TriboTec: Protein enrichment and fractionation of side streams by dry tribo-electrostatic separation technology

It is an environmentally friendly process that consumes low energy and no water and is available at a high capacity. The potential for food/feed applications for the fractionation of valuable components can be considered as very high. Dry separation and mild processing are beneficial to preserve the functionality of the raw materials. However, tribo-electrostatic separation is not yet commercially used in the food and feed sector. The aim is to implement this technology with the help of a belt separator from our external partner ST Equipment & Technology for food and feed applications and to separate selected raw materials into fractions that are enriched in protein, carbohydrates and fibre. The focus is on the protein enrichment of sidestreams from lupine, rapeseed, and sunflower meals. The fractions produced by the TriboTec process are compared to commercially available references including a soy protein concentrate as a benchmark. Protein fractions will be biologically used in feeding studies of Altlantic salmon including tests on digestibility, growth potential and animal welfare. Finally, an assessment of the protein functionality in combination with a technical, ecological and economic evaluation of the technology is made to commercialize the technology and related products after project completion.