Recovery of marine discards in high added value biopolymers

Alternatives will be developed to avoid the dumping and accumulation of waste from fishing activities in marine ecosystems. With the Circular Economy perspective, discards and fishing by-products will be recovered in high added value polymeric materials. Optimised recovery processes will be developed, possible applications for the new materials will be proposed and the environmental impact will be quantified using the life cycle analysis method to re-design the processes. The economic feasibility of the recovery of biopolymers from marine sources will be evaluated. The results will be contrasted with interested stakeholders and their socialisation.

Applicability/impact of the results:
The project will address the problem associated with the accumulation of naturally occurring marine by-products and waste from fishing activities. From a Circular Economy and Bioeconomy perspective, a series of scientific-technical, economic and social challenges will be addressed (making society aware using a more sustainable development model). This will be accompanied by environmental impact metrics that enable more sustainable processes to be designed. Specific applications will be sought to develop proof-of-concept and showcase the recovery potential. The information obtained will be used to establish protocols with optimum conditions for marine biopolymers, as well as their physical-mechanical characteristics. This will allow for technology transfer to the industrial sector in the Basque Country, where marine resources play a key role.