Valuable ingredients from Finnish forests - Promising results from lingonberry and spruce needles

Finnish forests hold vast, untapped potential. A research project coordinated by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) indicates that spruce needles and lingonberry press cakes, a by-product of the juice industry, contain bioactive ingredients for a wide range of applications. 

The Bioproducts from Nature (BIO4P) research project, coordinated by Luke, is developing a business ecosystem for the production of needle and berry waxes. 

"Our goal is to replace fossil-based and imported natural waxes - for example, carnauba and candelilla waxes from South and Central America - used in industries like cosmetics with domestic natural waxes," says Hanna Brännström, Group Manager and coordinator of the project at Luke.

The bio-waxes produced in the project will be tested at LUMENE and Fazer. 

So far, it has been found, for example, that waxes extracted from spruce needles and lingonberry press cakes, a by-product of the juice industry, have bioactive properties suitable for a wide range of applications:  

• They are antibacterial and can improve product preservation, add flavour and fragrance or eliminate harmful microbes. Waxes could therefore be used in applications such as food, detergents, cleaning products, cosmetics and medicine. 
• The water-repellent properties of waxes could be exploited, for example, in coatings for textiles and furniture. 
• Waxes are biodegradable. They can be used to replace harmful ingredients, thus reducing the release of microplastics or "forever chemicals" from coatings, known as PFAS. 
• Other valuable substances can also be recovered from wax extraction residues. 

Raw material availability as a business constraint 

The raw materials for waxes can include logging residues and under-utilised by-products from the food industry.

Managing the supply chain of raw materials is one of the major challenges for the natural products sector. 

"For example, berry yields vary from year to year and the quantities harvested are small to capture the global market with bulk products. Large amounts of conifer needles are left in the forest after harvesting. Valuable extractives can constitute up to 30% of their dry mass. Developing cost-effective supply logistics for needles is one of the objectives of our research project," says Brännström.

The public BIO4P project, funded by Business Finland, involves Luke, Aalto University and the University of Oulu. Lumene Oy and Fazer Confectionery Ltd are contributing to the project by testing the waxes developed within the project in their products.  

Luke will present the preliminary results of the project at BioKokkola Day on 14^th November 2024. LUMENE will also participate with its own presentation.