Side-stream valorisation: waste to product.
Side-stream valorisation converts industrial by-products — brewers' spent grain, agave bagasse, straw, pulp mill effluents — into valuable products: fibre, hemicellulose, lignin, extractives, each a potential feedstock for a new product line. The question isn't whether a side stream has value — it's what fractions it yields, at what purity, and at what cost. That's a pilot-line question. Ikigaia runs fractionation trials on the Lemi line and tests each fraction in an in-house ISO/TAPPI lab — turning a disposal cost into a revenue line, proven before you build.
Your waste stream has four products in it.
Every biobased side stream contains cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and extractives. Each fraction has a market — but only if the purity and yield justify the process. That's what a pilot trial tells you.
Cellulose
Fibre for packaging, textiles, or pulp. The most established valorisation route — and the one most side streams can support.
Hemicellulose
Sugars for barrier coatings, biochemicals, or food ingredients. Rising value as brands seek bio-based barrier alternatives.
Lignin
Aromatic polymer for chemicals, adhesives, carbon fibre, bitumen replacement. The largest underutilised biobased feedstock.
Extractives
Resins, waxes, specialty chemicals. High value, low volume — a pilot trial tells you what's recoverable from your stream.
From side stream to product — proven on the line.
Four services, all run through the Lemi pilot line and ISO/TAPPI lab.
Biomass fractionation
Separating a side stream into its valuable fractions — cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, extractives. We run fractionation trials on the Lemi line, testing yield and purity for each fraction. The fractionation route determines what products the stream can support.
Fraction by fractionHemicellulose extraction & use
Extracting hemicellulose for barrier coatings, biochemicals, or food ingredients. We test extraction yield and the quality of the resulting hemicellulose — the variables that determine whether it's a coating-grade or a fuel-grade product.
Coatings & chemicalsLignin valorisation routes
Converting lignin into higher-value products — chemicals, adhesives, carbon precursors. We test the lignin's structure and reactivity, and validate the conversion route at pilot scale before a commercial investment.
From fuel to valueFood & agri waste to product
Brewers' spent grain, agave bagasse, straw — pulped and fractionated into fibre, sugars, and specialty fractions. We run the trial and map what products each stream can yield, turning a disposal cost into a revenue line.
Waste to revenueA pilot line that fractionates. A lab that measures value.
The equipment to test what your side stream is actually worth.
Pilot fractionation line
A precommercial line capable of pulping and fractionating side streams at pilot scale — the same route your process will run.
Fraction analysis lab
Cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and extractives characterisation — the data that determines what your stream is worth.
Industrial projects
Including side-stream valorisation, circular manufacturing, and waste-to-value engineering across biobased industries.
Producer clients
From food and beverage producers to pulp mills and agricultural processors — turning side streams into products.
The vocabulary of valorisation.
Terms the biobased industry uses for side-stream and circularity work.
Side-stream valorisation — what it is and what it's worth.
The fractions, the products, and the economics of turning waste into revenue.
What is side-stream valorisation?
Side-stream valorisation is the conversion of industrial by-products and waste streams into valuable products — materials, chemicals, energy, or feed. Instead of disposing of a side stream (burning, landfilling, or paying to remove it), you process it into something you can sell or use. For biobased industries, the side streams are rich in cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and extractives — each a potential feedstock for a new product line.
What are the most valuable biomass fractions in a side stream?
The four main fractions are: cellulose (fibre for packaging, textiles, or pulp), hemicellulose (sugars for biochemicals, barrier coatings, or food ingredients), lignin (biobased chemicals, adhesives, or carbon precursors), and extractives (resins, waxes, and specialty chemicals). The value depends on the feedstock and the purity you can achieve — which is what pilot-scale testing determines.
What is hemicellulose used for?
Hemicellulose is a heteropolysaccharide found in plant cell walls. When extracted from side streams, it can be used for: barrier coatings for packaging (oxygen and grease barrier), biochemicals and biofuels via fermentation, food and feed ingredients, and biobased polymers. Its value is rising as packaging brands seek bio-based alternatives to synthetic barrier coatings.
What is lignin valorisation?
Lignin is the aromatic polymer that binds plant fibres together. It's the largest underutilised biobased feedstock — most of it is burned for energy. Valorisation means converting it into higher-value products: biobased chemicals (vanillin, phenolic resins), carbon fibres, adhesives, or bitumen replacement. The challenge is that lignin's structure varies by feedstock and process, so each route needs pilot validation.
Can you use brewers' spent grain or food waste?
Yes. Brewers' spent grain, agave bagasse, straw, and other food and agricultural side streams are rich in cellulose and hemicellulose. We run pulping and fractionation trials on the Lemi line to determine what products each stream can yield — and at what purity and cost. For a brewer or food producer, this turns a disposal cost into a potential revenue stream.
How does side-stream valorisation support circularity?
Circularity means keeping materials in use. Side-stream valorisation is circularity applied to industrial waste — the side stream that was disposed of becomes a feedstock for a new product. Under PPWR and the EU Circular Economy Action Plan, companies that valorise their own side streams gain both regulatory and commercial advantage: lower disposal costs, new revenue, and a verifiable circularity claim.
Paying to dispose of a side stream? Test what it's worth.
A pilot fractionation trial tells you what products your stream can yield — before you invest.