New technologies for waste reduction and recovery in perishable products
06 | 02 | 2025
N0WASTE, the project for the sustainability of the agri-food sector in which Ceit participates, has been successfully concluded, achieving the development of technologies capable of obtaining high-value biomethane from waste generated in the potato supply chain, as well as optimizing the sealing of packaging with new plastic solutions.
TheN0Waste project has focused on the research and development of new technologies for the reduction and valorization of fresh and perishable product waste, addressing objectives that respond to two core topic in the food value chain: on the one hand, the minimization of food waste; on the other hand, the valorization of by-products generated in the processes of production, transformation and distribution of food through the production of synthetic methane, thus contributing to a circular Economics model .
The initiative is part of the RIS3 Euskadi Smart specialization Strategy and the Euskadi 2030 Science, Technology and Innovation Plan, which is supported by the SPRIgroup through the Hazitek program. Its development has involved a heterogeneous consortium of Basque companies and organizations from different sectors.
This project has been led by ONDOAN, with the participation of EROSKI and Udapa and has counted with the participation of technology and capital goods companies such as Lointek, Orloga, Izertis, SEGULA TECHNOLOGIES, Tecnipesa and Plastigaur; as well as with the participation of three agents of the Basque Science, Technology and Innovation network : BASQUE FOOD CLUSTER, Ceit and Tecnalia and the partnership of BANTEC for the achievement and management of the project with the Basque Government. The results of the project were presented in an online workshop with the participation of the heads of all the participating entities. The project consortium presented the various lines of research undertaken to respond to the two main objectives of the project: the reduction of waste generated and its energy recovery. All this, from a global vision of the food chain, starting with new photonic and artificial vision technologies for the early detection of bruises and defects in the potato at the point of origin, and including traceability control, product life cycle analysis and the application of sensors in the transformation and distribution processes.
Another line of research successfully addressed was the study of technological alternatives to improve the sealing of containers, achieving an optimum result that preserves the quality and extends the shelf life of the packaged products. Among the most outstanding conclusions, new 100% recyclable monomaterial plastic films were developed for flexible packaging, designed to meet the thermal specifications required in industrial processes and ensuring the sustainability of the packaging.
Finally, research has been carried out on the valorization of organic by-products through a combination of advanced processes (dark fermentation, biomethanization) to obtain biogas, from which, by means of a multichannel catalytic reactor, it has been possible to obtain high-value synthetic natural gas (biomethane) on a laboratory scale.
The project has also allowed the creation of a mathematical tool to explore the technical and economic feasibility of this solution in different scenarios with different types of organic by-products and geographical locations. This information can be decisive in the decision making process on the implementation of biomethanization plants for the evaluation waste from the agricultural sector.
