BIOWAST E4SP Report Summary

BIOWAST E4SP Report Summary
Proje ct ID: 312111

Funde d unde r: FP7-KBBE
Country: De nmark
Final Repo rt Summary - BIOWAST E4SP (T urning bio waste into sustainable pro ducts:
develo pment o f appro priate co nversio n techno lo gies applicable in develo ping
co untries)
Exe cutive Summary:
In this proje ct, we have focus e d on finding the s horte s t and mos t e fficie nt (s imple s t) way of conve rting African biowas te
(in this conte xt from food was te and was te from agriculture ) into value adde d products . A ke y focus was on pinpointing
and us ing the right te chnology for the mos t s ignificant raw mate rials ide ntifie d in e ach of the participating five African
countrie s - Ghana, Egypt, Ke nya, Morocco, and South Africa - for the production of bioe thanol, biogas , biofe rtiliz e r, lactic
acid, prote in and amino acids .
The proje ct was bas e d on the pre mis e s that:
1. The biowas te conte nts of carbohydrate s , both s tarchy and lignoce llulos ic bas e d we re cons ide re d and e valuate d as
pote ntial fe rme ntation s ubs trate s for bioe ne rgy carrie rs , che micals , food/fe e d ingre die nt (e .g. amino acids , and prote in)
and compos t.
2. The biowas te as h conte nt was cons ide re d as a pote ntial s ource for plant nutrie nts that could be us e d in fe rtiliz e rs .
3. Prote ins can be produce d from biowas te s ource s .
4. Biowas te prote ins we re s e e n as a pote ntial s ource for amino acids and prote ins to be us e d in ne w food and fe e d
applications .
The s e me ntione d products can s ubs titute fos s il-bas e d che micals and e ne rgy products and turn a was te proble m
(biowas te ) onto a wide range of valuable products , the re by re ducing Gre e nhous e gas e mis s ion with be ne fit to the
climate .
Emphas is was place d on biowas te s tre ams that are produce d in s ignificant quantitie s in the participating five African
countrie s .
The ke y re s ults of the proje ct we re :
- Sugar bas e d and nutrie nt bas e d biowas te s tre ams have be e n ide ntifie d and characte riz e d in s e le cte d African
countrie s : Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, Ke nya and Ghana.
- A fe e ds tock catalogue bas e d on actual analys is data has be e n pre pare d and made public.
- Source s of nutrie nt e le me nt bas e d biowas te we re ide ntifie d and characte riz e d; cotton s traw and s ugar cane bagas s e
we re us e d for de mons tration and proof of conce pt in the participating African countrie s in Egypt South Africa.
- Biofe rtiliz e rs (microbe s for as s imilation of nitroge n and re le as e of phos phorus as we ll as mycoriz a fungi) we re
produce d from s ugar fe rme ntation and s upplie d to the compos t.
- Pre -tre atme nt proce s s e s for an e fficie nt conve rs ion of biowas te fe e ds tock into fe rme ntable s ubs trate s and the ir
upgrade into polys accharide fractions (s ugar platform) have be e n te s te d and e valuate d.
- Bio-conve rs ion me thods for conve rting pre tre ate d s ugar s olutions from biowas te into e thanol, lactic and amino acids
have be e n de ve lope d.
- DDGS (Drie d Dis tille rs Grains with Soluble s ), i.e . prote in fraction from e thanol and lactic acid production) have be e n
re cove re d.
- Me thods for down s tre aming and re cove ry of oligo- and polys accharide fractions have be e n de ve lope d and optimiz e d.
- Unconve rte d was te s tre ams have be e n conve rte d to biogas and lignin bas e d biofe rtiliz e r.
- The s us tainability and e conomic viability of the whole proce s s chain of producing biobas e d e ne rgy carrie rs , che mical
amino acids , prote ins , and fe rtiliz e r from biowas te have be e n e valuate d.
- Proje ct re s ults have be e n dis s e minate to indus try and s take holde rs in Africa, As ia and Europe at diffe re nt
inte rnational confe re nce s and at the final proje ct confe re nce organiz e d by the Biowas te 4SP cons ortium and he ld in
Morocco in Se pte mbe r 2015.
Proje ct Conte xt and Obje ctive s :

