The CARINA project promotes the comprehensive use of biomass with a circular economy vision.

Source: Agro-food Cooperatives

The progress of this European project demonstrates the potential of camelina and carinata crops to generate sustainable and innovative bio-based solutions.

The European CARINA project, aligned with its mission to promote more sustainable agriculture, is working on the complete valorization of camelina and carinata biomass under a circular economy model. Its goal is to extract high-value compounds from the co-products of these crops, with applications in sectors such as bioplastics, biochemicals, animal nutrition, biofuels, biostimulants, and biopesticides.

In the first phase of the project, the physical and chemical properties of Brassica carinata and Camelina sativa seeds were studied. The analyses showed that carinata has a higher erucic acid content compared to camelina. Dicarboxylic acids were produced from its oil, the viability of which was confirmed in laboratory tests for the generation of biochemicals with potential use in bioplastics and biopesticides.

The project also examines the incorporation of camelina and carinata meal into animal diets, evaluating inclusion rates ranging from 2% to 20%. Zootechnical, palatability, and digestibility trials are currently underway. In parallel, efforts are being made to reduce the content of glucosinolates (GLS), antinutritional compounds, through heat treatments.

Another approach is the valorization of GLS extracts from carinata seeds, with a view to their application in biocides or phytosanitary products. Although scaling up the extraction process has presented difficulties, a solution is expected soon.

In addition, CARINA partners have analyzed the polysaccharide present in camelina cake as a potential stabilizer in nutraceutical formulations. This extract, obtained at laboratory scale, is being evaluated for its ability to improve the bioavailability of bioactive compounds.

In addition, various technologies—such as enzymatic hydrolysis, ethanol extraction, fermentation, and pyrolysis—are applied to transform various byproducts into biostimulants and biopesticides.

With this body of research, CARINA continues to advance in demonstrating the potential of camelina and carinata as sources of innovative and sustainable bio-based products.

Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias de España is part of the CARINA project , which involves 19 partners from 13 countries (Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Greece, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Poland, the United Kingdom, Serbia, Tunisia, Morocco, and Switzerland). This project is funded by the European Union through the Horizon Europe program and will conclude in October 2026.