Project overview

Mushroom cultivation is a fast-growing sector in the UK. The plant-based revolution in food production has been largely due to more people turning to veganism. With mushrooms being a key ingredient in many plant-based foods, they have become high in demand. In addition, their health benefits are becoming more widely known; some of these include high fibre content, rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. However, like any other farming technique, there is still an opportunity to develop and introduce more sustainable and waste-efficient methods to reduce carbon emissions.

This project involves a unique collaboration between Canterbury Christ Church University and two industry partners, AlgaeCytes and Edible Kingdom. AlgaeCytes is a UK SME that has developed innovative processes to produce multiple high-value products from microalgae. Edible Kingdom is a mushroom producer in Kent, focusing on growing high-quality edible mushrooms from local resources and organic wastes.

The aim is to capture and convert the CO₂ produced during cultivation using microalgae into high-value products, as opposed to letting it release into the atmosphere.

The Science

The project team consists of Dr Asma Ahmed from Canterbury Christ Church University, Dr Joseph Burman at Edible Kingdom, and Dr Donal McGee at AlgaeCytes. The team are working on integrating mushroom cultivation into a microalgal biorefinery to facilitate carbon capture. The resulting algal biomass will be used as a feedstock to produce high-value products such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, carotenoids, and proteins, with applications in the personal care, healthcare, and nutraceutical markets. In addition, the spent biomass post-processing can provide a recycled source of nutrients for mushroom cultivation. A PhD student, funded by the school scholarship is currently working on identifying the most suitable microalgal strains for carbon capture.

From Algaecytes, Dr Donal Mc Gee, senior microalgal scientist with an extensive track record in microalgal cultivation, physiology, up-scale, and metabolite analysis said:

‘We hope that this project will strengthen the collaboration between AlgaeCytes, Edible Kingdom and Canterbury Christ Church Uiversity, and to also help help create new IP opportunities for both companies.’

Joe Burman, Co-Director, Edible Kingdom said:

"As growers we are always concerned with making crop production more efficient and sustainable. We recycle and compost all our solid waste, use limited water and heating, but currently spend a significant amount of money and electricity on dealing with our direct carbon emissions via Co2. This project offers an innovative way to significantly reduce these emissions and get some other useful products in the process. In future we hope to become an inspiration for others in the industry who wish to do the same."

The team has recently secured funding in the form of a Business Interaction Voucher (BIV) from the High Value Renewables network for the development of a novel, sustainable, photoprotective product derived from a combination of exopolysaccharides (EPS) from algal biomass and polyphenols from mushroom waste.

Profiles:

Dr Asma Ahmed is a Senior Lecturer in the section of Natural and Applied Sciences at Canterbury Christ Church University. She has a PhD in Chemical Engineering with 14+ years of cell culture and microbial process development experience in industry and academia. Asma has successfully completed three funded research projects as Principal Investigator in areas related to microbial conversion of agricultural and industrial wastes and wastewater using fungi and microalgae. She is currently working on a project funded by The Leverhulme Trust to develop a process for biological conversion of industrial wastewater using novel fungal biofilms.

Industrial Partner (https://algaecytes.com/)

AlgaeCytes was established in 2010 and is developing biotechnology solutions utilizing microalgae to produce a range of products from Omega-3 oils to novel bioactives for use in the nutraceutical and cosmeceutical markets. AlgaeCytes aims to overcome the challenges facing the world from climate change and a rising global population by triggering a biomanufacturing revolution, that cuts CO₂ emissions while meeting global demands for food, chemicals, and sustainable materials.

Edible Kingdom (https://www.ediblekingdom.co.uk/)

Edible Kingdom is a mushroom producer in Kent, focusing on growing high-quality edible mushrooms from local resources and organic wastes.

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