Within the SustaiNext project, BIOMASA PENINSULAR leads Work Package 4 (WP4) – Product Applications, which focuses on validating and bringing to market the products developed within the Project across different application sectors:
- Food supplements – NUTRA Research
- Food additives and ingredients – STAR
- Pet food – ACEL Pharma and the UNIVERSITY of TORINO
- Farm animal feed – MIAVIT
- Cosmetics – MIBELLE Biochemistry
- Bio-based fertilising products – BIOMASA PENINSULAR
BIOMASA’s activities in WP4 are addressed by José María Gómez and Juliette Cassart. José María Gómez is an Agricultural Engineer specialized in Food-manufacturing industries from the Polytechnic University of Madrid. He is a specialist in comprehensive management of biowaste and the development of bio-based fertilizers, with extensive experience in the coordination of national and European R&D&i project teams. Juliette Cassart is a Bioengineer in Chemistry and Bio-industries from the University of Liège (Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech Faculty, Belgium), with an international background and experience in European research projects, proposal preparation and implementation.
“One of the main milestones achieved over the last two years has been the placing on the market of a nutraceutical product incorporating one of the project’s extracts, which demonstrates the project’s capacity to reach real market applications”, they explain.
WP4 also addresses several challenges linked to the diversity of domains, biomasses and botanical extracts covered by the Project, each with its own technical, social, legal and economic requirements. Replacing conventional extracts or additives with natural alternatives without modifying technical, physico-chemical or organoleptic properties is another key challenge.
BIOMASA’s technical task in WP4 focuses on the valorisation of exhausted biomasses from the Biorefinery intended for use as fertilising products in disused tobacco fields in Extremadura, dedicated to the cultivation of medicinal and aromatic crops.
“Generating robust scientific support to confidently address the market, as well as navigating complex regulatory frameworks across five target sectors and different geographic areas, are also major considerations”, they says.
Public acceptance of innovative products including plant-based extracts is another important topic, as well as the time and investment required to validate product effectiveness and quality, and possible additional costs. When talking about Food ingredients/additives, an important barrier is the potential change in taste or appearance compared to conventional products.
“At the same time, SustaiNext offers some answers to the growing social demand and legal requirement towards natural and sustainable compounds and products”, they explain.
The industrial symbiosis promoted by SustaiNext benefits all sectors involved by enabling greater naturality, sustainability and circularity in their raw materials and final products.
“It fosters cross-fertilisation of expertise and knowledge sharing between different sectors, while covering the entire value chain and supporting the creation of new, local value chains”, they conclude.
Meet our partners: BIOMASA PENINSULAR
BIOMASA PENINSULAR is a Spanish SME created in 2001 and dedicated to biowaste management and recycling, mainly into bio-based fertilisers. We perform Consulting & Engineering services, R&D&i, (including Algodor R&D&i and Experimental Production Plant in Toledo), while BIOMASA del GUADALQUIVIR, a subsidiary company operates different biowaste management contracts and 4 Recycling Plants in Andalucia, with a yearly figure of managing more than 200.000 t of biowaste and 50.000 t of recycled bio-products.
Around 15 years ago, we started our participation in EU and Spanish R&D&i projects, mostly related to the development of experimental bio-based fertilizers from dewatered/digested/exhausted by-products and biomasses coming from agro-industries and biorefineries. BIOMASA also participates in several Technological Platforms and Associations both in Spain and at EU level such as the Bio-Based Industry Consortium and the European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform.
R&D&i has become an important element in the culture, strategy and daily activities of the company, as it has been a natural deployment of the previous participation in different EU sectorial associations and platforms that cover different policies, environmental features as well as industrial and innovations related to the biowaste management increasing role in the frame of Circular Economy and Bioeconomy Strategy as the comprehensive paradigm, with the aim of replacing fossil and finite raw materials by renewable sources and biomasses. Legal, environmental and industrial aspects of biomasses as raw materials as well as the Bio-based fertilisers and Nutrient recycling are the main tasks of BIOMASA in her participation in R&D&i projects.
