Sustainable CCS-Based Biorefineries for High-Value Bio-Based Products (TRL 2–7)

Our research and innovation activities focus on sustainable biorefineries enabled by Countercurrent Separation (CCS), including CCC and CPC, for the valorization of marine and terrestrial micro- and macro-organisms across TRL 2–7. We develop CCS-based sequential and multi-product biorefinery strategies, enabling the selective recovery of multiple bio-based products (ingredients, fractions, compounds, and phytocomplexes) from a single biomass stream. A key direction is the rational design of innovative phytocomplexes, where multiple bioactives are intentionally combined into functional, market-oriented fractions with enhanced biofunctional performance.

Our CCS technology enables:

• Versatile operation using a liquid stationary phase

• Flexible elution modes covering a wide polarity range

• Rational design of customized bioactive fractions (phytocomplexes)

• Gentle and scalable separations that preserve bioactivity

Process development is supported by strong analytical capabilities, including HPLC-DAD-MS/HRMS and GC FID-based platforms, enabling robust process monitoring, compound identification, and quality validation from laboratory to pilot scale.

In addition, we operate a dedicated biofunctional evaluation platform, allowing systematic assessment of antioxidant capacity of extracts, fractions, compounds and phytocomplexes using complementary in vitro assays (e.g., DPPH, ABTS and related methods). This enables direct structure–function correlations between chemical composition, processing conditions, and biofunctional performance.

We have broad international experience in:

• Horizon Europe collaborative projects

• Asia–Europe research and innovation initiatives

• National and local academy–industry projects

Our activities are strongly oriented toward biorefinery process development, scale-up, and industrial deployment. We have already generated market-ready bio-based products, including one product licensed for commercial use, demonstrating real exploitation potential.

We seek collaboration with coordinators and partners interested in downstream processing, biorefinery development, biofunctional validation, and industrial translation of sustainable blue bio-based products, where our CCS expertise, analytical platforms, and antioxidant testing capabilities can add clear value.