The mode rn global s ocie ty face s gre at challe nge s in s upply of e ne rgy, fe e d, food, and othe r products in a s us tainable
P a ge 1 o f 16
Research
and Innovation
way. One way to mitigate the ne gative e ffe cts of providing the s e local e co-s e rvice s is to conve rt biomas s ins te ad of
pe trole um or natural gas into a varie ty of food, fe e d, biomate rials , e ne rgy and fe rtiliz e r, maximiz ing the value of the
biomas s and minimis ing the was te . This inte grate d approach corre s ponds to the biore fine ry conce pt and is gaining
atte ntion in many parts of the world. Similar to oil-bas e d re fine rie s , whe re many e ne rgy and che mical products are
produce d from crude oil, biore fine rie s can produce many diffe re nt indus trial products from biomas s . Ene rgy, food and
fe e d production is the drive r for de ve lopme nt in this are a. Howe ve r, as biore fine rie s be come more and more
s ophis ticate d with time othe r products can be de ve lope d. Today, almos t all organic che micals , including fe rtiliz e rs , are
produce d from crude oil, pe trole um, and te chnologie s drive n by fos s il e ne rgy, thus re fe rre d to as pe tro-che micals and
fos s il fe rtiliz e r. It is ge ne rally anticipate d that the white biote chnology, the us e of fe rme ntation and e nz ymatic
proce s s e s , will play a ke y role for future cle ane r production of bulk che micals , e ne rgy carrie rs as we ll as fe rtiliz e r from
biomas s s ource s by s aving re s ource s and re ducing ne gative e nvironme ntal impacts from che mical production.
In orde r to re place fos s il-bas e d e ne rgy carrie rs , che micals and fe rtiliz e r, cos t is the critical challe nge for s ucce s s . Thus ,
e as ily acce s s ible and low cos t biomas s fe e ds tock is a pre re quis ite for making biobas e d production e conomically
fe as ible . Indus trial, agriculture and municipal biowas te s have the pote ntial to be that re s ource . Howe ve r, it is of gre at
importance to be aware of how to utilis e the diffe re nt s ource s of biowas te and for which purpos e . In orde r to do this in
the be s t pos s ible way, one has to know about che mical compos ition.
Spe cifically, the s e include the biowas te conte nt of:
1) Carbohydrate s that can s e rve as pote ntial fe rme ntation s ubs trate s for bioe ne rgy carrie rs , che micals , and food/fe e d
ingre die nt (e .g. amino acids ). Both s tarchy and lignoce llulos ic bas e d fe e ds tock type s s hould be cons ide re d.
2) Inorganic as he s that could s e rve as pote ntial plant nutrie nts as in fe rtiliz e r.
3) Prote ins , which are important ingre die nts in food and fe e d applications as we ll as fe rtiliz e r.
With the s e cons ide rations in mind, the obje ctive of the Biowas te 4SP is to s how and de mons trate the te chnical roadmap
- a s trate gy - for e fficie nt te chnological utilis ation of s e le cte d s ignificant biowas te in five African countrie s - Morocco,
Egypt, Ghana, South Africa, and Ke nya- de rive d from both the indus trial and agricultural s e ctor, thus , turning biowas te
into a ne w re s ource for s us tainable products .
As the world re s ource s of oil are diminis hing, the amounts of indus trial and municipal was te are incre as ing, caus ing
e nvironme ntal proble ms and cos ts for its dis pos al. Typically, this is a proble m for the indus trialis e d world, but it is als o
an incre as ing proble m in the de ve loping countrie s . A large part of the s e municipal and indus trial was te s tre ams contain
biode gradable compone nts of s ugar polyme rs , be ing mixture s of both s tarch and lignoce llulos e , prote ins and fats , a s o
calle d biowas te , which, whe n dis pos e d of in landfills will de grade to gre e nhous e gas e s . Landfilling of biowas te is
re porte d to be one of the major s ource s of me thane e mis s ions in Europe , contributing to 2% of GHG e mis s ions in 2007
in the Europe an Union (EU). More ove r, according to the EC Landfill dire ctive (1999/31/EC), the amount of landfille d
biode gradable was te s hould be re duce d with 35% (of 1995 le ve ls ) in 2016. As a re s ult, a lot of atte ntion is paid on the
tre atme nt of biowas te , addre s s ing cos t-e fficie nt handling and the ir dire ct utiliz ation, and pos s ible re duce d output of
polluting products re garding both CO2 e mis s ion and he avy me tals . Cons e que ntly, by utiliz ing the biowas te as re gional
fe e ds tock for production of value -adde d products s uch as e ne rgy carrie rs , biobas e d che micals , and if pos s ible food,
fe e d and fe rtiliz e r, s e ve ral proble ms could be s olve d achie ving both e nvironme ntal and e conomic be ne fits .
The us e of white biote chnology on plant bas e d biomas s has s o far focus e d mainly on the production of biofue l e ne rgy-
carrie rs s uch as bioe thanol, biodie s e l and biogas , and the conce pt of conve rting s tarch mate rials from food and fe e d
production into e thanol is a prove n te chnology and in indus trial phas e many place s in the world. The te chnology for
conve rs ion of lignoce llulos ic biomas s mate rials s uch as wood re s idue s and agricultural was te as s ubs trate s for e thanol
production is alre ady in de mo-phas e and ne xt ge ne rations te chnologie s are de ve loping around the world for upgrading
s uch e thanol plants into more s ophis ticate d biore fine rie s with production of che micals and othe r biomate rials . One s uch
plant is place d in France with a s ignificant production of lactic acid from s tarch. Proce s s e s focus ing on conve rs ion of
municipal and indus trial biowas te into e thanol have als o be e n inve s tigate d and are fore s e e n to be of gre at importance
for future manage me nt of was te to value . Compare d to us ing only agricultural re s idue s as fe e ds tock, municipal or
indus trial biowas te have the advantage of the ir abundance and the availability is rare ly affe cte d by s e as onal change s
and the colle ction s ys te ms are alre ady we ll e s tablis he d in mos t place s . Howe ve r, biowas te has typically a dive rs e and
comple x compos ition, and e ve n if a ge ne ral proce s s is known, e ach ne w biowas te mate rial ne e ds to be adapte d in
te rms of optimiz ing the chain from hydrolyz ing the biowas te mate rial (s tarch, ce llulos e and he mice llulos e s ) into s imple
s ugars (pre -proce s s ing), bio-conve rting and fe rme nting the s ugar (up-s tre am proce s s ing), and s e parating and purifying
the products (downs tre am proce s s ing).
The Biowas te 4SP proje ct has focus e d on the de ve lopme nt and de mons tration of a conce pt to us e mixe d biomas s
fe e ds tock, rich in s tarch and lignoce llulos e , for value adde d products . The product portfolio we re 3rd ge ne ration
bioe ne rgy carrie rs (bioe thanol and biogas ), bioche micals (lactic acid), in co-production with a food ingre die nt (amino
acids ), and fe e d s upply (DDGS, a prote in plant re s idue from e thanol and lactic acid fe rme ntation) and biofe rtiliz e r.
Le ft ove r s ugars we re us e d for production of s pe cialty bacte ria and microbe s , e .g. nitroge n fixating bacte ria and
mycoriz a de ve lope d from local African s trains , to be adde d to the final upgrade d fe rtiliz e r and for fruit was te s torage
purpos e s and food cons e rvation (e ns iling by lactic acid bacte ria). Furthe rmore , the whole proce s s , from the ide ntification
of the biowas te s tre ams , bioconve rs ion of biowas te to products and the ir s e paration and purification, have be e n
e valuate d for its s us tainable and e conomical as pe cts .
P a ge 2 o f 16
Research
and Innovation
All products have be e n made on s e le cte d indus trial and municipal biowas te fe e ds tock ide ntifie d in e ach of the five
participating proje ct countrie s in Africa: Ghana, Morocco, Egypt, Ke nya, and South Africa. The proce s s e s have be e n us e d
as e xample s for how to utilis e othe r s imilar biowas te fe e ds tock in the future . This proje ct aims at de ve loping
biote chnological proce s s e s that are we ll de s igne d for conve rting biode gradable fractions of ide ntifie d African
agricultural and indus trial was te as we ll as fractions of municipal and animal s olid was te .
Ge ne ral proje ct goals have be e n to de ve lop and de mons trate a proof of conce pt for white biote chnological
proce s s e s to conve rt African biowas te from food indus try and agriculture into s us tainable bio-bas e d products s uch as
bioe thanol, lactic acid, prote in, amino acids , and biogas (me thane ) and biofe rtiliz e r. The s e products could s ubs titute
fos s il bas e d che micals and e ne rgy products and turn a was te proble m (biowas te ) onto a wide range of valuable
products .
Emphas is was place d on biowas te s tre ams that we re produce d in s ignificant quantitie s in the participating African
countrie s . The ove rall s trate gy for te chnological approach and choice of me thods and mate rials was to have a low
e ne rgy input and a high value adde d output
Proje ct Re s ults :
The s cie ntific and te chnological obje ctive s of the Biowas te 4SP proje ct we re :
1.Ide ntification and characte riz ation of s ignificant indus trial s ugar bas e d biowas te s tre ams in five African countrie s :
Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, Ke nya and Ghana. Se le cte d re s ource s to be us e d for de mons tration and proof of conce pt
in the proje ct.
2. Ide ntification and characte riz ation of s ignificant and typical nutrie nt e le me nt bas e d biowas te (e .g. manure , MSW and
s ome lignoce llulos ics ) and s e le ction of raw mate rials to be us e d for de mons tration proof of conce pt in African countrie s .
3. De ve lopme nt of s uitable pre -tre atme nt proce s s e s for an e fficie nt conve rs ion of the ide ntifie d biowas te re s ource s
(fe e ds tock) into fe rme ntable s ubs trate s and upgrade d polys accharide fraction (s ugar platform) by te s ting and
e valuation.
4. De ve lopme nt of appropriate bioconve rs ion me thods for conve rting pre tre ate d s ugar s olutions from biowas te into
e thanol, lactic and amino acids .
5. Re cove ry and upgrading DDGS (prote in fraction from e thanol and lactic acid production) by s olid s tate fe rme ntation.
6. De rivation of the be s t te chnologie s for downs tre am proce s s ing in orde r to re cove r (and utiliz e ) oligo-and
polys accharide fractions (be ta-glucan, he mice llulos e , prote ins ) to me e t product s pe cification in te rms of purity and
functionality re quire d by indus try.
7. Utiliz ation of a biogas re actor for conve rs ion of all unconve rte d was te s tre ams to biogas and for co-production in a
compos t facility of a fully loade d (all 14 e s s e ntial plant nutrie nts ) lignin bas e d biofe rtiliz e r from nutrie nt bas e d
fe e ds tock.
8. Evaluation of the whole proce s s chain of producing biobas e d e ne rgy carrie rs , che mical amino acids , prote ins , and
fe rtiliz e r from biowas te in te rms of s us tainability and e conomic viability.
9. Dis s e mination of the re s ults to indus try and s take holde rs and providing guide line s for us ing biowas te as a re s ource
for the production of bio-bas e d s us tainable products .
To achie ve the obje ctive s , the proje ct has be e n following a cle ar s trate gy for the ir imple me ntation as illus trate d in
Figure 1.
- FIGURE 1 (attachme nt) -
Figure 1. Strate gy for imple me ntation of the S&T obje ctive s
The proje ct was imple me nte d through a combination of re s e arch and de ve lopme nt activitie s compris ing de s k s tudie s of
available lite rature and pre vious proje cts as we ll as s ignificant e xpe rime ntal work at laboratory s cale . The e xpe rime ntal
work was late r in the proje ct up-s cale d to pilot plant s iz e . In addition to the de ve lopme nt of te chnological proce s s e s ,
cons ide rable atte ntion was paid on the validation and dis s e mination activitie s as we ll as s us tainability as s e s s me nts of
the individual products and the e ntire s ys te m. Common proce dure s and protocols for e xpe rime ntal and fie ld s tudie s
we re drawn up. Knowle dge -s haring and te chnology trans fe r to ke y s take holde rs was e mphas iz e d during the various
activitie s .
Biowas te come s from many s ource s and its compos ition can vary cons ide rably, e s pe cially in was te s tre ams s uch as
municipal s olid was te (MSW) and hous e hold was te . The proje ct s trate gy took this into cons ide ration and he nce from the
s tart e fforts have be e n made to minimiz e the diffe re nce s be twe e n biowas te s tre ams s e le cte d by partne rs in orde r to
make comparis on of re s ults pos s ible , and to minimiz e the trans fe r of mate rials be twe e n partne rs .
Sugar and nutrie nt rich fe e ds tock have be e n colle cte d and characte riz e d in a s hare d e ffort of the proje ct partne rs in
Biowas te 4SP proje ct. The diffe re nt fie lds of application for s ugar and nutrie nt rich fe e ds tock are illus trate d in Figure 2.
- FIGURE 2 (attache me nt) -
Figure 2. Biore fine ry of s ugar and nutrie nt rich fe e ds tock
For purpos e s of e as y imple me ntation, the proje ct was broke n down into 10 inte ractive and ite rative work package s
(WPs ) as s hown in Figure 3. Each WP was furthe r broke n down into s pe cific tas ks . WP1 and WP2 de live re d a s e le ction of
biowas te s tre ams for pre -tre atme nt and we t-fractionation in WP3, which include d ne ce s s ary s te ps of trans fe rring s olid
biowas te s tre ams into lique fie d s lurry containing available s ugars for the s ubs e que nt bioconve rs ion in WP4. Als o in
the s e work package s , diffe re nt te chnologie s at the diffe re nt partne rs have be e n utiliz e d and e valuate d.
P a ge 3 o f 16
Research
and Innovation
In WP3, not only diffe re nt fractionation and te chnologie s and me thods have be e n e valuate d but the pote ntial for
s tripping value compone nts from the s ubs trate s prior to fe rme ntation s te ps have als o be e n inve s tigate d. Include d in
the tas k was the e valuation and imple me ntation of the ne e de d s e paration te chnologie s on the pre -tre ate d s us pe ns ions
that facilitate e fficie nt downs tre am proce s s ing and provis ion of s ugar rich and othe r fractions to WP4 and on.
The major bioconve rs ion tas ks for production of bio-e thanol, lactic acid and amino acids from cle an, hydrolys e d
carbohydrate s tre ams (de live re d from WP3) compris e d WP4, which was a pivotal te chnological tas k at the hub of the
proje ct.
It was thus the aim of the e xpe rime ntal work in WP3 to WP4 to de ve lop and de mons trate s uitable proce s s e s for
conve rting biowas te s tre ams into a valuable bioche mical and othe r compone nts .
Main e fforts in biogas de ve lopme nt from nutrie nt rich fe e ds tock (from WP2) and lignoce llulos ic was te s tre ams (ide ntifie d
in WP 3) compris e d WP5. WP6 conce ntrate d on de ve lopme nt of bioorganic fe rtiliz e r, e nriche d with nutrie nts , utiliz ing
s olid and liquid output from WP5 as compos ting me dia. The te chnical work package s we re he nce inte grate d in a logical
s e que nce maximiz ing pote ntial for optimal utiliz ation of the original biowas te s tre ams .
The ove rall production s ys te ms de ve lope d in the program ne e d to be de mons trate d as s us tainable and
e nvironme ntally s ound. He nce , a range of rigorous life cycle and e ne rgy, e conomic and quantification s tudie s was
applie d throughout the proje ct pe riod and this compris e d WP7. A s e parate work package , WP8, was de vote d to inte r-
partne r knowle dge s haring, dis s e mination and capacity building. Capacity building and knowle dge s haring was a ke y
targe t of the program and warrante d s uch s pe cial atte ntion. Scie ntific and te chnical manage me nt of proje ct activitie s
was cove re d by WP9, while proje ct coordination and cons ortium manage me nt was like wis e allocate d a s e parate work-
package , WP10: a proje ct with s uch multi-partne r, trans -contine ntal and cros s -dis ciplinary face ts , as this one re quire d
focus e d and pro-active cons ortium manage me nt.
Figure 3. Proce s s diagram and Work package inte ractions in Biowas te 4SP proje ct
WP 1 Ide ntification and characte riz ation of biowas te from food indus try and agricultural s ource s
The obje ctive s of WP1 (Figure 4) we re to ide ntify, characte riz e (and de live r) the mos t s ignificant and s uitable s ugar
bas e d biowas te s tre ams from the food indus try and agriculture from the participating ICPC countrie s (e .g. banana
biowas te , cas s ava biowas te , rice hulls , cotton s talk, olive biowas te or palm oil re s iduals ). Five of the mos t s ignificant,
one from e ach participating country have be e n colle cte d in s ufficie nt amount, and for furthe r conve rs ion to fe rme ntable
s ugar s ubs trate s (in WP3) and fe rme ntation to e thanol, lactic acid, and amino acid production. Mos t s uitable me thods for
s torage have be e n ide ntifie d for the s e le cte d fe e ds tocks to be handle d in the proje ct.
Figure 4. Strate gy for ide ntification, colle ction and s torage of biowas te fe e ds tocks in the five participating Africa
countrie s (WP1 and WP2)
The mos t s ignificant s ugar bas e d was te products from the food indus try and agriculture we re ide ntifie d for targe te d
ICPC countrie s (Egypt, Morocco, Ghana, Ke nya and South Africa). It is of importance that the biowas te contains both
e as ily conve rtible s ugar fractions (s tarch, amylope ctins and he mice llulos e ), which have be e n conve rte d to fe rme ntable
s ugars in WP3 and furthe r to bioe thanol, lactic acid and prote in and amino acids (in WP4). Some prote in (obtaine d as
DDGS as e nd product from bio-e thanol production) and to s ome e xte nt, lignoce llulos e mate rials have be e n conve rte d to
biogas in WP5 and fe rtiliz e r in WP6. The s e was te s tre ams we re compile d and lis te d in a catalogue with information on
the ir compos ition (s tarch, s imple s ugar, pe ctin and lignoce llulos e compone nts ), available quantitie s , dis tribution and
logis tics . In addition, local proce s s e rs of fruit and ve ge table s , which have s ome bas ic infras tructure in place , we re
re cruite d as e xte rnal collaborators for the re maining proje ct activitie s . A plan for colle ction, s torage and utiliz ation was
de ve lope d for five of the mos t promis ing fe e ds tock in e ach country.
The s ummary of the activity of WP1 was :
De ve lopme nt of protocols for s ampling and s torage of biomas s re s idue s in coope ration with WP2.
De ve lopme nt of protocols for che mical analys is of biomas s fe e ds tock in coope ration with WP2.
Training of PhD s tude nts from African countrie s in the de ve lope d me thods and protocols s o the y can us e and apply
the m on local biomas s fe e ds tock in the ir home countrie s .
Ide ntification of mos t s ignificant s ugar bas e d biowas te re s ource s from indus try and agriculture . (A protocol for
che mical analys is of ide ntifie d biomas s to be us e d in the proje ct).
Sample colle ction and che mical characte riz ation (s tarch, s imple s ugars , pe ctin, lignoce llulos e (ce llulos e , he mice llulos e ,
lignin, NCWM and as h) of s ignificant s ugar bas e d fe e ds tock in e ach partne r from ICPC country us ing s ame protocol with
inte rnationally re cogniz e d analys is me thods . (Me thods for the s e le ction and s torage of biowas te fe e ds tock for WP3,
WP4 and WP6).
De ve lopme nt of a catalogue with information on biowas te compos ition (s tarch, s imple s ugars , pe ctins , lignoce llulos e ),
locations , available quantitie s , dis tribution and logis tics for e ach country.
Colle ction and trans portation of biowas te . Inve s tigation and de ve lopme nt of s uitable and e conomical me thods for
colle ction and trans portation of the mos t s ignificant biowas te s tre ams in e ach country.
Re port on biowas te manage me nt for the s e le cte d fe e ds tock.
Ke y re s ults of this work package have be e n compile d in a fe e ds tock catalogue that is available on the proje ct we bs ite .
P a ge 4 o f 16
Research
and Innovation
The fe e ds tock catalogue provide d a s ys te matic information on various typical biowas te s and bio-re s idue s found in large
quantitie s in the partne r countrie s (Figure 5). The re are a total of 49 biomas s s ample s that have be e n s tudie d and are
include d in this catalogue . Twe ntynine of the s e are what could be labe lle d s ugar rich and 20 nutrie nt rich. Many of the
biomas s s ample s s tudie d are pote ntial fe e ds tock in proce s s e s re quiring both nutrie nt rich and s ugar rich fe e ds tock.
Figure 5. Sample s ide s for biowas te fe e ds tock that have be e n include d in the catalogue .
Ide ntifie d s ugar rich fe e ds tock:
The s ugar rich fe e ds tock ide ntifie d and characte riz e d in WP 1 are s ummariz e d in Table 1.
Table 1. Sugar rich biomas s fe e ds tock
- TABLE 1 (attachme nt) -
Main re s ult pe r country from s urve y of ide ntifie d biowas te re s ource s in the five African countrie s are lis te d in ranging
orde r be low:
Egypt: The pote ntial s ugar bas e d fe e ds tock are available at both farm le ve ls and at agro-proce s s ing units as follows :
1. Sugar cane vainne s s and bagas s e
2. Ye llow (mature ) and gre e n (immature ) banana s ucke rs and corms
3. Corn cobs
4. Cotton s talks
5. Olive ve ge tative wate r which was cons ide re d as the highe s t ranking of s ugar bas e d biomas s or bio-was te
Ghana: The pote ntial s ugar bas e d fe e ds tock are available at both farm le ve ls and at agro-proce s s ing units as follows :
1. Cas s ava pe e l and Cas s ava Stalk
2. Rice Bran
3. Cocoa She ll
4. Rice Straw
5. Maiz e Stalk
6. Sorghum Stalk
Morocco: Five top mate rials containing s ugar de te cte d as follow:

