in Science and Technology
- COST -
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Secretariat
------ / Brussels, 4 July 2012
COST 4147/12
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
Subject: / Memorandum of Understanding for the implementation of a European Concerted Research Action designated as COST Action TD1203: Food waste valorisation for sustainable chemicals, materials & fuels (EUBis)Delegations will find attached the Memorandum of Understanding for COST Action as approved by the COST Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) at its 185th meeting on 6 June 2012.
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MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
For the implementation of a European Concerted Research Action designated as
COST Action TD1203
FOOD WASTE VALORISATION FOR SUSTAINABLE CHEMICALS, MATERIALS & FUELS (EUBIS)
The Parties to this Memorandum of Understanding, declaring their common intention to participate
in the concerted Action referred to above and described in the technical Annex to the Memorandum,
have reached the following understanding:
1. The Action will be carried out in accordance with the provisions of document COST 4154/11 “Rules and Procedures for Implementing COST Actions”, or in any new document amending or replacing it, the contents of which the Parties are fully aware of.
2. The main objective of the Action is to provide an integrated alternative renewable source of carbon for the production of industrially relevant bio-derived chemicals, fuels and material via the exploration of novel and advanced routes for food supply chain waste valorisation.
3. The economic dimension of the activities carried out under the Action has been estimated, on the basis of information available during the planning of the Action, at EUR 48 million in 2012 prices.
4. The Memorandum of Understanding will take effect on being accepted by at least five Parties.
5. The Memorandum of Understanding will remain in force for a period of 4 years, calculated from the date of the first meeting of the Management Committee, unless the duration of the Action is modified according to the provisions of Chapter V of the document referred to in Point 1 above.
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COST4147/12 1
DG G III EN
TECHNICAL ANNEX
A. ABSTRACT AND KEYWORDS
Food supply chain waste (FSCW) creates huge environmental, economic and social problems. There is now a growing recognition that the twin problems of waste management and resource depletion can be solved together through the utilisation of waste as a resource, using green and sustainable technologies. The EUBis Action represents a timely opportunity to develop novel strategies for the valorisation of FSCW to new, sustainable and functional feedstocks. The symbiotic organisation of a COST Action will greatly benefit EU research in this field, and will focus on key areas to provide cohesive direction on the valorisation of FSCW within a multidisciplinary and multinational collaborative network.
The overall aim of EUBis is to bring about a critical mass of researchers and stakeholders to harness the potential of FSCW as an alternative carbon source to produce commercially viable chemical commodities. The EUBis Action will bring together skills and expertise that cross scientific borders, covering biology, chemistry, biotechnology and food science and technology as well as experts in environmental and economic assessment. EUBis will interconnect different technology hubs across Europe, overcome technological barriers, go beyond current waste exploitation/management approaches, and bridge gaps between academic disciplines as well as between academia and industry.
Keywords: Food supply chain waste, valorisation, sustainability, bio-derived chemicals, alternative carbon source
B. BACKGROUND
B.1 General background
FSCW is a major issue in modern society and alternatives to its economically and environmentally costly disposal practises (e.g. landfill, incineration) need to be developed. At the same time society, especially in Europe, faces a huge looming crisis of resources. Europe is especially dependent on importing oil and minerals to feed its industries yet Europe has the highest consumption of raw materials per capita in the world. As these traditional resources become scarcer their availability will become more politically controlled leaving the EU vulnerable to highly politicised negotiations and pricing. First generation food waste (FW) recycling (e.g. anaerobic digestion, composting, animal feed) only have marginal economic value. However FSCW waste valorisation to produce products including materials, fuels and chemicals represents one of the most promising research avenues from both environmental and economic standpoints. The disposal of FSCW could in principle be replaced by strategies which have a lower environmental impact and which allow the recovery of valuable products for existing and new markets. Moving towards ‘closed loop manufacturing’ will both help the EU resist future geo-political issues over resources, reduce pressures on landfill sites and help Europe move towards a resource-intelligent and technology-leading region. The EU has recognised that, in order to sustain our demands in energy, chemicals and food, while addressing environmental issues, we need to substantially reduce our dependence on oil by establishing a bio-based economy. Future European standards on bio-based content will encourage greater use of bio-feedstocks. Other major drivers for this topic include: increasing compliance costs to meet regulations for existing substances (e.g. REACH), favouring investment into economically and environmentally sound alternative feedstocks, and growing public awareness towards environmental issues and cradle-to-grave concerns leading to industry’s increasing concern over their ‘green credentials’, making the launch of a COST Action dedicated to the valorisation of FSCW highly relevant.
