In this project, a new consortium has investigated and optimized the proposed value chain from Step 1. Also, attempts to texturize the fungi biomass into a sensory relevant foodstuff, using extrusion technology, has been attempted. Finally, a potential future implementation of the value chain was discussed within the consortium.
It was concluded that there is about 3600 ton DM/year available fiber sludge at Iggesund, thus enough for continued upscaling of the process. Optimization of hydrolysis and fungi growth processes showed that the sludge gives a good yield of about 90% (w/w) glucose for fungi growth. Lab experiments also yielded an optimal glucose concentration of about 30 g/liter for batch cultivation of fungi biomass in pilot scale, with a resulting yield of about 11.5 g biomass / liter.
When transporting the fungi biomass for further extrusion processing, it was realized that the product needed to be kept at -80 °C for shelf-life reasons. Many extrusion experiments where then conducted with different recipes and PEF pretreatment of the biomass. Evaluation with microstructure analysis however showed that more work is needed to achieve sensory relevance.
Participants
RISE – Research Institutes of Sweden AB, RISE – Processum AB, Iggesund Paperboard AB and Marlow Foods AB (QuornFoods™).
Budget
The project’s total budget was 1 200 000 SEK.