2018 winner of the GRAINE call for projects from ADEME.

Mango is a fruit exploited in most of the tropical and sub-tropical countries, including on Reunion Island, France’s leading producing region. Mango industry is facing several issues : (i) generation of several tons of unused by-products, (ii) fungal contamination of the fruit by anthracnose. These two problems result in high financial, energetic and environmental costs.

MANGOVAL gather public and private actors involved in the sustainable valorization of mango by-products. MANGOVAL is part of a virtuous and participatory approach of the local circular economy on Reunion Island by proposing a cascade valorization plan of the various by-products from the mango sector without waste generation. To achieve this, MANGOVAL relies on the expertise of its consortium in various and complementary fields. Thus,

MANGOVAL is carrying out industrial research in order to fulfill its objectives such as (i) the development of an innovative marketable cosmetic active, (ii) the production of mango butter without solvents, (iii) the development of an eco-extraction process for gallic acid, (iv) the discovery of a new bioenergy source that can be used in a short circuit and (v) the development of an antifungal extract active against anthracnose.

To support this strategy, an LCA will be carried out on the entire project in order to measure its environmental impact and modify the most polluting steps. MANGOVAL will broaden the scope of the study to apply it to the mango sector on Reunion Island, which is unprecedented.

By addressing the major environmental problems of this region, MANGOVAL will help its development by offering innovative solutions that are beneficial for employment and by generating income for the mango sector local actors. The project is entirely in accordance with the National Strategy for Biomass Mobilization but also with Reunion Island’s desire for waste management and energy independence.

MANGOVAL intends to highlight French know-how and extend it to all mango producers in its network (Africa, Reunion, Indian Ocean zone), based on the example of Reunion Island as a proof of concept.