1. Banana crop re s idue s
2. Corn re s idue s
3. He ad s ugarcane
4. Olive pomace
5. Le ave s and twigs of olive
Ke nya: The top pote ntial candidate s from the inve ntory as pote ntial s ugar bas e d fe e ds tocks for bio-re fine ry proce s s e s
include as follow:
1. Maiz e
2. Pos t-harve s t los s e s Coffe e
3. Pulp and was te wate rs
4. Sugar molas s e s
5. Cas s ava proce s s ing
6. Pine apple was te s
7. Dairy proce s s ing was te
South Africa: Short lis t of candidate s from the inve ntory as pote ntial s ugar bas e d fe e ds tock for bio-re fine ry proce s s e s
are .
1. Sugarcane (fie ld re s idue s )
2. Bagas s e
3. Pulp & Pape r Indus try (Black Liquor)
4. Bananas
WP 2 Ide ntification and characte riz ation of nutrie nt bas e d biowas te
The obje ctive s of WP2 we re to ide ntify, characte riz e and colle ct nutrie nt e le me nt bas e d rich fe e ds tock (e .g. manure ,
lignoce llulos ic was te ) from the participating ICPC countrie s providing the main quantitie s of fe e ds tock for co-production
of biogas and biofe rtiliz e r. It is of importance that e s s e ntial plant macro-nutrie nts (N, P, K, Mg, Ca, S) as we ll as micro-
nutrie nts (Fe , Cu, Zn, Mo, B, Mn, Co, Na, Cl) are pre s e nt in the fe e ds tock toge the r with s ignificant amounts of
carbohydrate s for biogas production (in WP5) and lignin for biofe rtiliz e r (in WP6). This include d:
1. Ide ntification, characte riz ation and de live ry (s ome ) of the mos t s ignificant nutrie nt rich was te fe e ds tock from
P a ge 5 o f 16
Research
and Innovation
municipal was te and manure for e ach ICPC country to be conve rte d to biogas (in WP5) and fe rtiliz e r (in WP6).
2. Production of a catalogue with information on the ir compos ition, available quantitie s , dis tribution and logis tics .
3. De ve lopme nt of a plan for colle ction, s torage and utiliz ation for the s pe cific mate rials to be us e d within the proje ct.
The nutrie nt rich fe e ds tock ide ntifie d and characte riz e d in WP2 are s ummariz e d in Table 2. Bas e d on the s e re s ults , a
catalogue was pre pare d in collaboration with WP1.
Table 2. Nutrie nt rich biomas s fe e ds tock ide ntifie d in five African countrie s : Ghana, Egypt, South Africa, Ke nya, and
Morocco.
- TABLE 2 (attachme nt) -
Main re s ults pe r country from s urve y of ide ntifie d nutrie nt rich-biowas te re s ource s in the five African countrie s are
lis te d in ranging orde r be low:
Egypt: The pote ntial nutrie nt rich fe e ds tock are available at both the farm le ve ls and agro-proce s s ing units as follow:
1. Animal hus bandry droppings
2. Rice s traw
3. Cotton s talks
4. Corn re s idue s
5. Olive prune
6. Banana gre e n re s idue s
Ghana: The pote ntial nutrie nt rich fe e ds tock are available at both the farm le ve ls and agro-proce s s ing units as follow:
1. Cattle dung
2. Poultry droppings
3. Pig dung
4. Goat droppings
5. She e p droppings
6. Cocoa Pod
7. Ground nut s talk
Morocco: The pote ntial nutrie nt rich fe e ds tock are available at both the farm le ve ls and agro-proce s s ing units as follow:
1. Manure of cattle
2. Sunflowe r cake
3. Sugar be e t dry pulp
4. Le gume re s idue s
Ke nya: The pote ntial nutrie nt rich fe e ds tock are available at both the farm le ve ls and agro-proce s s ing units as follow:
1. Animal manure s
2. Organic fraction of municipal s olid was te s
3. Sis al was te
4. Maiz e combs
5. Sugar bagas s e
6. Re s idue s from cabbage production
7. Saw dus t
South Africa: The pote ntial nutrie nt rich fe e ds tock are available at both the farm le ve ls and agro-proce s s ing units as
follow:
1. Chicke n litte r
2. Slaughte rhous e blood
3. Fore s try Fie ld re s idue s
4. Pulp and pape r indus try s ludge
5. Saw dus t
6. Slaughte rhous e fats
7. Slaughte rhous e bone s
WP 3 Pre tre atme nt and de ve lopme nt of a s ugar-bas e d platform
African Biowas te s e le cte d in this proje ct was compos e d of mainly s ugar compone nt, which in the ir monos accharide
forms are s ubs trate s for fe rme ntation proce s s e s . If us e d inte llige ntly the s e are good fe e ds tock that can s e rve as raw
mate rials for biore fine ry proce s s i.e . s e parating and conve rting into value adde d e ne rgy-carrie rs , bio-che micals
(commodity and che mical building blocks ), fe e d and food products (s ugars as we ll as prote ins ) and fe rtiliz e r. Howe ve r,
e fficie nt utiliz ation with low e ne rgy input te chnologie s accomplis he d with high yie ld and value -adde d product out-put
re quire s de ve lopme nt and application of nove l as we ll as adapte d known te chnologie s for finding e conomically viable
s olutions . About 60 % of the cos t in a biore fine ry goe s to pre tre atme nt and fractionation of the biomas s , and the re fore
WP3 in this proje ct focus e d on the inve s tigation and improve me nt of cos t-e ffe ctive pre tre atme nt te chnologie s for
fractionating, s te riliz ing and hydrolyz ing the s e le cte d biowas te fe e ds tock, to provide s uitable fe rme ntation s ubs trate for
furthe r production of bioe thanol, lactic acid, amino acids , e tc. The proce s s e s chos e n we re from alre ady e xis ting and
prove n te chnologie s , howe ve r gre at e fforts have be e n done for adjus ting the s e to the s e le cte d fe e ds tock (e .g. banana
P a ge 6 o f 16
Research
and Innovation
was te , cas s ava was te , and rice bran), and als o to e xtracting (e .g. arabinoxylan, prote in, e tc.) and producing pote ntial
value -adde d products (e .g. e thanol, lactic acid, biogas , biofe rtiliz e r), to improve the ove rall proce s s e conomy.
We t-milling pre tre atme nt:

In WP3, an e nz yme facilitate d we t-milling, the pre tre atme nt me thodology originally de ve lope d from proce s s ing of ce re al
brans , was de ve lope d and adapte d to s e ve n diffe re nt biowas te fe e ds tock. The origins and compos ition of the s e ve n
fe e ds tock we re characte riz e d and the pre tre ate d s ubs trate s we re te s te d for its pote ntial of biofue l production i.e .
e thanol. The re s ults s upporte d the de ve lope d e nz yme facilitate d we t-milling pre tre atme nt me thod was promis ing to
pre tre at not only low-lignin conte nt biomas s (e .g. banana fle s h, cas s ava, and rice bran), but als o re lative ly high-lignin
conte nt biomas s (e .g. banana pe e l and cas s ava pe e l), ge ne rating low or no inhibition to the following fe rme ntation s te ps
(bioe thanol production). Satis factory e thanol yie lds in the range of 80-95% the ore tical yie ld we re obtaine d from all the
te s te d biowas te mate rials , with highe s t e thanol conce ntration of 53 g/l and 42 g/l obtaine d from fe rme ntation of
pre tre ate d cas s ava pe e l and rice bran, re s pe ctive ly. Such high final e thanol conce ntration indicate d the e conomic
pote ntial of re aliz ing the indus trial e thanol production from cas s ava was te , as 4-5% e thanol conce ntration afte r
fe rme ntation we re cons ide re d as one of the crucial thre s hold for e conomic fe as ibility of bioe thanol production.
Enz ymatic hydrolys is :

Diffe re nt e nz yme s ys te ms we re de ve lope d bas e d on the biomas s compos itions of diffe re nt biowas te fe e ds tock, for
obtaining glucos e -rich s ubs trate s for fe rme ntation as we ll as re cove ring value -adde d products . A ge ne ric two-s te p
e nz ymatic hydrolys is s ys te m, i.e . 1s t s te p s tarch hydrolys is and 2nd s te p ce llulos e hydrolys is (SE+CE s ys te m), was
de s igne d and te s te d on hydrolyz ing four diffe re nt kinds of banana biomas s , obtaining high glucos e re cove ry up to
93.3%. The proce s s for e xtracting wate r-s oluble and fibre -bound arabinoxylans from rice bran was e s tablis he d by
me ans of we t milling and e nz ymatic tre atme nt followe d by a s e que ntial ce ntrifugation for s e parating the bran fractions .
Diffe re nt e nz yme s we re us e d for e xtracting wate r-s oluble arabinoxylan (i.e . by us ing e nz yme EC 3.2.1.1) and fibre -
bound arabinoxylan (i.e . by us ing e nz yme EC 3.2.1.8). The arabinos e /xylos e ratios (A/X) of wate r-s oluble and fibre -bound
arabinoxylan from rice bran we re de te rmine d as 0.66 and 0.64, re s pe ctive ly. WP3 als o de ve lope d and te s te d an
e nz yme immobiliz ation s ys te m, as immobiliz e d e nz yme s with functional e fficie ncy and e nhance d re producibility have
pote ntial to de cre as e the de mand us age of e xpe ns ive e nz yme s and thus could play important role s in the bioproce s s
te chnology in e conomic te rms . Iron oxide nanoparticle s we re s ynthe s iz e d as s upport mate rials for targe te d e nz yme s .
Che mical s tructure of nano-particle s was confirme d by Fourie r Trans form Infrare d Spe ctros copy (FTIR) and the magne tic
prope rty of nanoparticle s was te s te d with a s imple magne t. The e fficie ncy of binding and re s idual activity of
immobiliz e d amylas e (which was bounde d to the s ynthe s iz e d magne tic nanoparticle s ) we re de te rmine d according to
mas s ratio of nanoparticle , carbodiimide , amylas e , te mpe rature , pH and time . The e nhance me nt of the the rmos tabilitie s
was obs e rve d afte r immobiliz ation, as a ne arly 1.5-fold incre as e at te mpe rature s be twe e n 60-95C.
Figure 6. Pilot s cale e nz ymatic facilitate d we t-milling and fractionation of whe at bran biomas s
Pilot s cale trials :

