In the EU, more than 25 million tonnes of waste are generated annually. Community institutions are advocating a shift from a linear waste management model to a circular economy. At AINIA, we contribute to this change through the valorisation of by-products and organic waste generated in agro-industrial activities to obtain compounds of interest, such as Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA).
The circular economy is a new model of production and consumption that is necessary due to the need for new sources of raw materials, improvements in the security of raw material supplies, and the requirement for renewable raw materials that reduce their impact on the climate and CO2 emissions.
From Organic By-products to Volatile Fatty Acids (VFAs)
Organic by-products generated in the agri-food industry, livestock and agricultural operations, and at water treatment and urban waste plants, can be transformed into renewable and alternative raw materials, for example, to produce volatile fatty acids (VFAs). Volatile fatty acids are organic chemical compounds classified by the number of carbons in their chain (acetic, propionic, butyric, valeric, caproic, etc.). Currently, they are predominantly synthesized chemically from petroleum intermediates. They have a wide range of applications such as artificial flavours in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries, food additives, biopolymers, biofuels, or biosolvents.
Through an anaerobic fermentation process with mixed cultures and under certain operational conditions, these VFAs can be produced from organic by-products.
Recovery of VFAs: A Technical and Economic Challenge
After the generation of VFAs, the importance of recovering and purifying them is crucial in some industrial sectors since these compounds need to have specific purity to be used in their production processes.
However, these downstream processes of acid recovery from fermentation broths pose both technical and economic challenges. Often, they require the integration of different processes that ensure the recovery of the target compounds with the necessary purity and, similarly, allow the reuse or repurposing of the remaining fractions conditioned in previous processes or of a different nature (for example, cleaning).
To reduce the cost of concentration and purification, innovative operation strategies must be applied, based on the combination of key operational parameters, and bioaugmentation techniques based on the enrichment of specific bacterial strains, which allow maximizing the production of VFAs and directing the process towards one or several specific acids according to the final application.
At AINIA, we research the optimal operating conditions to increase the production yield and typology of VFAs, based on the characteristics of the organic by-products. We thus understand the most interesting applications of each of the by-products and the design of optimal biological processes.
Experts in Valorisation, Recovery, and Purification of By-products
In the webinar on the production of Volatile Fatty Acids from by-products, we will convey to the industry how to valorise by-products and efficiently obtain VFAs with the required quality. We will address the following issues:
- Valorisation of Organic By-products through Anaerobic Fermentation: Production of Volatile Fatty Acids. We will discuss the VFAs generated during the anaerobic fermentation process, their most important uses and applications. Additionally, we will explain how to direct an anaerobic fermentation process to obtain a specific VFA profile.
- Recovery and Purification of VFAs: We will focus on the recovery and purification of the VFAs of interest produced from anaerobic fermentations of by-products. We will present the methodology we have developed for decision-making that allows for the selection of the most efficient recovery processes and strategies.
Additionally, we will showcase various business experiences to demonstrate their utility. Some clear examples of the application of VFAs include:
- The agri-food industry for feed formulation and animal nutrition.
- Cosmetics for personal care products.
- Petrochemicals for biofuels or bio-based chemicals.
These industries require compounds of high purity to develop products or materials free from impurities or contamination of any kind.