COST is the ideal framework to defragment academia, interconnect technology hubs, enable collaboration between academia and industry and facilitate technology transfer, in COST and non COST countries for the development of processes and feedstock agnostic technologies for FSCW valorisation. Research groups and industries involved in this area of research have significant expertise but are working independently.
The symbiotic organisation of a COST Action would greatly benefit EU research, and would focus on key areas to provide cohesive direction on the valorisation of FSCW within a multidisciplinary and multinational collaborative network, providing critical mass to this highly topical research area.
B.2 Current state of knowledge
The valorisation of FW has many advantages. It is a rich source of functionalised molecules (i.e. biopolymers, proteins, carbohydrates, phytochemicals) and contains valuable extracts for various applications (e.g. resins from cashew nut shell liquid), avoiding the use of virgin land and water resources. In addition, it solves a waste management issue and represents a sustainable renewable resource, making the valorisation of FSCW doubly green.
On a European level research is being promoted via the Framework VII KBBE (Knowledge-Based Bio-economy) theme. In the UK a number of FSCW related research projects are being carried out in collaboration with industry on for example the use of supercritical carbon dioxide to extract chemicals from cereal straws and also the use of starch-rich wastes to make adhesives for carpet tiles and other consumer goods. In France, work on the valorization of oil crop by-products is now being supported by the French government funded “project PIVERT”. In Spain, a research team in Barcelona is studying the use of amino-acids derived from FSCW for the synthesis of amino-acid derived surfactants such as ethyl-N-lauroyl-L-arginate HCl, which have been successfully commercialised. Waste cooking oil and citrus waste produced from the juicing industry are also being studied in Spain as raw materials for the production of bio-diesel and bio-ethanol production/D-limonene extraction respectively. In Italy, a research group is working on the valorization of urban FW and agriculture residues as sources of fuel and bio-based products for use in the chemical industry, environmental technology and agriculture. In most areas, research has been done on a pilot-scale. In Greece, a research group in Athens is exploring the production of biogas and biodiesel (from microbial oil produced via fermentation) from confectionary industry waste streams and the valorisation of wine lees through the production of various added-value products including ethanol, antioxidants, tartaric acid and generic fermentation feedstock. In addition, whey is being explored as feedstock for microbial oil production that could be used for oleochemical synthesis.
The topic is gaining increased attention worldwide: the NAMASTE project (New Advances in the integrated Management of food processing wAste in India and Europe) is directed at the valorisation of selected by-products, such as fruit and cereal processing residues, for the global Food & Drink Industry. In Japan, scientists of the NEC Company have succeeded in producing biopolymers from cashew nutshell (highly thermostable, impermeable and durable with potential for use in electronic devices). In Brazil, derivatives from cashew nut shell liquid have been reported as complexing agents (Patent, WO 99/43634 to Seidel, PR et al). In America, the Center for Crop Utilization Research at Iowa State University is focusing on adding value to Midwest crop (i.e. soy, corn) by-products to increase the value of the food supply chain.
However due to the broad reaching array of expertise required to achieve the goal of food waste valorization to bio-chemicals, materials and fuels, current research remains fragmented and to a large extent is waste-specific, limiting the exploitation of the massive chemical potential of FW. The research area needs this EUBis Action, as it would not only bring together academics and industrialists with appropriate expertise, but would facilitate sharing of knowledge and technology transfer between different sectors, different disciplines and also access to different local sources of high-volume, chemically interesting food supply chain waste. Synergies could be highlighted between industries, helping to develop parallel activity in the food supply chain for the production of bio-chemicals, bio-materials and bio-fuels.
