Møre og Romsdal is a world-leading region and a central hub for manufacturing of high-quality omega-3 products derived from marine resources. Together with producers in other regions, Norway is among the top producers of omega-3 globally, with more than 600 people engaged in the production of the purest omega-3.
The demand for omega-3 products is increasing, and in 2024 the market size reached 24 billion NOK, with an expected annual growth rate of approximately 8 %. However, considerable fluctuations in catch volumes have led to a significant increase in the price of raw material. This has sparked an interest among omega-3 producers to increase raw material utilization and explore alternative uses and increased profitability of the side streams generated during production.
During the manufacturing process of omega-3 products, side streams such as crude glycerol, urea fatty fraction and spent bleaching earth arise. While some side streams are unsuitable for human consumption, others may be exploited after purification or processing.
Some are considered waste, resulting in additional costs related to waste management and transportation. This contributes to a high carbon footprint and significant expenses for the producers. The ReCirc4Future project aims to explore novel exploitation of these side streams and to investigate alternative processing steps and potential applications.
One of the project’s main objectives is to develop novel purification techniques for glycerol. If successful, purified side streams could be reused internally by the industry, replacing purchased materials. In addition to reuse, the project will also assess the potential of purified side streams as high-end ingredients for alternative applications such as pharma, feed or food.
A promising biotechnological approach to utilize carbon- and nitrogen-rich sources, such as crude glycerol and urea fatty fraction, is microbial fermentation. Microalgae have a unique ability to metabolize inorganic and organic substrates and are therefore highly effective for bioremediation and biomass production.
The project will explore microbial fermentation approaches to develop bio-based methods that could open the door to novel applications. The side streams will support microbial growth to produce high-value lipids for health and pharmaceutical applications.
Header image: Crude glycerol (left) and purified glycerol (right). Photo: SINTEF/Robert Wolff.