Redwine project: increasing microalgae biomass feedstock by valorising wine gaseous and liquid residues

Abstract

Global warming due to greenhouse gases (GHG) has become a serious worldwide concern. The new EU Green Deal aims to achieve GHG emissions reduction by at least 55% by 2030 and a climate neutral EU economy by 2050. The deal strongly encourages GHG reducing measures at local, national and European levels. The REDWine project will demonstrate the technical, economic and environmental feasibility of reducing by, at least, 31% of the CO2 eq. emissions produced in the winery industry value chain by utilizing biogenic fermentation CO2 for microalgae biomass production.

REDWine project, funded by BBI-JU, has a Living Lab where it will be captured 2 ton of fermentation off-gas/year (90% of total CO2 produced in the fermenter) and 28 m3 of liquid effluent (100% of the liquid effluent generated during fermenter washing) to produce 1 ton (dry weight) of Chlorella biomass/year. This biomass is then processed under a downstream extraction process to obtain added-value extracts and applied in food, cosmetic and agricultural end-products and to generate a new EcoWine. REDWine is focused on the recovery of off-gas from a 20.000L fermenter of red wine production existing in Adega Cooperativa de Palmela (ACP, located in Palmela, Portugal).

REDWine’s microalgae were tested since 2022 with 4 purposes in vineyard, improve flowering stages, contribute to high temperature resistance, biofungicide against downy mildew and increasing in nitrogen content in ripening to help fermentation and improve aromatic compoundsand, and 2 on winemaking, clarificant or anti-oxidant. New trials need to be done, but so far results have showned a light activity on raw algae. Next steps will lead us to use extracts where some literature have interesting results.

The project has already developed food solutions with Chlorella Vulgaris and it’s expected to have its first cosmetics prototypes by march 2025.