The general objective of this project is to demonstrate in a real case study, in a representative EU producing Region, through a full scale trial, the feasibility of an innovative and sustainable integrated Valorisation Scheme to increase significantly the brewer by-products recovery at European level, through their up-grading as aqua-feed ingredients, satisfying the highly increasing demand of alternative new raw materials for aqua-feed production.
All agents in the value chain will be involved: breweries, logistics and technological agents, valorising companies, aqua-feed producers and aquaculture farms as end users.
Its implementation will reduce the environmental impact of brewing and aquaculture sectors contributing to their long-term sustainability. Thus, it will also contribute to waste reduction and environmental protection EU policies.
The specific objectives are:
- Design a new integrated valorisation scheme including all steps of the new value chain and replicable to other EU regions.
- Optimize and scale up a “low-carbon” dehydration process using an innovative combination of mechanical and thermal technologies for obtaining a sustainable meal using brewery by-products.
- Optimize the aqua-feed formulas using the produced meals till the maximum possible level of developed meals inclusion in diets for aquaculture fishes.
- Integrate and demonstrate the whole system in real operational conditions in a representative case study in Spain covering the entire value chain.
- Eco-design at industrial level the proposed solution to ensure its implementation at full scale.
- Demonstrate the social-environmental sustainability of the whole system using the LCA methodology.
- Demonstrate the economic profitability of the whole proposed solution.
- Ensure the success of the solution through the participation of stakeholders in the follow-up of the project and its alignment with EU policies.
- Define an exploitation plan and a road map for the Replication and Transfer of the Valorisation Scheme to the case study in Spain and two other representative EU producing Regions.
- To raise maximum public awareness about environment and resource efficiency through an efficient communication and dissemination strategy.
- Involve the necessary investors to guarantee the uptake of the results to stimulate a new economic activity and employment in the food waste recovery sector beyond the project.