As a proof, a pilot s cale de mons tration of the de ve lope d ge ne ric biore fine ry proce s s was carrie d out at the final s tage
of this WP, on s e le cte d biomas s fe e ds tock i.e . whe at bran. 80% of s ugars (glucos e , xylos e and arabinos e ) we re
re cove re d afte r we t-milling pre tre atme nt. 71.4% of the re cove re d glucos e was ke pt in the liquid fraction, while 75% of
re cove re d xylos e and 92.4% of re cove re d arabinos e we re s taye d in the ins oluble fraction of fibre . 27.2% of prote in in
the raw whe at bran s taye d in the s e parate d fibre fraction afte r we t-milling and majority of prote in was re le as e d into the
liquid fraction afte r we t-milling pre tre atme nt, and can be furthe r s e parate d in the future proce s s de ve lopme nt. The
s e parate d ins oluble fibre fractions we re te s te d for its pote ntial for biogas production. Such pre tre ate d fibre containe d
high volatile s olids (97% TS) and me thanoge nic pote ntial re ache d at highe s t to 151 ml STP/ g VS. High pe rce ntage of
biode gradability and a s hort re te ntion time to be biode grade d we re obs e rve d during the anae robic dige s tion proce s s .
The lactic acid production by Lactobacillus plantarum fe rme ntation on the pre tre ate d s ugar-rich liquid s howe d promis ing
re s ults , whe re 56% of whe at bran glucos e was cons ume d and high lactic acid yie ld of 0.9 g/g-cons ume d glucos e and
productivity of 0.77 g/(lh) we re obtaine d.
Finally, WP3 was als o involve d in the training of thre e African PhD s tude nts during the work pe rforme d above , which
he lpe d for s tre ngthe ning the re s e arch and de ve lopme nt capacity of African partne rs .
WP 4 Bio-conve rs ion for the production of bioe thanol, lactic acid and amino acids
WP4 was de s igne d to de ve lop bioproce s s e s for the conve rs ion of pre -tre ate d African biowas te s of cas s ava, banana
and rice to value -adde d products s uch as e thanol, lactic acid and amino acids . DTU (De nmark) has be e n the le ad
be ne ficiary with clos e collaborations with four othe r partne rs , name ly DTI - De nmark, TUBITAK - Turke y, CSIR-GH - Ghana
and IAV - Morocco.
The re s ults from WP4 are outline d in the following s e ction. The y have be e n divide d into two parts . The firs t de s cribe s
the de live rable s , which de al with is olation of nove l microorganis ms , while the s e cond part s ummariz e s the de live rable s
conce rne d with fe rme ntation of biowas te into value -adde d products .
Is olation and characte riz ation of nove l s trains from e nvironme ntal s ample s :
An initial pre -tre atme nt protocol for optimal hydrolys is of banana fruit and banana pe e l was de ve lope d followe d by a
s cre e ning protocol to is olate nove l lactic acid bacte ria (LAB) which could grow on the s ubs trate and produce lactic acid. In
paralle l, the vas t culture colle ction at DTU was s ys te matically s cre e ne d to ide ntify the be s t candidate s trains for
P a ge 7 o f 16
Research
and Innovation
e fficie nt conve rs ion of pre -tre ate d banana was te to lactic acid while maintaining othe r de s irable prope rtie s s uch as
inhibitor tole rance and broad s ubs trate s pe cificity. Nove l is olate s of Lactococcus s pp. and Lactobacillus s pp. we re
is olate d from e nvironme ntal s ample s (primarily was te ) as a re s ult of this e xte ns ive s cre e ning work, while promis ing
s trains from the s train colle ction we re als o ide ntifie d. Additionally nove l LAB is olate s from te rmite guts we re s cre e ne d
for production of lactic acid us ing hydrolyz e d cas s ava flour. Type s trains of L. lactis and Lb. plantarum out-pe rforme d the
gut-is olate s and up to 16 mg/ml lactic acid could be produce d from a cas s ava hydrolys ate containing 10% glucos e . With
the high s ugar conce ntrations , the me dium ne e de d to be s upplie d with a nitroge n s ource and be e f e xtract was found to
be the mos t e ffe ctive and e conomical adjunct. The work outline d in the two de live rable s indicate s that the re is a lot of
pote ntial for the African partne rs to de ve lop proce s s e s bas e d on candidate s is olate d in the re s pe ctive partne r
countrie s . It s hould be pos s ible to obtain re le vant and inte re s ting s trains from many e nvironme nts s uch as the was te
alre ady pre s e nt.
Fe rme ntation of biowas te to value -adde d products :

Initial inve s tigations focus e d on proce s s e d cas s ava flour from a comme rcial cas s ava plant, a che ap, abundant and
re ne wable re s ource . The flour was progre s s ive ly tre ate d to produce a lique fie d fraction that was furthe r e nz ymatically
hydrolyz e d. The s upe rnatant was us e d as a s ubs trate for e thanol production us ing two s trains of S. ce re vis iae - NRRL-Y-
12632 and BY4743. Fe rme ntations we re carrie d out both unde r ae robic and anae robic conditions , and up to 23.8 g/l
e thanol was s ucce s s fully obtaine d. The yie ld of e thanol on cas s ava flour hydrolys e d was lowe r than on de fine d me dia
containing 5% glucos e s ugge s ting that the proce s s can be furthe r optimiz e d for gre ate r yie lds of alcohol.
In addition s e ve n diffe re nt kinds of African biowas te (un-mature d banana pe e l and fle s h from Egypt, fle s h and pe e l from
ove r-mature d banana from South Africa, pe e l and fle s h from cas s ava and rice bran from Ghana) we re te s te d for
e thanol production us ing the comme rcial ye as t s train Quick Ye as t. The pre -tre atme nt re gime s we re varie d de pe nding
on the compos itional analys is of the biowas te s and afte r 48h of fe rme ntation ve ry high e thanol yie lds we re obtaine d,
with the highe s t amounts produce d from hydrolyz e d cas s ava fle s h (53.2 g/l with a range from 23.8 to 53.2 g/l). The
re maining s ubs trate s produce d approx. half- (immature - and ove rmature d banana fruit) or one third of the conce ntration
from cas s ava flour (rice bran, ove r- and immature banana pe e l).
During this s tudy, a low-te ch e nz ymatic we t-milling proce s s was s ucce s s fully de ve lope d which would als o be
e conomically fe as ible in fie ld trials . Furthe r work was done to optimiz e the pos s ible us e of cas s ava pe e ls as a
fe e ds tock for bioe thanol production afte r appropriate pre -tre atme nt and hydrolys is . Sys te matic we t milling couple d with
SSF proce s s yie lde d 46.52 g/l e thanol (98% of the ore tical) which is comparable to indus trial e thanol production
re quire me nt. This re s ult is highly promis ing and de mons trate s that cas s ava pe e l, a was te ge ne rate d at cas s ava
proce s s ing units has high pote ntial of ge ne rating about 570.3 Million litre s of bio-e thanol annually in Ghana alone .
Strains of LAB (L. lactis ) we re te s te d for the ir ability to utiliz e xylos e to produce lactic acid and s trains e ngine e re d with
a plas mid carrying the xylos e utiliz ation ge ne s we re furthe r adapte d to the fe rme ntation conditions to produce lactic
acid as the s ole by-product. The s trains we re als o s ubje cte d to conditions of s ubs trate s tarvation and high s ubs trate
conce ntration, both of which are e xpe rie nce d by the microorganis ms during SSF fe rme ntation. The re s ults we re
promis ing but re quire furthe r optimiz ation. Since this work include d ge ne tically modifie d organis ms (GMO), it would
s e e m be tte r to optimiz e this via alte rnative s trate gie s .
The fe as ibility of producing lys ine by fe rme nting hydrolyz e d cas s ava pe e l was inve s tigate d. Afte r we t-milling, cas s ava
pe e l was progre s s ive ly hydrolyz e d e nz ymatically to produce a hydrolys ate containing around 40 g/l glucos e . A s train of
C. glutamicum, which had be e n pre vious ly e ngine e re d to produce high yie lds of lys ine , was us e d as the production
organis m. A minimal me dium s upple me nte d with hydrolyz e d cas s ava pe e l as the carbohydrate s ource , was us e d for
the fe rme ntation trials and ave rage yie lds of lys ine of 768 mmol/mol glucos e could be produce d us ing the s ugars
available from hydrolyz e d cas s ava pe e l. This s tudy de mons trate d the pote ntial of utiliz ing cas s ava pe e l was te as a
carbon s ource for production of amino acids via fe rme ntation. Again, the organis m us e d was an optimiz e d lab. s train
cons tructe d by targe te d e ngine e ring. Howe ve r, indus trial s trains e xis t which have be e n de ve lope d us ing non-GMO
me thodology, which could e as ily be adapte d for the proce s s e s inve s tigate d we re to provide e ve n be tte r re s ults . As an
alte rnative (the ore tical) for amino acid production the us e of LAB we re inve s tigate d and a s trate gy de s cribe d. The
the ore tical as s e s s me nt of the fe as ibility of producing amino acids us ing LAB as the production hos ts was e lucidate d,
and a s trate gy was de s igne d to e ngine e r L. lactis MG1363 for the production of lys ine . Although not a part of the
de live rable , the s train was furthe r e ngine e re d with the lys E ge ne (lys ine trans porte r) from C. glutamicum and lys ine
production was de te cte d e xtra-ce llularly via HPLC. The quantitie s of lys ine produce d ne e d to be de te rmine d and
improve d to make this an e conomical re ality, but this s tudy provide d a ve ry promis ing s trate gy and the firs t s te p
towards future s train de ve lopme nt. The advantage would be a ve ry robus t proce s s which could run anae robically or
s e mi- anae robically de pe nding on the optimiz e d re s ults .
Finally, WP4 was involve d in the training of two African PhD s tude nts during the work pe rforme d in the above -me ntione d
de live rable s . This pave s the way for furthe r improve me nts and future imple me ntation of the proce s s e s outline d not
only in WP4 but als o from the e ntire BIOWASTE4SP proje ct.
WP 5 Biogas production
The obje ctive s of WP5 we re to conve rt nutrie nt rich fe e ds tock, as be ing ide ntifie d and characte riz e d in WP2, into biogas .
The biowas te re s ource s include d all re s idue s of lignoce llolos ic was te mate rial and was te s s e parate d from the s tarch
mate rial in WP3. The indige s tible biomas s compone nts i.e . lignin and all inorganic nutrie nts for furthe r proce s s ing in the
compos t facility for biofe rtiliz e r (in WP6). The partne rs involve d in WP6 we re AMADES at Biogas Te am laboratory of
Faculty of Scie nce s Ibn Tofail Unive rs ity Ke nitra-Morocco, by CSIR-Ghana ins titute laboratory and by TUBITAKs -Turke y
ins titute laboratory.
P a ge 8 o f 16
Research
and Innovation
Figure 7A (le ft photo): AMADES biogas re s e arch laboratory. From the le ft to right: Prof. Has s an El Bari (WP 5 le ade r),
Prof. Re n Mole tta, Inte rnational biogas e xpe rt, during his re ce nt vis it to our lab), and Yas s ine Joute (AMADES PhD
s tude nt) in Biowas te 4SP proje ct. Figure 7B (right photo). Lab s cale dige s te r us e d in AMADES tas ks .
Lab-s cale anae robic dige s tion:

