According to a recent article in Future Rethinker Magazine, the Interreg “ReJuice” project takes an innovative step towards full utilization of green residual flows from agriculture and horticulture. The project, in which MNEXT's Biobased Resources & Energy professorship is closely involved, focuses on valuing the sap fraction released during the processing of plant residues. While previous projects such as “Grassification” focused on utilizing fibers from grass, ReJuice goes one step further by investigating how valuable substances such as sugars, proteins and nutrients can be extracted from vegetable juices and processed into new, sustainable products.
ReJuice focuses on finding suitable residual flows for every season, so that green residual flows are available for processing all year round. The project hopes to create a new revenue model for the agricultural and horticultural sector, in which residual flows are no longer seen as waste, but rather as valuable raw materials for bio-based products.
The project uses membrane technology to separate the juice flow into different fractions, allowing the valuable substances to be processed separately into various end products. Initially, it will be investigated which residual flows are most suitable for this. “Some residual flows may not be eligible because the amount of valuable substances is not sufficient to make substantial products,” says Jappe de Best, lecturer in Biobased Resources & Energy.
Five end products are produced in ReJuice: fertilizers for plant cultivation, biogas, PHA bioplastic, algae and proteins for food. To assess whether these products are actually more environmentally friendly than their current alternatives, the project carries out an extensive Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and a hotspot analysis. “It is important to investigate whether biobased products really have less environmental impact,” De Best explains. “Sometimes a bio-based product, due to the use of many chemicals or energy, can even have a greater environmental impact than a product made from fossil raw materials.”
The ReJuice project is financed by Interreg Flanders-Netherlands and brings together partners from the entire value chain. This collaboration is essential for the success of the project and contributes to the realization of a sustainable, circular economy in which residual flows are fully utilized.
With this innovative approach, ReJuice hopes to demonstrate that residual flows from agriculture and horticulture contain much more value than just fibers, and that they can play an important role in the transition to a more sustainable future.
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