Starch Valorisation as Biorefinery Concept Integrated by an Agro-Industry Case Study to Improve Sustainability

Maider Gomez Palmero (), Ana Carrasco, Paula de la Sen, María Dolores Mainar-Toledo, Sonia Ascaso Malo and Francisco Javier Royo Herrer
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Maider Gomez Palmero: Fundación CIRCE, Parque Empresarial Dinamiza, Avda. Ranillas 3D, 1 a Planta, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
Ana Carrasco: PATURPAT, Arriurdina, 6, Polígono Industrial de Júndiz, 01015 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Paula de la Sen: Fundación CIRCE, Parque Empresarial Dinamiza, Avda. Ranillas 3D, 1 a Planta, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
María Dolores Mainar-Toledo: Fundación CIRCE, Parque Empresarial Dinamiza, Avda. Ranillas 3D, 1 a Planta, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
Sonia Ascaso Malo: Energaia Institute (University Institute for Energy and Resource Efficiency Research of Aragon), University of Zaragoza, Mariano Esquillor Gómez, 15, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
Francisco Javier Royo Herrer: Energaia Institute (University Institute for Energy and Resource Efficiency Research of Aragon), University of Zaragoza, Mariano Esquillor Gómez, 15, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 15, 1-17

Abstract: The production of bio-based products for different purposes has become an increasingly common strategy over the last few decades, both in Europe and worldwide. This trend seeks to contribute to mitigating the impacts associated with climate change and to cope with the ambitious objectives established at European level. Over recent decades, agro-industries have shown significant potential as biomass suppliers, triggering the development of robust logistical supply chains and the valorization of by-products to obtain bio-based products that can be marketed at competitive prices. However, this transformation may, in some cases, involve restructuring traditional business model to incorporate the biorefinery concept. In this sense, the first step in developing a bio-based value chain involves assessing the resource’s availability and characterizing the feedstock to select the valorization pathway and the bio-application with the greatest potential. The paper incorporates inputs from a case study on PATURPAT, a company commercializing a wide range of ready-prepared potato products, which has commissioned a starch extraction facility to process the rejected pieces of potatoes and water from the process to obtain starch that can be further valorized for different bio-applications. This study aims to comprehensively review current trends and frameworks for potatoes processing agro-industries and define the most suitable bio-applications to target, as well as identify opportunities and challenges.

Keywords: potato agro-industry; by-product; valorization; starch; bio-application; bio-based products (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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