS. Leveraging pretreatment and enzymatic processes, well-established within the biorefinery domain, ForceUpValue aims to create novel pathways for application and value addition, benefiting both marine and forest resources. The cellulose utilized in this project will be sourced from secondary streams, with forest cellulose originating from harvesting/logging activities (GROT) and marine cellulose obtained from the tunicate, thus promoting the sustainable utilization of biomass resources while enhancing the value of each respective value chain.

ForceUpValue anticipates several outcomes: Firstly, establishing two novel value chains for COS production, featuring prebiotic properties tailored for human and aquaculture applications. Secondly, developing a sustainable and economically viable food production model with minimal environmental footprints, enhancing the valorization of forest and marine resources. Additionally, conducting comprehensive systems analysis to assess the feasibility and sustainability of integrating developed processes into biorefinery frameworks, positioning target products within the bioeconomy sector.