Spalding farm is working with Unilever and University of Nottingham on pilot project to create new fragrances from unwanted plants
Unwanted plants could be turned into new fragrances in a pilot project which sees a county farm working with a international company.
Spalding’s Bridge Farm Group has teamed up with the University of Nottingham and Unilever - which owns a number of big brands including Dove - is looking to create cost effective ingredients from plants that would have gone to waste.
The farm, which is well-known for selling poinsettias at Christmas, has been been storing the plants it can’t sell to retailers and extending their lives in a 60-acre greenhouse – long enough for them to be recycled into high-value raw ingredients.
Fluctuations in seasonal demand and quality issues are among the reasons that, globally, 9901 million tonnes of plants can go to waste each year.
In collaboration with scientists from the university, Unilever has begun extracting naturally occurring ingredients from unwanted plants to create new fragrances – starting with oils from petunias, roses and marigolds.
Neil Parry, Head of Biotechnology at Unilever, said: “Fragrance is an incredibly important part of our experience when we use products in our homes or on our bodies. Using the latest in biotech and biosourcing principles, we see huge potential to create a circular economy for plants by extracting valuable ingredients and creating a diverse selection of new and sustainable fragrances.
“Plants that don’t make the grade still have valuable materials with functional benefits and could reduce our impact on the environment.”
Flowers from the plants are heated in an extractor device, pulling essential oils from their petals.
To speed up the traditional method, the scientists add ultrasonication, which uses sound waves to disrupt cell walls and deliver a greater yield.
The accelerated, energy-efficient process takes just 20 minutes to extract the compounds – 40% faster than the traditional method.
Research has shown that extracting these materials can reduce reliance on petrochemical-derived ingredients. Using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), repurposing unwanted flowers and waste into fragrance ingredients has the potential to help reduce emissions.
Parimala Shivaprasad, Assistant Professor at the University of Nottingham said: “Through our collaboration with Unilever and Bridge Farm Group, we’re aiming to test the feasibility of using flower essential oils in fragrances to further decarbonise everyday products.
“At the labs in Nottingham, we’re developing energy-efficient extraction methods and enzyme-based modifications, while also evaluating the practicality and cost-effectiveness of using plant waste as a raw material.
“This project showcases the potential of cutting-edge science and technology processes to create sustainable solutions for the future.”
Apart from its aim to reduce waste by extracting ingredients for fragrance, such as terpenes, lactones, ethers and natural oils, Unilever is exploring other opportunities to extract other high-value ingredients such as complex sugars (polysaccharides) for textile care in cleaning products and malodour neutralisation for personal care products.