Lab-s cale anae robic dige s tion we re carrie d out in AMADES co-dige s tion e xpe rime nts of cattle manure with thre e type of
lignoce llulos ic biowas te i.e . banana was te , cas s ava pe e ls and rice bran we re pe rforme d re s pe ctive ly by A continuous ly
s tirre d cylindrically s hape d dige s te r with dome d cap was de s igne d us ing anae robic dige s tion prope rtie s of cas s ava
pe e ls (CP) and cow dung (CD) but als o can be adapte d for the co-dige s tion of banana or rice was te with cow dung. A
maximum re te ntion time of 70 days was s e le cte d with a dige s te r volume of 0.6m3 to be fe d inte rmitte ntly at a rate of
1.87 kg/day in a CP:CD (both fre s h) ratio of 1:5 and 1 part by we ight of wate r on total we ight of the CP:CD mixture
re s ulting in TS e qual to 8.5%.
Pilot s cale trials :

Pilot s cale trials was us e d to carry out the anae robic dige s tion of s olid organic was te to produce biogas , and the
indige s tible compone nt colle cte d for biofe rtiliz e r production in WP6 and the re s ults obtaine d during the e ntire
e xpe rime ntal pe riod indicate d that the two-s tage dige s te r can be us e d for tre atme nt of organic was te and can be
optimiz e d to produce high quality biogas (> 60% CH4) and at the s ame time achie ve gre ate r than 75% volatile s olids
de s truction. The las t WP5 tas k conce rning dige s te d mate rial to be compos te d in WP6, and the aim was to pre s e nt
re s ults for the s ample analys is of dige s te d mate rial from batch anae robic co-dige s tion laboratory te s ts for ve ge table
was te and cattle manure to quantify ce rtain parame te rs s uch as nutrie nt and he avy me tal conte nt for the mate rial
colle cte d afte r anae robic dige s tion te s ts . The re s ults obtaine d in the laboratory s cale e xpe rime nts was us e d as
pre liminary re s ults for de s igning pilot s cale compos ting trials and s how that the dige s tate mate rial contains optimum
nutrie nts and e le me nts for addition to compos ting pile s to improve compos t quality.
Figure 8. Pilot s cale biogas re actor in South Africa
Finally, the e ffe cts of we t milling pre -tre atme nt was s tudie d on the biogas production and me thane yie ld from
me s ophilic anae robic dige s tion of s olid fibre s whe at bran re s idue s . Whe at bran could be a s uitable lignoce llulos ic bio-
was te for anae robic dige s tion, e s pe cially whe n it is pre -tre ate d. Characte riz e d by its high volatile s olids conte nt (97(%
TS)), whe at bran gave an important me thanoge nic pote ntial (151 ml STP/ g VS), high pe rce ntage of biode gradability and
a s hort re te ntion time to be biode grade d.
WP 6 Bio-fe rtiliz e r production
The obje ctive in WP6 was to de ve lop a bioorganic fe rtiliz e r that is e nriche d with nutrie nts ; and with addition of pre mium
microbial products and be ne ficial mine rals that are e s s e ntial for plant growth and de ve lopme nt. Re s e arch and
de ve lopme nt (R&D) focus e s on ide ntification, characte riz ation and proce s s e s for production of be ne ficial
microorganis ms that are s uitable for African climate and s oils . Biowas te s are to be compos te d us ing microbe s that are
s ucce s s fully is olate d and propagate d from the me mbe r countrie s . The compos t has be e n e nriche d with be ne ficial
microbe s and nutrie nts and us e d in fie ld trials to confirm its us e fulne s s and functionality.
For re fe re nce , bio-fe rtiliz e rs are s ubs tance s that contain living microorganis ms which, whe n applie d to s e e d, plant
s urface s , or s oil, coloniz e the rhiz os phe re or the inte rior of the plant and promote growth by incre as ing the s upply or
availability of primary nutrie nts to the hos t plant. For WP6, the e nd product which is compos t plus bio-fe rtiliz e rs is calle d
bio-organic fe rtiliz e r.
Microbe s propagation:
The Agriculture Re s e arch Ce ntre (ARC) in Cairo, Egypt has provide d microbial is olate s to be us e d for this proje ct. The s e
s ample s we re brought to Malays ia in April 2013 for SIRIM and Myagri to work on. Us ing the e xpe rts and e quipme nts
available at both organiz ation, all s ix is olate s we re s ucce s s fully culture d us ing s e ve ral me dia and me thodology that
could be re plicate d by cons ortium partne rs in Africa. The guide line and protocols de ve lope d by SIRIM and Myagri can be
us e d by s take holde rs s uch as s cie ntific & re s e arch ce ntre s and biote chnology companie s in African countrie s to
propagate local microbe s with s imilar be ne fits and functionality. For this work package , this tas k to re plicate and
propagate the microbe s was unde rtake n by the capable te am of s cie ntis ts at CSIR-ZA, South Africa.
Compos ting of biowas te s :

Bas e d on s tudie s carrie d out by WP1 and WP2, s e ve ral pote ntial biowas te s we re s e le cte d to be us e d in the compos ting
e xpe rime nts in this work package . The y we re banana fruit, pe e l & plant; rice s traw; cas s ava fruit, pe e l & le ave s ; s ugar
cane bagas s e and ve ge table s was te s from local marke ts . The initial e xpe rime nts we re done by Myagri and ARC whe re
the re s ults s howe d that thos e biowas te s could be compos te d us ing the microbe s provide d by ARC. Us ing the ir data and
me thodology, a compos ting protocol was de ve lope d to be us e d by ETM in Durban, South Africa.
Bas e d on Myagris e xpe rie nce in Malays ia, the pote ntial s take holde rs that could unde rtake this tas k would be thos e that
are involve d in biowas te s colle ction and manage me nt; or agriculture indus try playe rs that produce huge amount of
biowas te s and are looking to produce be ne ficial products from the was te s .
P a ge 9 o f 16
Research
and Innovation
Figure 9. (Le ft) Colony Forming Units of Trichode rma s p; (Right) Bio-fe rtiliz e r formulation produce d by Myagri.
Producing bio-organic fe rtiliz e r in South Africa:

The tas ks of te s ting and de ve loping the re le vant microbe s for this work package we re done in Egypt and Malays ia. The
challe nge for Myagri was to e ns ure our partne rs in South Africa, i.e . ETM and CSIR-ZA we re able to re ce ive and utiliz e
the s e microbial is olate s . Eve n though the s e microbe s are ge ne rally re cogniz e d as s afe for inte r-country trans portation,
the y we re not comme rcial s trains . Afte r e valuation by DHL Malays ia, the bio-fe rtiliz e r formulation was acce pte d for
de live ry. Howe ve r, the package was he ld for a long time by the South African Cus toms . Fortunate ly, it was re le as e d and
CSIR-ZA was able to e ve ntually is olate and propagate the microbe s to fulfil the ir tas ks .
The le s s on le arnt he re was for future collaborators to e ithe r purchas e comme rcial s trains from microbial culture
colle ction ce ntre s or locally ide ntify and is olate microbe s with s imilar functionality. It is als o crucial for future te chnical
te ams to te s t the many biowas te s and s ugar s ubs trate s in orde r to formulate more s uitable and cos t e ffe ctive me dia
for propagating the bio-fe rtiliz e rs on a large r s cale .
- FIGURE 10 (attachme nt)
Figure 10. (le ft) Compos ting microbe & Bio-fe rtiliz e r produce d by CSIR-ZA; (right) Microbe s inoculation
Figure 11. (le ft) Sugar cane bagas s e he ap; and (right) Ve ge table + bagas s e he ap.
Bio-organic fe rtiliz e r trials :