B.3 Reasons for the Action
The EUBis Action will establish a multidisciplinary European based cooperation network to develop FSCW valorisation using green technologies to obtain bio-derived chemicals, materials and fuels that could be integrated into new industrial supply chains. This approach has the potential to significantly enhance Europe’s drive towards the formation of a bio-based economy via the creation of an alternative renewable carbon feedstock based on waste, and will offer a more profitable and environmentally valuable alternative to current waste use practices. Additionally, this Action will promote social and industrial awareness of waste utilisation in consumer products. The Action will be aimed primarily at scientific and technological advancement, but will also have direct relevance to European economic and societal needs.
The overall aim of the EUBis Action is to bring about a critical mass of researchers and stakeholders to harness the potential of FSCW as an alternative carbon source to produce commercially viable chemical commodities. This will be achieved by interconnecting different technology hubs across Europe and beyond, overcoming technological barriers, going beyond first generation organic waste reuse/recycling, and bridging gaps between academic disciplines as well as between academia and industry. The combination of an interdisciplinary approach to waste valorisation with novel technologies has the potential to have a global impact on the waste management, biotechnological, food and chemical industries. To fully realise the potential of food waste, a diverse combination of skills and expertise is required that cross scientific and non-scientific borders, covering economic, social and environmental factors alongside biology, chemistry, engineering, food science and technology and environmental sciences. This Action will facilitate the cooperation of scientists across Europe in the following COST Domains: Chemistry and Molecular Sciences and Technologies (CMST); Food and Agriculture (FA); Earth System Science and Environmental Management (ESSEM); Materials, Physics and Nanosciences (MPNS); and Individuals, Societies, Cultures and Health (ISCH). Chemists alone cannot fully exploit FSCW without knowledge of food science and technology, while biologists need to work with chemists in order to fully understand the biological matrix containing valuable chemicals to maximise their extraction and to integrate technologies to obtain a wider range of products than is currently achieved. Experts in environmental management and enviro-economics will be essential to assess the performance of a given process and ensure that the processes developed are both viable and sustainable. Stakeholders from the food industry and other chemical using industries need to be represented from an early stage in order to make sure that products generated from FSCW valorisation will have a marketable application in those industries.
B.4 Complementarity with other research programmes
There are ongoing European research projects in the area of food waste valorisation, but these focus on the use as food and feed rather than chemicals and fuels. For example the NAMASATE project, is an EU project dealing with the conversion of fruit and cereal processing by-products and wastes into new food and feed. No specific European research initiatives on FSCW valorisation to valuable chemicals and fuels have been identified through European organisations such as ESF (European Social Fund) and EUREKA.
The EUREKA project "EUROAGRI FOODCHAIN" is looking at the valorisation of agro products to food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and fuel applications, but again this focuses almost wholly on feed and agri-food products rather than waste. However the recent FPVII call under the Knowledge Based Bio-economy theme could potentially give rise to some complementary research projects and as such the Action would seek to align itself with such projects and invite partners to join. EUBis has complementary aims to, but does not overlap with, the COST Action CM0903: Utilisation of Biomass for Sustainable Fuels and Chemicals (UBIOCHEM). UBIOCHEM also aims to move Europe towards a bioeconomy but has more of a focus on non-food crops along with catalysis and alternative reaction media as core technologies. EUBis will ensure regular communications with UBIOCHEM to avoid duplication of effort, as well as benefiting from the work completed to date.
C. OBJECTIVES AND BENEFITS
C.1 Aim
The main objective of the Action is to provide an integrated alternative renewable source of carbon for the production of industrially-relevant bio-derived chemicals, fuels and materials via the exploration of novel and advanced routes for FSCW valorisation in close collaboration with key stakeholders. Sustainable valorisation chains for food waste will be developed for optimal bio-based products as a base for a European BioEconomy.
C.2 Objectives
The main objective will be achieved by reaching the following secondary objectives:
· Formation of a multidisciplinary scientific community with common interests in the valorisation of FSCW
· Promote the participation of researchers from Europe and also internationally in seminars, symposia, workshops and training schools in all FSCW related scientific activities to encourage scientific exchange and technology transfer