FeruCycle – Bio-based Ferulic Acid for a high-value circular economy from agricultural by-products

Our everyday life is still full of products based on fossil resources – from plastics and cosmetics to adhesives. To achieve a climate-neutral, circular economy, we need new bio-based alternatives that are available in sufficient quantity and quality, and at competitive costs. This is where FeruCycle comes in.

The project uses previously low-value agricultural by-products such as brans and corn cobs as regional raw material sources. Its goal is to obtain the bio-based platform chemical ferulic acid from these residual streams. Due to its antioxidant, antibacterial and UV-protective properties, ferulic acid is suitable, among other things, for cosmetics, food supplements and innovative materials.

To this end, FeruCycle is developing a new, as simple and robust as possible biotechnological process. In parallel, economic implementation concepts are being designed, particularly for small, regionally structured mills and other SMEs: from integration into existing plants and cooperation with technology providers through to new business models along the value chain.

By bringing together relevant stakeholders, a synergistic network of raw material suppliers, technology developers and customers is created. In this way, FeruCycle helps to replace fossil resources, reduce import dependencies, strengthen regional value creation and significantly improve the utilisation of agricultural residues in line with the principles of the circular bioeconomy.