The final tas k for WP6 was to te s t the bioorganic fe rtiliz e r produce d by Myagri, ARC and ETM on crops trial plots and in
the fie ld. Due to the de lay in ge tting the microbe s , ETM was not able to produce e nough bioorganic fe rtiliz e r and s tart
the trial on time . The y have s tarte d a s mall-s cale trial on ve ge table s and als o dis tribute d the bioorganic fe rtiliz e r to
local communitie s to be us e d in the ir garde ns . The farme rs have give n pos itive fe e dbacks on its us e .
Myagri te s te d it on s pinach plante d in 100 plas tic poly bags . The data colle cte d has s hown that the plants that we re
tre ate d with the bioorganic fe rtiliz e rs have s ignificantly be tte r growth; i.e . more biomas s and more roots . For large -
s cale trials , the te ams at ARC have us e d the bioorganic fe rtiliz e rs on pe anut, olive tre e s and cotton trial plots in Egypt.
The data colle cte d has s hown s ignificant growth and e ffe cts on the pe anut plot and s lightly le s s on the othe r two crops .
The re s e arche rs we re confide nt that re s ults would improve with continuous us e of the be ne ficial microbe s in the fie lds .
Figure 12. Final product: Compos t e nriche d with be ne ficial microbe s From ETM (le ft); from MYAGRI (middle ); from ARC
(right).
Figure 13. Trial on pe anut
Figure 14. Trials on olive tre e s (le ft) and Cotton (right)
Figure 15. Trial on Spinach at Myagri, plants tre ate d with bioorganic fe rtiliz e r (le ft s ide of te s t plot) vs control (right s ide
of te s t plot)
WP 7 Sus tainability s tudie s
The s us tainability s tudie s of WP7 have conce rne d the imple me ntation of s us tainability as s e s s me nt for s ys te ms that
turn biowas te from agro-indus trial s e ctor into s us tainable products s uch as bioe thanol, bio-fe rtiliz e rs , lactic acids , amino
acids , biogas e tc.
Bas e d on data provide d by the othe r partne rs of the proje ct, a s us tainability as s e s s me nt of the e ntire production
s ys te m has be e n pe rforme d. The tas ks in the WP7 have be e n unde rtake n by Unive rs ity of Sie na (Ecodynamics Group)
in collaboration with IVL Swe dis h Environme ntal Re s e arch Ins titute (Swe de n) and the African Ins titute for Capacity
De ve lopme nt AICAD (Ke nya). In this re gard, the Unive rs ity of Sie na hos te d two pos t-doctoral re s e arche rs (e ach for 12
months ): Dr. Said A. Vuai from Unive rs ity of Dodoma (Tanz ania) and Dr. Be nard K. Langat from Moi Unive rs ity (Ke nya),
re s pe ctive ly.
The main obje ctive s of WP7 we re to:
- Characte riz e critical phas e s of the production chain from a s us tainability point of vie w.
- Indicate the points that ge ne rate ne gative impacts on the s urrounding e nvironme nt.
- Improve the knowle dge of s e ctor ope rators on the factors de te rmining the impacts on s us tainability.
- Formulate guide line s to be applie d for a s us tainable manage me nt through s ce nario as s e s s me nt.
P a ge 10 o f 16
Research
and Innovation
The re s e arch activity of WP7 was focus e d on the s us tainability as s e s s me nt of two diffe re nt te chnology route s , bas e d
on s ugar and nutrie nt rich fe e ds tocks , re s pe ctive ly. To this aim, we have us e d two diffe re nt approache s that are
Eme rgy e valuation and Life Cycle As s e s s me nt (LCA).
Eme rgy e valuation is an e nvironme ntal accounting me thod bas e d on the rmodynamics principle s . It is able to quantify
the re lations hips be twe e n human-made s ys te ms and the bios phe re and it is us e d to as s e s s e nvironme ntal
s us tainability of proce s s and s ys te ms . Eme rgy is de fine d as the available s olar e ne rgy pre vious ly us e d, dire ctly and
indire ctly, in orde r to make a s e rvice or product. Eme rgy can be cons ide re d as an e me rgy me mory that is the
me mory of all s olar e ne rgy is ne e de d to s upport a s ys te m, taking into account the work has be e n pre vious ly done by
e nvironme nt to produce a good. The unit of s olar e me rgy is the s olar e me rgy joule (s e j), to dis tinguis h it from the
re gular joule (J) and point out a diffe re nt quality as s e s s me nt bas e d on a donor-s ide point of vie w.
LCA is de fine d as the compilation and the e valuation of the inputs , outputs and pote ntial e nvironme ntal impacts of a
product s ys te m throughout its e ntire life cycle . Thus , LCA is a tool for the analys is of the e nvironme ntal burde n of
products at all s tage s in the ir life cycle from the e xtraction of the re s ource s , through the production of mate rial,
product parts and product its e lf, and the us e of the product to the manage me nt afte r it is dis carde d, e ithe r by re us e ,
re cycling or final dis pos al (the re fore , from the cradle to the grave ).
During the firs t part of the proje ct we focus e d our atte ntion on the production phas e of biowas te (s e e Figure 16),
carrying out a comparative e valuation of s e le cte d s ugar and nutrie nt rich fe e ds tocks . The s ugar rich fe e ds tocks have
be e n compare d on a common bas is that was re pre s e nte d by the ir pote ntial to produce bioe thanol (give n by the ir glucan
conte nts ), while the comparis on among nutrie nt rich fe e ds tocks was done on the bas is of the ir pote ntial to produce bio-
fe rtiliz e rs (give n by the ir as h conte nts ). The re s ults of this e valuation are re porte d in an article e ntitle d Sus tainability
as s e s s me nt of s e le cte d biowas te s as fe e ds tocks for biofue l and biomate rial production by e me rgy e valuation in five
African countrie s , re ce ntly acce pte d by the inte rnational journal Biomas s & Bioe ne rgy for publication.
Figure 16. Ene rgy s ys te m diagram of inte grate d agro-indus trial production of goods and bio-products . Our s tudy focus e d
on the firs t part of the s ys te m (white s e ction on le ft) that produce s the main goods and re late d re s idue s , ke e ping in
mind the de s tination of the re s idue s , i.e . the biore fine ry plant (gray are a).
Figure 17 give s an e xample , according to the Eme rgy e valuation, cas s ava pe e ls (i.e . the by-product of cas s ava
cultivation and proce s s ing), e valuate d in Ghana, re s ults the mos t promis ing s ugar rich fe e ds tocks from an e me rgy
vie wpoint, name ly the one that combine s high e fficie ncy in te rms of e xploiting natural re s ource s with a high de gre e of
re ne wability. Manure from graz ing cattle (i.e . co-product of milk in a dairy farming s ys te m), e valuate d in Morocco was
ide ntifie d as the mos t promis ing fe e ds tocks from a s us tainability vie wpoint, among nutrie nt rich one s . Inde e d, it is the
mos t e fficie nt for what conce rn the e xploitation of re s ource s and it produce s the lowe s t e nvironme ntal impacts .
Finally, AICAD de ve lope d a guide line for s us tainable manage me nt of biowas te , with the inputs of Unive rs ity of Sie na and
IVL. This docume nt aims to be a valid s upport for thos e s take holde rs that can be inte re s te d in imple me nting conve rs ion
proce s s e s of biowas te and biore s idue s into value adde d products , in a conte xt s imilar to that one e valuate d within the
Biowas te 4SP proje ct.
Guide line s in was te manage me nt focus e d on s e ve ral as pe cts , including e nvironme ntal and e conomic cos ts , colle ction
and tre atme nt me thods , focus on s pe cific was te mate rials or s ource s of mate rials , re ducing the e nvironme ntal impact
s uch as e mis s ions to air, land and wate r; adopting a marke t orie nte d approach with was te products , incre as ing s ocial
acce ptability through public participation, formation of e nforcing age ncie s , robus t colle ction me chanis ms , e ducating the
public and e s tablis hme nt of ce ntral colle ction point whe re proce s s ing is e conomical throughout the ye ar. The guide line s
als o cove r as pe cts of availability, s us tainability, e conomic viability, fe e ds tock s pe cifications , dis tance and location of
biowas te fe e ds tocks .
Figure 17. Summary of Unit Eme rgy Value s (i.e . the inte ns ive e xpre s s ion of e me rgy) calculate d for the s ugar-rich
fe e ds tocks on the bas is of glucan conte nt, and re late d pe rce ntage re ne wability. Se gme nt le ngths are proportional to
UEV (in s e j/gglucan) and s lope s indicate the pe rce ntage re ne wability of the total e me rgy s upporting the production
s ys te m.
WP 8 Knowle dge -s haring, dis s e mination, and capacity building
Efficie nt communication among partne rs is a pre re quis ite for s mooth proje ct imple me ntation and it was unde rtake n by
the partne r WAITRO. The Biowas te 4SP place d high importance on communication e fficie ncy among partne rs , proje ct
vis ibility and information dis s e mination, e s pe cially among the Europe an and African s cie ntific communitie s as we ll as in
othe r re gions .
The obje ctive s of communication and dis s e mination we re to:
- dire ctly communicate with the re s e arche rs , main targe t groups and ke y actors , tailore d and orie nte d to the ir
re quire me nts
- s pre ad the knowle dge and e xpe rie nce de rive d from the BIOWASTE4SP proje ct to the s cie ntific and s mall and me dium
e nte rpris e (SME) communitie s of Europe and Africa as we ll as othe r re gions of the world.
The s e obje ctive s we re me t by:
- Unde rtaking a compre he ns ive re vie w of curre nt policie s and de ve lopme nt programs in African countrie s re lating to
biowas te conve rs ion and as s e s s challe nge s and opportunitie s .
P a ge 11 o f 16
Research
and Innovation
- Re inforcing Re s e arch Capacity by imple me nting Hands -on training for PhD s tude nts that have be e n vis iting diffe re nt
proje ct partne rs for training purpos e .
- Se tting up s take holde r platforms in the main targe t countrie s .
- Dis tribution of proje ct information through the WAITRO ne twork in the African Re gion and Middle Eas t North Africa
Re gion as we ll as proje ct partne rs ne twork.
- Imple me nting of a Proje ct We bpage and Intrane t s ite (works pace ).
- Se minars , works hops and confe re nce participation incl. the organiz ation of the proje cts final confe re nce .
- Ide ntification of pos s ibilitie s for de ve loping IPR to prote ct the fore ground ge ne rate d by the proje ct
- Publications
One major contribution to e mphas iz e was the final confe re nce organiz e d by partne r IAV and DTI in Morocco whe re all
re s ults we re pre s e nte d to a wide s cie ntific community of about 80 participants (s e e Figure 18). The confe re nce was
cove re d by Moroccan te le vis ion.
Figure 18: Pane l dis cus s ion at the BIOWASTE4SP confe re nce in Morocco, le d by Prof. Amal Ambe r from ARC Egypt
toge the r with all PhD s tude nts in the proje ct.
Pote ntial Impact:

The EUs Environme ntal Te chnologie s Action Plan (ETAP) has thre e ke y dime ns ions , name ly, 1) Ge tting from Re s e arch to
Marke t, 2) Improving marke t conditions for the uptake of e nvironme ntal te chnologie s , and 3) Acting Globally to addre s s
e nvironme ntal is s ue s . The latte r two of the s e we re dire ctly addre s s e d by the outcome of this proje ct.
Global partne rs hip:

The Biowas te 4SP proje ct contribute d to the 8th mille nnium de ve lopme nt goals (MDGs ), which s e e ks to De ve lop a
global partne rs hip for de ve lopme nt by promoting inte rnational re s e arch coope ration acros s thre e contine nts and
involving 10 countrie s and 16 ins titutions and s e ve ral s cie ntis ts . Scie ntific e xchange s and ne tworking e ve nts have
e nhance d long-te rm partne rs hips among the proje ct participants .
The proje ct brought toge the r s ix le ading re s e arch ce ntre s in Europe including De nmark, Swe de n, Italy and Turke y. The
participants include d re s e arch ce ntre s , unive rs itie s and SMEs ope rating in the biote chnological indus try with prove n
e xpe rtis e in the de ve lopme nt of e nz yme s and downs tre am proce s s ing of che micals and bioe ne rgy products . The
cons ortium als o include d four partne rs from African ACP countrie s (Ghana, Ke nya and South Africa) as we ll as thre e
partne rs from Me dite rrane an partne r countrie s (Egypt and Morocco). The proje ct involve d the participation of thre e
partne rs from Malays ia. The wide cove rage of the cons ortium has le d to a more e fficie nt de ve lopme nt of the
bioconve rs ion proce s s e s through a wide r s e arch for e nz yme s and microorganis ms and the us e of diffe re nt s ubs trate s
and ope rating in diffe re nt e nvironme nts .
The re s ults obtaine d from the e ach work package was s ubje cte d to s us tainability analys is in WP7 unde rtake n jointly by
UNISI, IVL and AICAD, which was to e ns ure that the te chnologie s de ve lope d in the proje ct we re adapte d for us e in
Africa. The thre e e s tablis he d crite ria and s pe cifications to be me t by the various proce s s e s in te rms of re s ource s
input, pote ntial e nvironme ntal impacts , s ocio-e conomic s uitability and long-te rm s us tainability. For ins tance , it was
re cognis e d that the us e of municipal biowas te , which fairly advance d in the EU17 countrie s , face s gre ate r challe nge s in
Africa due to colle ction and s torage proble ms e ve n though it may appe ar to pre s e nt gre ate r e nvironme ntal proble ms ,
e s pe cially in urban are as . He nce , the te chnologie s de ve lope d in this proje ct re lie d primarily on othe r nutrie nt rich
s ource s s uch as animal and human manure .
The inclus ion of partne rs from Malays ia and Turke y has e nhance d the proje ct partne rs ability to tailor the s olutions to
me e t the conditions of the African and Me dite rrane an partne r countrie s . Both Malays ia and Turke y have made gre at
s tride s in conve rs ion of the ir biowas te into us e ful products and s ome of the proce s s e s have re ache d
comme rcialis ation. The ir e xpe rie nce s could be e as ily adapte d for application in the African ACP countrie s whe re
e nvironme ntal conditions are s imilar to thos e in Malays ia and s imilarly for the Me dite rrane an countrie s whe re
conditions re s e mble thos e in Turke y.
Impact on climate and e nvironme nt:

The proje ct contribute d dire ctly to the 7th Goal of the Mille nnium De ve lopme nt Goals (MDGs ), which is to Ens ure
e nvironme ntal s us tainability. This s hould be done by among othe r things , re ducing de pe nde nce on fos s il fue ls
re s ource s , combating climate change and mitigating its e ffe cts through a s us tainable us e of available food and e ne rgy
re s ource s . This goal is e xtre me ly critical to poor countrie s whe re le s s capacity e xis ts to be able to combat the adve rs e
impacts of e nvironme ntal de gradation. In Africa, ove r 60% of agricultural production is los t through was te due to poor
infras tructure and food te chnologie s . The re s ults of this proje ct provide the me ans to turn this was te into we alth by
conve rting it into food, fe e d, che micals and e ne rgy s ource .
A s ignificant part of the goods and s e rvice s that are available in the marke t in 2020 are ye t unknown, but the main
driving force be hind the ir de ve lopme nt will be the de ployme nt of Ke y Enabling Te chnologie s (KETs ). The biomas s
indus try bas e d on ne w bioproce s s ing te chnologie s is one of thos e ide ntifie d as a KET for achie ving Europe s indus trial
compe titive ne s s .
The EU is in the fore front for promoting the achie ve me nt of s e ve ral global goals and targe ts on climatic and
e nvironme ntal is s ue s (Kyoto, Montre al, COPs , e tc.). Taking the le ad in de ve loping s us tainable te chnologie s that s upport
the biomas s indus try on a global s cale is thus a ke y EU policy impe rative . In orde r to attain a wide r global impact in
the s e e fforts the EU mus t work in clos e collaboration with actors acros s the whole globe including from ICPC countrie s .
He nce de voting the re s ults of this proje ct to achie ve the improve me nt of the manage me nt of biowas te in Africa ACP
P a ge 12 o f 16
Research
and Innovation
and Me dite rrane an countrie s is s e e n as working towards achie ving gre ate r EU global e nvironme ntal and de ve lopme nt
policie s .
Impact Africa and Socio-Economics :

