The development of a circular bioeconomy depends on understanding how biological resources can be transformed into valuable products. Within the ONE EARTH project, several important compounds play a central role in enabling this transformation.
Throughout this series, we explored three groups of compounds that are particularly relevant for the project: polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), polypeptides, and volatile fatty acids (VFAs). Each of these molecules contributes to the creation of sustainable bio-based products derived from underutilised residues.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids are essential nutrients widely used in food supplements, aquaculture feed, and functional products. As global demand for omega-3 fatty acids continues to increase, identifying sustainable production pathways is becoming increasingly important.
Polypeptides represent another important group of compounds. Derived from proteins, they contain amino acids that are essential for human and animal nutrition and can also provide functional properties for applications in areas such as cosmetics, biomaterials, and bio-based products.
Volatile fatty acids play a different but equally important role. Produced through microbial fermentation processes, VFAs act as intermediate molecules that microorganisms can convert into a variety of valuable compounds. In this way, they function as important building blocks for many biotechnological processes.
In the ONE EARTH project, residues from food systems, such as fishery, poultry and dairy by-products, are explored as sources of these valuable compounds. By recovering useful molecules from materials that would otherwise remain underutilised, the project demonstrates how biological residues can become part of new circular value chains.
This approach contributes to the broader objectives of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan and the European Bioeconomy Strategy, which encourage the efficient use of biological resources and the development of sustainable bio-based products.
Understanding the role of key compounds such as PUFAs, polypeptides, and VFAs helps illustrate how scientific research can support more sustainable production systems. By connecting knowledge from biology, biotechnology, and resource management, projects like ONE EARTH help advance innovative solutions that support the transition toward a circular and sustainable bioeconomy.