Work

VALUABLE Process design for a novel fungal biomass valorisation approach

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The European Union is transitioning towards a circular and low-carbon economy, emphasizing re-newable biological resources. This study explores the production of high-value compounds like chitosan from fungal biomass and presents a potential design for a sustainable biorefinery pro-cess, contributing to the diversification and optimisation of biomass feedstock utilisation. The pro-cess simulation includes dedicated sub-models for each unit operation, based on laboratory data and integrated into a comprehensive process flow sheet using COCO-COFE. The productivity of the simulated plant results in 2 500 tons of triglyceride oils and 1 800 tons of chitosan that can be produced from 15 000 tons of Aspergillus niger. On-site acetic acid production meets 45% of the total plant's demand, significantly reducing the amount of additional acetic acid to be purchased as raw material. Additionally, large-scale enzyme consumption and the substantial heat demand for biomass processing are key economic and environmental factors that need to be central in successful process design.

Source: Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18231239

Author: SINTEF

Language: English

Topic: Biofuel production and bioconversion

Subfield: Biomedical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Responsible consumption and production, Affordable and clean energy

Open Access status: green

Funder: European Commission

Award: VALorisarion of fUngAl Biomass using noveL Enzymatic technology