Anecoop signs up to Pro-Enrich waste project for citrus waste

Citrus production and consumption often involves a great deal of waste and environmental damage, but this may soon be a thing of the past! Spanish second-tier cooperative Anecoop has joined a European project Pro-Enrich to find new uses for citrus waste. The Pro-Enrich initiative aims to create a new business model for extracting high-value components from citrus residues, as well as from waste of tomatoes, olives and rapeseed. This will involve developing a flexible biorefinery process for citrus waste that will help fulfil the growing global demand for alternative sources of protein and phenolic product streams.

Anecoop is the largest generator of biomass residues from citrus and is joined in the project by another Spanish company, citrus refinery Natac Biotech. The project is funded by the Bio-Biobased Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) within the framework of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.