Project

Extracting Microbial Functional Foods: Is the Hype real? (HYPer)

This study explores sustainable methods to extract functional food ingredients from microorganisms like bacteria and algae, aiming to overcome high costs and environmental impacts of traditional processes. By employing mild and innovative techniques such as targeted energy and acoustic fields, the project seeks to efficiently recover valuable compounds while preserving their quality. The economic feasibility, ecological footprint, environmental impact and dietary benefits of integrating these ingredients into food systems will be studied.

Background

As the global population approaches 10 billion by 2050, ensuring food security for all becomes increasingly urgent. The current food production systems face significant challenges, including the need to increase output by up to 70% while minimizing environmental impact. Traditional livestock farming for protein contributes substantially to greenhouse gas emissions and resource depletion, making it unsustainable for the long-term.

The need for sustainable food systems is driven by the need to balance productivity with environmental preservation. Microorganisms like bacteria, yeast, and algae offer promising alternatives as sources of essential bioactive compounds, including proteins, carbohydrates, antioxidants, lipids and healthy fats.However, extracting these compounds efficiently and sustainably remains a challenge.

To address these challenges, research is focused on developing novel extraction techniques that are both cost-effective and environmentally friendly. The cost-effectiveness & environmental impact will be calculated via Techno-Economical Analysis(TEA) & Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA). By integrating these microbial ingredients into food systems, we can enhance nutritional value while potentially reducing the ecological footprint of food production.By exploring sustainable food production methods, we can ensure a healthier and more resilient food future and food security.

Project description

The development and implementation of microbial food production systems face several challenges, particularly in the extraction and purification of bioactive compounds. Some conventional processes are often costly and can compromise ingredient functionality due to harsh conditions. To address these issues, the novel and milder extraction techniques are being explored to enhance the efficacy of bioactive compound extraction. However, the techno-economic and environmental impacts of these processing technologies and large-scale use of alternative ingredients remain uncertain. Furthermore, there is a lack of comprehensive data on unit operations and processes involved in producing food ingredients from microbial sources, often necessitating the use of proxy data. To overcome these challenges and advance the field of microbial food production, this project aims to:

  • Develop an integrated downstream processing (DSP) framework for a multi-product biorefinery to produce functional food ingredients.
  • Construct and validate a scalable biorefinery Process Flow Diagram (PFD) using SuperPro Designer software.
  • Optimize and demonstrate the proposed biorefinery at lab-scale, collecting process parameters for techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA).
  • Conduct LCA using experimental data and previous findings, perform Life-cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA), and refine the model and PFD accordingly.
  • Integrate TEA and LCA insights into the biorefinery design, identifying synergies to minimize waste and enhance overall sustainability