Sustainable co-production

Sustainable co-production is the short form of the research project “Tobacco as sustainable production platform of the natural biopolymer cyanophycin as co-product to oil and protein”. It combines plant and industrial biotechnology to increase the value of commercially grown tobacco with products that can sustainably substitute fossil raw materials. We aim to establish a new economically feasible production system for the biopolymer cyanophycin (CGP) as a by-product of tobacco without relevant additional costs, which can be adopted by farmers and biotech companies in Argentina. The project will explore and promote the cultivation and use of tobacco as an important and economical source of protein and nutrients for non-food & feed applications and as a cheap and abundant biomass source for conversion to biofuels and biomaterials. It is excepted to provide Europe with an improved and potentially massive bio-based source for biofuel, biomaterials and food/feed protein, reducing the dependency on overseas crops such as soy, palm, coconut, etc., and also reducing the European carbon footprint by eliminating the transport of these crops to Europe and by replacing fossil-based fuels and chemicals with bio-based alternatives. In the end the substitution of fossil fuels and the contribution to the reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases can be assessed, the additional jobs created, and the valued-added to the bio-based economy in Argentina and Europe.