De Wit Developing Bio-based Solvent for Global Oilseeds

Dutch speciality oils company De Wit announced last month it is developing a bio-based solvent for the global oilseeds sector as part of a consortium awarded a US$3.3M (€2.8M) European Union (EU) grant, Oils & Fats International reported last month. The solvent, EcoXtract, would provide a bio-based option for the processing of oil-rich seeds such as soyabean, rapeseed, sunflower, and minor crops such as borage, hemp and evening primrose, the company said.

The EU grant was awarded to De Wit along with a consortium of four partners by the European Commission’s European Innovation Council under the Horizon 2020 Fast Track to Innovation program.  Alongside De Wit, the other partners are Pennakem Europe (France), Vivaorganic GmbH (Germany), New Holland Extraction Ltd (United Kingdom) and Donal Murphy-Bokern (Germany). 

Pennakem and New Holland Extractions were focusing on the engineering side of upscaling the use of this new solvent while Vivaorganic and De Wit would develop value chains in soyabean processing and niche speciality oils, the statement said. Meanwhile, Donal Murphy-Bokern would provide support in project management, communications, assessment of environmental and agricultural impacts and liaison with policy agencies.