FLEXIZYME (www.flexizyme.eu) is a 4-year European project (Grant Agreement No. 101157528), funded by EU Commission and BIC Consortium, and it is developed from an interdisciplinary and systemic innovation perspective. This project is aimed at developing a versatile, flexible and cost-efficient biotechnological platform for primary fatty amine (FA) production from fat-rich and protein-rich feedstocks. This platform will design and utilise advanced enzymes using advanced bioinformatic tools and artificial intelligence (AI) to optimise processes, innovative reactor monitoring systems, and address scalability challenges and process integration, contributing to a greener and more sustainable future for FA commercial production. FLEXIZYME proposes to produce and validate biotechnological primary FAs of different chain lengths (from C10 to C18) in three of the most relevant sectors i) cosmetic products; ii) detergents and iii) agriculture and demonstrate its commitment to address industry-specific needs and foster a circular economy. FLEXIZYME aims at contributing to the transition towards environment-friendly biotechnological industrial processes for the obtainment of an array of cost-competitive bio-based products through resource-efficient, circular valorisation of sustainable by-products. This goal will be achieved by developing a robust and flexible platform, tackling the current limitation of industrial biotechnology by applying a holistic approach targeting upstream, midstream, and downstream, incorporating vanguard technologies, biocatalyst engineering, reactor and process design, control and optimisation, under an interdisciplinary and systemic innovation approach.

The main project’s specific objectives are:
1. Develop a flexible biotechnological platform for sustainable fatty acid (FA) production from side streams, enhancing efficiency, scalability, and cost effectiveness.
2. Engineer enzymes to overcome industrial limitations, integrate real-time monitoring for enzymatic synthesis, and address scaling challenges.
3. Validate the platform in cosmetic, detergent, and agricultural sectors, and assess economic and environmental performance through TEA and LCA.
4. Promote interdisciplinary collaboration and dissemination to drive innovation in biotechnology.

GREENCAT (as DCCI) participates to FLEXIZYME project in full synergy with the Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering of the University of Pisa. Within the objectives of FLEXIZYME, GREENCAT research group is mainly involved in the separation/purification of FA from reaction crudes, both at a laboratory and an industrial scale, also providing technical support to other project partners involved in the upstream, midstream and downstream decision-making activities. GREENCAT research group is also involved in the issues of valorisation of the process by-products, which are fundamental activities to promote and maximize the circularity of the entire process.

FLEXIZYME Process

New value-chains provided by FLEXIZYME Project