The Biowas te 4SP proje ct cle arly had a gre at aware ne s s in the five participating African countrie s during the proje ct
time and hope fully will have impact als o in the future . As illus trate d by the following wordings from Prof. Has s an El Bari,
AMADES, Morocco: Thanks to the re s ults provide d by Biowas te 4SP, local gove rnme nt and farme rs in the five African
countrie s that has participate d in this proje ct, have today a cle ar ide a about the e ne rgy pote ntial of the ir bio-was te s and
the type s of appropriate te chnologie s which could be us e d to e xploit this pote ntial.
The collaborative nature of this proje ct allowe d the cons ortium to e xchange knowle dge and e xpe rie nce among the 15
proje ct partne rs from Europa, As ia and Africa. This e nable d a pos itive impact on the quality of s cie ntific re s ults of the
proje ct at laboratory s cale and pilot s cale .
In ge ne ral te rms , Biowas te 4SP proje ct has contribute d e fficie ntly to:
- Ide ntification and characte ris ation of African bio-was te for adde d-value compounds re cove ry.
- The trans fe re nce of good practice s in was te manage me nt and the opportunitie s of valoris ations (e ne rgy, bio-
che micals , and/or agronomic e .g. prote in) to the primary s e ctors in cons ortium countrie s , mainly to the five African
countrie s .
- The trans fe re nce of knowle dge , e xpe rtis e and manage me nt practice s of agricultural fe e ds tock from Europe an
countrie s to the African countrie s .
The proje ct als o contribute s to me e ting the 1s t Goal of the Mille nnium De ve lopme nt Goals conce rne d with Eradicating
e xtre me pove rty and hunge r. According to s ome Unite d Nations e s timate s , Africa is s till the contine nt mos t unlike ly to
e radicate hunge r in the firs t half of this ce ntury e ve n though the contine nt is known to pos s e s s ove r half of the
available global arable land. Much of this land re mains une xploite d due to poor s oils and low agricultural input.
Optimis ing the us e of bio-fe rtilis e rs and the nutrie nt rich compone nts from the biore fine ry proce s s has tre me ndous
pote ntial to improve mos t of the s e s oils and incre as e agricultural output. This in turn s hould le ad to improve d food
s e curity and highe r income s for poor farme rs . The re s ults obtaine d by many Latin Ame rican and Southe as t As ian
countrie s through utiliz ing biote chnology to improve agricultural output provide be s t practice s for African countrie s to
e mulate . This proje ct s hare d s ome of the e xpe rie nce s gaine d from the production of biofe rtilis e r to improve agricultural
output in Malays ia and Turke y.
African countrie s lack appropriate policie s and s trate gie s to e ns ure prope r e nvironme ntal manage me nt. Eve n though
mos t countrie s have e nvironme ntal prote ction age ncie s (EPAs ), the y lack the corre s ponding le gis lative e xpe rtis e to
e nforce good manage me nt practice s . One re as on for this is due to the lack of a s cie nce -bas e d analys is of
e nvironme ntal is s ue s . A s ys te matic colle ction and analys is of data on was te and was te dis pos al is lacking to guide
policy-making. This proje ct contribute d to s olving this proble m by providing bas e line data on the characte ris tics of was te
and how the s e could be s t be utiliz e d. The catalogue de ve lope d from the re s ults of WP1 and WP2, conve rs ion
te chnologie s from WP3, WP4, WP5 and WP6, as we ll as the s trate gy guide line s de ve lope d in WP7 all contribute d to
achie ving this goal.
The as s umption for the achie ve me nt of the impacts of the proje ct is that the de ve lopme nt in the bioproce s s ing
te chnology de ve lope d from WP3, WP4, WP5 and WP6 we re s us taine d in s pite of difficultie s of indus try making ne w
inve s tme nts s uitable for the us e of biowas te as a ne w fe e ds tock. Only e as y-to-handle me thods we re us e d throughout
the proje ct to e ns ure that the te chnological me thods could all be imple me nte d in de ve loping countrie s .
The dominance of the pe troche mical indus try s till de te rmining inve s tme nt patte rns in indus try, e s pe cially with ne w
dis cove rie s of fos s il re s e rve s in s e ve ral African and Me dite rrane an countrie s has to be counte re d by de libe rate
ince ntive s to as s is t the biomas s indus try to re main compe titive , as is the cas e in many EU countrie s today. This can be
achie ve d through various gove rnme ntal s che me s including tax ince ntive s , national financial as s is tance programs
targe ting SMEs in the s e ctor and additional s upport to re s e arch ce ntre s for te chnology de ve lopme nt and trans fe r.
Anothe r as s umption is that gre ate r atte ntion will be give n, at pan-African le ve l, to as s is ting municipalitie s , re gions and
national gove rnme nts in making more s us taine d e fforts in promoting gre e n growth, which is firmly anchore d in
re cycling and the utiliz ation of biowas te . This is more s o as the re are curre ntly no s tringe nt le gis lation towards
e nforcing prope r e nvironme ntal s tandards as obtains in the EU through its various dire ctive s that s upport the us e of
biowas te (e .g., Was te dis pos al dire ctive , landfill, Gre e nhous e gas e mis s ions dire ctive ), e tc.
Impact Europe :
The proje ct re s ults are of inte re s t at the Europe an le ve l as the y re s pond to ke y EU s trate gie s on the e conomy and the
e nvironme nt. Ke y among the s e is the Le ad Marke t in Bio-bas e d Products de rive d from the Aho Re port on "Cre ating an
Innovative Europe ". The proje ct has contribute d with improve d knowle dge on us e of various s ubs trate s from the
agricultural food s e ctor as we ll as from non-Europe an s ource s for the production of value -adde d products that are of
importance in Europe . Europe is the worlds le ading importe r of food raw mate rials from Africa and knowing the de taile d
s cie ntific characte ris tics of the was te from this s ource is important to the Europe an biowas te indus try.
During the proje ct time , the re has be e n a lot of atte ntion to food los s in De nmark and Europe , which re fle ct a ne w
te nde ncy and could re fle ct s ome impact from the dis s e mination of the proje ct to the public. To e xample , the proje cts
re s ults of the los s e s in the food production chain we re pre s e nte d in Danis h te le vis ion and in the Parliame nt Magaz ine .
The proble ms with food los s e s and cons e que ntly ne gative e ffe cts to the climate has pre s e nte d many time s in Danis h
te le vis ion during the las t two ye ars and the re s e e ms to be a public aware ne s s and conce rn about this is s ue . As a
follow-up to this , s ome s upe rmarke ts made campaigns about how to us e out-date food products and in orde r to limit
food los s , mos t s upe rmarke ts have now introduce d low price s he lte rs for out-date food products .
Dis s e mination:
P a ge 13 o f 16
Research
and Innovation
Dis s e mination of proje ct re s ults to a broad audie nce have be e n a ke y-e le me nt in Biowas te 4SP proje ct. Dis s e mination
has be e n made in various forms of activitie s
The dis s e mination activitie s compris e d:
- Public proje ct we bs ite (www.biowas te 4s p.e u)
- Proje ct confe re nce
- 14 pe e r re vie we d s cie ntific article s (5 publis he d, 9 more in proce s s )
- Confe re nce pre s e ntations and pos te rs
- National s take holde r platforms
- Popular article s
- Pre s s re le as e s
- Ne ws le tte rs
- Public re ports incl. public de live rable s
- Vide os
Ove rall aim of the dis s e mination activitie s have be e n to e nlarge the impact of the proje ct and attract as many diffe re nt
s take holde rs as pos s ible .
Stake holde r Engage me nt
Ghana:
Stake holde r e ngage me nt on the national le ve l has be e n fruitful. Minis try of food and Agricultural (MoFA), Ene rgy
Commis s ion (EC), Council for Scie ntific and Indus trial Re s e arch/ Animal Re s e arch Ins titute (CSIR-ARI) and Minis try of
Environme nt Scie nce , Te chnology and Innovation (MESTI) are the ke y s take holde rs for collaboration.
Curre ntly, Council for Scie ntific and Indus trial Re s e arch/ Ins titute of Indus trial Re s e arch (CSIR-IIR) (proje ct de s igne rs and
cons ultants ), Cros s Borde r Logis tics Company Limite d (proje ct contractors ), Vulpe c Engine e ring Limite d (s upporting
cons ultants and MESTI are collaborating to de s ign and cons truct Anae robic Bio-Re actors (ABRs ) for the production of
biogas from e xcre ta at s e nior high s chool boarding hous e s in Ghana with an initial targe t of 30 ARBs at s e le cte d s chools
in thre e adjace nt re gions ; Gre ate r Accra, Ce ntral and Eas te rn re gions . It is planne d to conve rt the biogas produce d into
e le ctricity for us e in the s chools the re by re ducing de pe nde ncy of the s e s chools on the national grid for e le ctricity. From
May to Se pte mbe r, 2015 up to te n (10) ABRs we re cons tructe d at s e ve n (7) s chools in the Gre ate r Accra re gion.
Bas e d on the Biowas te 4SP re s ults , CSIR-IIR is putting up propos als in collaboration with MoFA and CSIR-ARI to formulate
poultry fe e d from cas s ava re s idue us ing Solid State Fe rme ntation (SSF) for prote in e nrichme nt us ing Trichode rma
ps e udokoningii (ATCC 26801). The SSF proce s s in the lab has be e n conducte d on the Biowas te 4SP Proje ct. The re s ults
we re e ncouraging and a journal article was publis he d. Whe n the propos al is finalis e d, the formulation will be done by
CSIR-IIR and the trial conducte d by CSIR-ARI with s upport from MoFA. Bas e d on the outcome of the fie ld trial, the quality
of the fe e d will furthe r be e nhance d by lys ine addition. This part of the work will be done in collaboration with DTI and
DTU for te chnology e nhance me nt.
Egypt:
The handling and dis pos al of was te is an important topic in Egypt. A s ignificant portion of todays was te is dis pos e d into
canals , rive rs , s tre e ts or ope n are as without any tre atme nt or pre ve ntive me as ure s . This caus e s wate r, s oil and air
pollution and s poils the lands cape . It als o pos e s a s e rious ris k to public and animal he alth and ne gative ly impacts the
e conomy, e s pe cially the touris m s e ctor. The public s e ctor and private companie s are be coming incre as ingly aware of
this proble m and can als o s e e the bus ine s s pote ntial be hind it. The Agricultural Re s e arch Ce nte r (ARC) has promote d
the proje ct within Egypt and gathe re d a group of s take holde rs from the public s e ctor, private companie s and acade mic
ins titutions that have be e n following the progre s s and re s ults of the Biowas te 4SP proje ct. ARC has a broad ne twork
within the Egyptian public, private and acade mic s e ctor and s e rve d as a hub to promote the proje ct to diffe re nt
s take holde rs . Ke y s take holde rs have be e n private s e ctor companie s like ECARU - Solid was te re cycling, El Gohary -
Indus trial and agricultural de ve lopme nt and NGO partne r Prote ct the e nvironme nt from pollution Ce ntral As s ociation
Morocco:
The re s ults of this proje ct have a pos itive impact on the priority s e ctors of the Kingdom of Morocco. Inde e d this proje ct
pe rfe ctly cons is te nt with the prioritie s of the Gove rnme nt of Morocco in the de ve lopme nt of te chnologie s re late d to
re ne wable e ne rgie s as provide d by law 13-09. By participating in this proje ct, the partne rs from Morocco has once again
confirme d its place in the African contine nt as a quality re s e arch ins titute . The Biowas te 4Sp proje ct was an opportunity
to de ve lop ne w re lations hips with othe r re s e arch ins titute s in Africa, As ia and Europe .
In addition, the proje ct was a gre at opportunity to work with we ll-re pute d inte rnational ins titutions and the re is a good
chance to collaborate with in s e ve ral s cie ntific proje cts in the future . Furthe rmore , its de mons tration activitie s had
provide d a us e ful information on ne w te chnology conce pts that make re cycling of African bio-was te e conomical
s us tainable and contribute to re ducing e nvironme ntal impact. The re s ults of this proje ct on the production of biogas by
co-dige s tion (mixture of municipal and agricultural was te ) has he lpe d us to gain a cle ar vis ion on pos s ible te rritorial
approach about the de ve lopme nt of biomas s -was te re cove ry proje cts in Africa bas e d on the optimiz ation of the
production of biogas by ade quate mixing of the diffe re nt type s of organic s ubs trate s (s cale e conomy e ffe cts ). The
s take holde rs invite d by the IAV have fulfille d the ir commitme nt and have participate d in dis s e mination of the proje ct
re s ults . The highly inte re s ting re s ults of this proje ct in te rms of biowas te will contribute undoubte dly to improve the
curre nt was te manage me nt e s pe cially with the pre s e nce of the Minis try of Environme nt at the dis s e mination
confe re nce .
Ke nya:
The Ke nyan s take holde r platform compris e s of a numbe r of private companie s from the fruit and ve ge table proce s s ing
P a ge 14 o f 16
Research
and Innovation
indus try s uch as De lmonte K Ltds , Njoro Canne rs and Mumias Sugar, public bodie s s uch as Nairobi City Council and
Kiambu County Gove rnme nt and R&D ins titutions s uch as Unive rs ity of Nairobi (UoN) and Ke nya Indus trial Re s e arch &
De ve lopme nt Ins titute (KIRDI). The indus trial s take holde rs have vas t amount of unutiliz e d s ide s tre ams s uch as pulps
from juice and s ugar production and re s idue s from plantations and have be e n ve ry inte re s te d in the proje ct re s ults .
The Ke nyan proje ct partne r AICAD (African Ins titute for Capacity De ve lopme nt) has be e n a ve ry active promote r of the
proje ct and gathe re d proje ct s take holde rs from in Ke nya, Tanz ania and Uganda.
Re public of South Africa:

