Smart Manufacturing of AntioxidantS from TEchnological Recovery and valorization of Biomasses

Olive mill wastewater (OMWW) and exhausted coffee (EC) are abundant valuable resources rich in natural highly antioxidant polyphenols, which find wide use in cosmetic and nutraceutical industries. Such waste represents a problem for the producers and the community. In fact, OMWW are typically sent to disposal as waste or used for soil irrigation and represent a cost for olive oil producers and a problem for the environment, because of the phytotoxicity and scarce biodegradability of the polyphenols. Exhausted coffee is presently disposed in the urban waste, but capsules, whose consumption has been strongly increasing, has generated a problem in terms of generation of am new kind of waste.

INNOVATION

In this context, MASTER B project aims at promoting the valorization of such waste by developing the manufacturing processes of the concentrated polyphenol extracts, deriving from OMWW and exhausted coffee. The innovative elements of MASTER B are the following:

• Execute the in silico modelling of the pharmacological profile of the polyphenolic extract and of their extraction processes
• Develop an innovative apparatus for separating exhausted coffee from their capsules, aiming at promoting also the recovery of such envelope
• Develop two specific manufacturing processes for the extraction and recovery of the natural polyphenols, comprising of a smart process control system with a high degree of automation, based also on specific sensors for the quantification of the polyphenols
• Develop a web app for the management of the waste collection and its transformation into valuable products, in order to allow a complete traceability of the whole supply chain, from the raw materials to the end products

PARTNERSHIP

TECHA (Coordinator): Laboratori ARCHA spin-off focused on the industrialization and manufacturing of chemicals and innovative technologies in applied chemistry fields, in MASTER B deals with the optimization of the polyphenol extraction processes on pilot scale

P&I: Engineering company working in industrial and environmental sectors, in MASTER B deals with the design of the pilot equipment for the production of the polyphenol extracts

VALERI GINO: Engineering company expert in electrical devices and industrial automation, in MASTER B deals with the production of the pilot equipment for the production of the polyphenol extracts, including of the real-time sensing system and the process control automation

ALIDANS: Consulting company and supplier of raw materials for the cosmetic and nutraceutical sectors, in MASTER B deals the in silico modelling activities, the development and validation of cosmetic and nutraceutical products

COOPERATIVA SOCIALE GIOVANILE del LAVORO: Service company in environmental & plant nursery sector, in MASTER B deals with the development of OMWW the supply chain and the reuse of waste after polyphenol extraction as fertilizers in plant nursery

CAFFE’ TOSCANO: Coffee producer, in MASTER B deals with the development of the equipment for separating exhausted coffee from capsules and development of exhausted coffee the supply chain

3F CONSULTING: ICT company, in MASTER B deals with the development of the web app for the management of the waste supply chain

Dr. MICHELE D’ATTOMA: Expert consultant in waste management practices and legislation, in MASTER B will support the partners in terms of authorization procedure to collect OMWW and EC for their processing into new products

Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa (DCCI-UNIPI): Expert in the development of polyphenol extraction processes and their analytical characterization, in MASTER B deals with of the development of polyphenol extraction processes on lab scale

Laboratori ARCHA srl (subcontractor): R&D and analysis laboratory, in MASTER B deals with the development of the sensor for detecting polyphenols and of their enrichment process in OMWW

Drs. BARBARA POLITI (subcontractor): Expert consultant in patent practices, in MASTER B deals with the competitive environment context analysis, freedom to operate assessment for the solution developed by CAFFE’ TOSCANO and of the filling of potential patents of utility models