University of Bologna researchers develop innovative biorefinery using wine waste

In Italy, researchers at the University of Bologna have developed a biorefinery model that would produce polyphenols, fatty acids, biopolymers, and biomethane from the skins and seeds left over from wine production. The country produces around 5 million metric tons of the feedstock annually that currently has little value. The model combines supercritical carbon dioxide with anaerobic digestion, microbial treatment, and anaerobic fermentation to produce the wide variety of chemical products from the waste stream.