South African s take holde rs compris e s tart-up companie s in the are a of was te conve rs ion s uch as Biowas te
Te chnologie s and Ibe rt - Conve rting Bio was te into gre e n Ene rgy and public bodie s s uch as the De partme nt of
Scie nce & Te chnology. Both South African partne rs CSIR and Ethe kwini municipality have promote d the proje ct to the ir
ne tworks and re cruite d s take holde rs from private and public s e ctor.
Education
Re s e arch Capacitie s in Africa have be e n re inforce d in multiple ways through the BIOWASTE4SP proje ct. The proje ct
made it pos s ible to train PhD s tude nts and contribute d to capacity building in participating African countrie s . The s e PhD
s tude nts with the ir re s pe ctive advis ors will purs ue the mome ntum cre ate d by the proje ct and will apply to ne w
collaborative re s e arch calls , train ne w human re s ource s , de ve lop re s e arch capabilitie s , collaborate with profe s s ionals
and s take holde rs (s uch Ele phant Ve rt in Morocco) to ge t more adde d-value products from biowas te . Such products
include bio fe rtiliz e rs and biofue ls that will he lp re duce de pe nde nce on e ne rgy imports and re late d cos ts and will
prote ct e nvironme nt and incre as e re s ilie nce to climate change s in African countrie s .
Four PhD s tude nts , two Pos t Docs and a mas te r s tude nt from the unive rs itie s in Africa (Morocco, Ghana, Egypt and
South Africa), we re e ducate d and give n the opportunity to le arn ne w laboratory te chnique s at training s e s s ions he ld at
the Danis h Te chnological Ins titute (DTI) and at othe r Europe an Ins titutions . The s e s tude nts are e xpe cte d to apply the
ne wly acquire d knowle dge at the re s pe ctive organis ations in the ir home countrie s . A training s e s s ion on bio-fe rtiliz e r
production was de ve lope d by partne r MYAGRI Malays ia. The trial of this conce pt was te s te d at Ethe kwini Municipality
(ETM) in South Africa. The proje cts PhD s tude nts pre s e nte d the ir re s e arch re s ults als o at the proje ct final confe re nce
(Figure 19).
- FIGURE 19 (attachme nt)
Figure 19. PhD s tude nts pre s e nting the ir s cie ntific work achie ve d in the Biowas te 4SP proje ct, le ft: Yas s ine El Joute from
AMADES; middle : Richard Bayits e from CSIR-Ghana; right: Fabriz io Saladini from UNISI
Ge nde rs as pe cts
The Biowas te 4SP proje ct has made a s ucce s s ful e ffort to achie ve a ge nde r balance in the workforce . The te n work
package le ade rs we re five woman and five me n, and the total workforce in the proje ct was 60% me n and 40% woman.
The proje ct manage me nt te am cons is te d of two wome n and two me n.
Lis t of We bs ite s :
The BIOWASTE4SP proje ct we bs ite (www.biowas te 4s p.e u) was e s tablis he d at the be ginning of the proje ct by partne r
WAITRO. The s ite was we ll-de s igne d and us e r-frie ndly and has s e rve d the ne e ds of all us e r groups . It has re gularly
be e n update d with proje ct ne ws and e ve nts as we ll as whe n ne w de live rable s we re accomplis he d and with publications
and confe re nce pre s e ntations .
The Cons ortium als o e s tablis he d an Online Works pace us e d for proje ct manage me nt purpos e s . The Online Works pace
was pas s word-prote cte d and has be e n us e d for s toring all important proje ct docume nts , e s s e ntial Europe an Union
guide line s , proje ct s che dule s and re le vant lite rature . The Works pace has be e n acce s s ible to partne rs as part of the ir
proje ct toolbox. An online forum for dis cus s ion among proje ct partne rs was als o available in the Online Works pace .
Proje ct partne rs and re le vant contact de tails :
1 Danis h Te chnological Ins titute , De nmark: Prof. Anne -Be linda Bje rre anbj@dti.dk
2 Swe dis h Environme ntal Re s e arch Ins titute , Swe de n: Dr. Mathias Gus tavs s on mathias .gus tavs s on@ivl.s e
3 TBITAK Marmara Re s e arch Ce nte r, Turke y: Dr. Gulde m Utkan gulde m.utkan@tubitak.gov.tr
4 SIRIM Be rhad, Malays ia: Dr. Ahmad Haz ri Bin Ab. Ras hid ahaz ri@s irim.my
5 Council for Scie ntific and Indus trial Re s e arch Ins titute of Indus trial Re s e arch (CSIR-IIR),Ghana: Dr. Gabrie l Nii Larye a
gabniilar@gmail.com
6 Council for Scie ntific and Indus trial Re s e arch, South Africa: Dr. Konani (Koni) Ras hamus e JRas hamus e @cs ir.co.z a
7 Agricultural Re s e arch Ce ntre , Egypt: Prof Dr. Amal Sabe r amals abe r@yahoo.com
8 Unive rs ity of Sie na, Italy: Prof. Simone Bas tianoni bas tianoni@unis i.it
9 Has s an II Ins titute of Agronomy and Ve te rinary Me dicine , Morocco: Prof Dr. El Hous s ine Bartali bartali.h@gmail.com
10 Danis h Te chnical Unive rs ity, De nmark: Prof Pe te r Ruhdal Je ns e n prj@bio.dtu.dk
11 Ethe kwini Municipality, South Africa: Mr. John Parkin John.Parkin@durban.gov.z a
12 Myagri Group of Companie s , Malays ia: Ms . Salwa Md Has him s alwa.myagri@gmail.com
13 Biove lop AB Biove lop has le ft cons ortium afte r M18 and the re is no contact available
14 Moroccan As s ociation for Solid Was te , Morocco: Prof. Has s an El Bari AMADES_morocco@yahoo.fr
15 African Ins titute for Capacity De ve lopme nt, Ke nya: Prof Andre w Gidamis gidamis @aicad.or.ke
P a ge 15 o f 16
Research
and Innovation
16 World As s ociation of Indus trial and Te chnological Re s e arch, Malays ia: Dr. Rohani Has him rohanih@s irim.my
Proje ct logo
To cre ate uniformity in communication a logo was de ve lope d in the be ginning of the proje ct with the African contine nt
s hown in gre e n and with a banne r acros s with the proje ct title (Figure 20). It has be e n us e d throughout the proje ct, e .g.
in re ports , powe r point pre s e ntations , pos te rs or any kind of dis s e mination acitivitys uch as this one (top right corne r)
and by all partne rs to e ns ure proje ct ide ntification ins ide as we ll as outs ide the proje ct.
Figure 20: Proje ct logo, Biowas te 4SP (Biowas te for Sus tainable Products )
Related info rmatio n
Result In Brief A be tte r us e for food was te
Document s and final1-publis hable -s ummary-for-final-re port_biowas te 4s p_re vis e d-

24fe b2016.pdf
Publicat ions
Co ntact
Pe te r Daugbje rg Je ns e n, (Se ction Le ade r)

Te l.: +4572201340
Fax: +4572201919
E-mail
Subjects
Scie ntific Re s e arch
Information s ource : SESAM

Last updat ed o n 2016-05-13
Ret rieved o n 2017-03-23
Permalink: http://cordis .e uropa.e u/re s ult/rcn/182250_e n.html

Europe an Union, 2017
P a ge 16 o f 16
Research
and Innovation

BIOWAST E4SP Report Summary

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Originaltitel

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

BIOWAST E4SP Report Summary

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

BIOWAST E4SP Report Summary

Proje ct ID: 312111

The proje ct was bas e d on the pre mis e s that:

The ke y re s ults of the proje ct we re :

Proje ct Conte xt and Obje ctive s :

Spe cifically, the s e include the biowas te conte nt of:

- FIGURE 1 (attachme nt) -

Figure 1. Strate gy for imple me ntation of the S&T obje ctive s

- FIGURE 2 (attache me nt) -

Figure 2. Biore fine ry of s ugar and nutrie nt rich fe e ds tock

- FIGURE 3 (attachme nt) -

- FIGURE 4 (attachme nt) -

- FIGURE 5 (attachme nt) -

Ide ntifie d s ugar rich fe e ds tock:

Table 1. Sugar rich biomas s fe e ds tock

- TABLE 1 (attachme nt) -

Morocco: Five top mate rials containing s ugar de te cte d as follow:

WP 2 Ide ntification and characte riz ation of nutrie nt bas e d biowas te

- TABLE 2 (attachme nt) -

WP 3 Pre tre atme nt and de ve lopme nt of a s ugar-bas e d platform

We t-milling pre tre atme nt:

Enz ymatic hydrolys is :

- FIGURE 6 (attachme nt) -

Pilot s cale trials :

Fe rme ntation of biowas te to value -adde d products :

- FIGURE 7 (attachme nt) -

Lab-s cale anae robic dige s tion:

Pilot s cale trials :

- FIGURE 8 (attachme nt) -

Figure 8. Pilot s cale biogas re actor in South Africa

WP 6 Bio-fe rtiliz e r production

Compos ting of biowas te s :

- FIGURE 9 (attachme nt) -

Producing bio-organic fe rtiliz e r in South Africa:

- FIGURE 10 (attachme nt)

- FIGURE 11 (attachme nt) -

Bio-organic fe rtiliz e r trials :

- FIGURE 12 (attachme nt) -

- FIGURE 13 (attachme nt) -

Figure 13. Trial on pe anut

- FIGURE 14 (attachme nt) -

- FIGURE 15 (attachme nt) -

WP 7 Sus tainability s tudie s

- FIGURE 16 (attachme nt) -

- FIGURE 17 (attachme nt) -

WP 8 Knowle dge -s haring, dis s e mination, and capacity building

- FIGURE 18 (attachme nt) -

Pote ntial Impact:

Global partne rs hip:

Impact on climate and e nvironme nt:

Impact Africa and Socio-Economics :

Stake holde r Engage me nt

Re public of South Africa:

- FIGURE 19 (attachme nt)

Proje ct partne rs and re le vant contact de tails :

- FIGURE 20 (attachme nt) -

Related info rmatio n

Result In Brief A be tte r us e for food was te

Document s and final1-publis hable -s ummary-for-final-re port_biowas te 4s p_re vis e d-

Pe te r Daugbje rg Je ns e n, (Se ction Le ade r)

Scie ntific Re s e arch

Information s ource : SESAM

Permalink: http://cordis .e uropa.e u/re s ult/rcn/182250_e n.html