De commerciële kweek van insecten is in opkomst, ook in Nederland. In 2019 waren er 31 Nederlandse bedrijven die insecten kweekten, maar in 2021 waren het er al meer dan 45. “Daarbij hebben we de meer dan 21 deelnemers aan onze beginnerscursus voor ondernemers die willen overstappen op de insectenkweek, nog niet eens meegeteld,” vertelt Olga Haenen. Zij is sinds 2018 als lector betrokken bij het INVIS (Insecten en vis: gezond, duurzaam en veilig) van HAS Hogeschool. De Europese organisatie IPIFF voorspelt dat in 2030 binnen de EU 260.000 ton aan insectenproducten geproduceerd zal worden.
MULTIFILE
De bodem is de motor van de landbouw. Naast de bekende chemische en fysische aspecten speelt de biologie een bepalende rol in de gezondheid van de bodem en daarmee het omringende milieu. Een nieuw geluid in ‘bodemland’ biedt kansen voor een toekomstbestendige landbouwsector: de bodembiologie.
MULTIFILE
The valorization of biowaste, by exploiting side stream compounds as feedstock for the sustainable production of bio-based materials, is a key step towards a more circular economy. In this regard, chitin is as an abundant resource which is accessible as a waste compound of the seafood industry. From a commercial perspective, chitin is chemically converted into chitosan, which has multiple industrial applications. Although the potential of chitin has long been established, the majority of seafood waste containing chitin is still left unused. In addition, current processes which convert chitin into chitosan are sub-optimal and have a significant impact on the environment. As a result, there is a need for the development of innovative methods producing bio-based products from chitin. This project wants to contribute to these challenges by performing a feasibility study which demonstrates the microbial bioconversion of chitin to polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). Specifically, the consortium will attempt to cultivate and engineer a recently discovered bacterium Chi5, so that it becomes able to directly produce PHAs from chitin present in solid shrimp shell waste. If successful, this project will provide a proof-of-concept for a versatile microbial production platform which can contribute to: i) the valorization of biowaste from the seafood industry, ii) the efficient utilization of chitin as feedstock, iii) the sustainable and (potentially low-cost) production of PHAs. The project consortium is composed of: i) Van Belzen B.V., a Dutch shrimp trading company which are highly interested in the valorization of their waste streams, hereby making their business model more profitable and sustainable. ii) AMIBM, which have recently isolated and characterized the Chi5 marine-based chitinolytic bacterium and iii) Zuyd, which will link aforementioned partners with students in creating a novel collaboration which will stimulate the development of students and the translation of academic knowledge to a feasible application technology for SME’s.
