Sustainable use of marine resources

When we harvest renewable resources from the sea, it is important that they are used efficiently and sustainably, including those that are currently discarded or have a low-value market. A case study is now exploring what shrimp shells can become.

This project is about how we can make the most of the biomass we harvest from the sea and convert the non-food residual streams into high-value products. This will increase the rate of utilization and the societal benefit of the marine resource. One key to harnessing and processing as much of the residual streams as possible is biorefining.

In a case study led by RISE, the project will explore the processing potential of shrimp shells. The shells contain several interesting components where chitin, the world's second most common, but most untapped biopolymer, has the greatest processing potential, especially for textiles and medical technology.

The aim of the project is to evaluate an efficient biorefinery process that can be extended to other marine biomass and other residual streams (fish waste, algae, tunicates, etc.). By linking actors from industry and public activities in new value chains, evaluating the refinement process in terms of sustainability, large-scale and techno-economics, the vision is that marine residual streams in 5-10 years will not be seen as waste but as a valuable raw material.