This is another interesting EU government-funded project that I recently came across thanks to this press release from Finnish enzyme producer MetGen.

The BIOrescue project aims to provide a solution by creating a novel biorefinery concept for mushroom compost, transforming it into valuable bio-based products such as bio-pesticides, biodegradable nano-carriers for drug or fertilizer encapsulation, and bio-based horticultural fertilizers. The project also aims to achieve a 20% overall cost-reduction in the enzymatic hydrolysis process.

The concept is being developed for a conventional mushroom farm in Ireland that will be retrofitted to become a sustainable and efficient biorefinery. The potential of this research goes far beyond mushroom compost. The biorefinery system developed in BIOrescue is very flexible and can be replicated not only in other mushroom farms but also with other agricultural by-products.

The project is co-financed by the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. This 3-year project is expected to conclude in August 2019.