About

CichOpt focuses on four different crops in the Cichorium genus that are of major economic importance in Europe: industrial chicory grown for insulin extraction; and Belgian endive, Radicchio Rosso and Endive, grown as leaf vegetables.

The biomass from these crops is interesting as a feedstock for the bio-economy because they are rich in the following valuable target compounds: dietary fibers (DF) and free sugars (both relevant for food applications, materials), and the bioactive sesquiterpene lactones (SL) and polyphenols (PP) (relevant for food, beverages, cosmetic applications). In addition, significant volumes of by-products and waste fractions are available which remain currently underutilised.

The overall aim of CichOpt is to develop innovative biorefinery processing schemes to turn different underutilised Cichorium biomass streams (multi-input) into fractions with high added value which can be used in a wide range of applications, ranging from food & drink applications over cosmetics to biomaterials (multi-output).

Results

• Novel integrated biorefinery schemes for processing Cichorium biomass, by-products and waste streams into well-characterized, valuable fractions, striving for a zero-waste approach.
• Functional food and drink ingredients enriched in dietary fibers, sesquiterpene lactones and/or polyphenols that will benefit industry and bring these ingredients to a pre-competitive stage.
• A Cichorium derived fraction enriched in sesquiterpene lactones and/or polyphenols as bio-active ingredient for cosmetics.
• The production of hydroxymethylfurfural starting from underutilized Cichorium biomass is demonstrated in a small demo plant, on a farm.
• A Techno-economic analysis (TEA) and Life Cycle Assesment (LCA) for two of the most advanced products in the project.
• Drivers to realise an increase in the global production area of Cichorium crops.