Fish meal and soy protein are replaced by sustainable ingredients in the project FISK!

The salmon farming industry is one of the sectors that intends to increase its production capacity in the coming years, but if the farmed fish is fed with fish meal and soy protein, growth both nationally and globally will not be sustainable. Therefore, new protein sources need to be developed and single cell proteins (SCP), in this case a fungus, produced from forest-based sugars, are an example. The circle closes and becomes sustainable as the raw material consists of residual products, such as branches, tops and other side streams that have not been used in a similar way before.

Double the biomass concentration from the original strain

During the project, RISE Processum has succeeded in developing a method for obtaining an increased biomass concentration of the fungus when it is produced in bioreactors. The new method has succeeded in doubling the biomass concentration compared to the original fungus.

- We have developed an effective method for controlling the morphology of the fungus, which has had a great effect on how high a biomass concentration we can achieve in production, which in turn is important for the overall process economy. It is interesting that small changes in a microorganism can have major positive consequences for a large-scale process, says Björn Alriksson, Group Manager Biotechnology Processum.

Processum has also performed most of the dewatering and washing experiments on a pilot scale in a new filter press with good results with regard to purity and dry content.

During the past year, various drying techniques have also been evaluated in collaboration with various suppliers. One of the technologies proved to work very well, which has led to Processum investing in such a dryer and installing it in the new pilot hall to be built in Örnsköldsvik, a direct effect of the FISK project. Going forward in the project, techno-economic analyzes await for how the process would work in a full-scale factory.

Our partners at RISE PFI have characterized GROT (Branches and tops) from fir and birch on carbohydrates, lignin, extractives and ash. Furthermore, PFI optimizes the pretreatment of GROT with a strong acid process to maximize sugar yield and minimize the concentrations of inhibitors.