Alperujo: from waste to agricultural fertilizer

'New Biotechnological Solutions for a Circular Economy of Alperujo' is the title of the new project that has been awarded to Biotechnology Research Group on plant-microbiome interaction from CEU USP, led by professor Francisco Javier Gutierrez Mañero. Circular economy, environmental biotechnology, sustainability, biodiversity and fertilization, and good agronomic status of the soil are the axes on which it pivots. The project is co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (FEADER) (80%) and by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (20%).

Alperujo, a waste derived from the olive oil extraction process and of which approximately five million tons are produced annually in Spain, is becoming a serious problem for olive oil mills. Different uses are being sought for this waste in order to revalue it within a circular economy. One of them is its use in agriculture as a fertilizer, a central aspect of the objectives of the awarded project.

In order to be used as a fertilizer, alperujo must comply with the provisions of Royal Decree 1051/2022, of December 27, which establishes standards for sustainable nutrition in agricultural soils. These standards indicate that the alperujo must have a maximum humidity of 25% and a concentration of polyphenols less than 0.8 %. It is precisely this last condition that is the most difficult to achieve and in which the CEU research group is going to intervene through a biotechnological approach. Taking advantage of the wide collection of microorganisms that the group has, the result of years of research in the area of environmental biotechnology, a set of bacterial strains will be selected - a consortium - capable of degrading the phenolic compounds present in the alperujo until they are reduced to below 0.8 %.

This consortium will not only contribute to achieving the levels of polyphenols indicated in the standard, but will also will improve the microbial biodiversity of agricultural soils by being incorporated together with the alperujo to these soils, thus generating healthier and more fertile soils that will result in more sustainable production. An approach from environmental biotechnology that fits perfectly into the objectives of the European Commission that tries to integrate in a transversal way the environmental and climatic policy in the other community policies, as reflected in the European Green Pact. Among the main tools of this pact in the agricultural sector, is the Strategy "From farm to table» which aims to design a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system.

The project 'New Biotechnological Solutions for a Circular Economy of Alperujo (REGAGE23e00065119107) is part of the call for Innovation projects of general interest by supra-autonomous Operational Groups of the European Union for Innovation in agricultural productivity and sustainability (AEI-Agri), within the framework of the Strategic Plan of the CAP of Spain (PEPAC). It is part of a University-business collaboration and together with the San Pablo CEU University, six other members are participating in the project: Cooperativas Agroalimentarias, DCOOP, DMC Research, El Ejidillo Viveros Integrales, BIOVEGEN and the Instituto de la grasa-CSIC.

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