Delivering a new, efficient and biobased plant oil and protein extraction system

The vegetable oil and related protein sectors use petroleum-based hexane to extract oil from plant materials. Hexane-based extraction is an old technology that is harmful to health and to the environment.

Our ambition is to bring a new biobased solvent called EcoXtract® to the market for processing of oil- and protein-rich crops. This will replace hexane in a million tonne/year market leading to transformation of this global agri-food sector.

The project will enable us to construct the world’s first large-scale and first small-scale EcoXtract-based oil extraction plants in Europe.

This will be followed by world-wide transformation beyond the consortium enabled by our patented solvent technology: EcoXtract.We will use an open innovation approach between five complementary European businesses. Agroprotein is a developer of agri-food plant protein- and oil-based value chains. Pennakem is a global leader in green solvent systems.

It developed and now owns the EcoXtract solvent technology. De Wit is a world leader in extracting and marketing high-value oilseed products. NHE is a leader in operating and scaling up extraction systems.

An extensive programme of industrial-scale system testing, validation and optimisation followed by product prototying driven by the needs of two value chains lies at the heart of the project.

Supported also by co-creative prototyping with clients, we will develop three new mutually supporting business lines within the EcoXtract® framework pioneering global transition of the sector to this new technology. Oilseeds account for about one-fifth of global crop production.

This project will revolutionise processing by introducing a biobased alternative to hexane in both low and high volume markets.

The commercial-scale optimization of EcoXtract® will be a big step forward for the biobased sector and advance Horizon 2020’s impact on Societal Challenge 2 opening up new markets for the biobased solvent and its extraction products.