Dipartimento di Chimica

Pushing the frontier of circular agriculture by converting residues into novel economic, social and environmental opportunities

The main objective of the AgriLoop project is to extend the agricultural production value of two major players of the global bioeconomy: EU and China. This will be realized through the development of bioconversion processes integrated in a cascading biorefinery approach to convert a range of agri-residues (from e.g.: tomato, soy, straw, potato, brewery, oil, winery, and livestock sectors) into plant and microbial proteins, polyesters and other bio-based chemicals to be used for food, feed, health and materials applications, especially by the farming sector.

In this context, the main activities of Sapienza will be focused on the production, extraction, and characterization of biopolymers (i.e., polyhydroxyalkanoates) with mixed microbial cultures as well as on the study of the fate of contaminants from the feedstock to the final products.