Cacao village, lab-grown oysters, fish waste-based surfactants, Maybelline going biobased by 2030, and more: The Digest’s Top 8 Innovations for the week of January 28th

#3 Scottish startup looks to convert fish waste into cleaning ingredients

In Scotland, a startup with six-figure funding support from the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre is developing a surfactant from fish farming byproducts.

Fish oils account for about a quarter of aquaculture’s total by-product output. Such oils are rich in fatty acids and can be converted into biofuels, but Eco Clean believes biosurfactants for use in detergents and cleaning products represent a higher-value opportunity.

“While working on a project for the development of a new cleaning product, I began to look at how one of the core ingredients could be produced in a more sustainable way,” says Mark Hamilton, co-founder and director at Eco Clean, in a statement on IBioIC’s website. “This developed into the project Eco Clean is working on today.”

The startup, named Eco Clean, has partnered with experts from the University of St Andrews to advance the process.

More on the story, here.