Symbio systems are flexible for applications across waste types.
An on-site, semi-autonomous enzymatic biorefinery installs into the existing production floor and converts excess dough and bread into food-grade glucose-maltose syrup: a 5× value uplift, with ROI in 15 months on disposal savings alone.
The hidden cost of waste
$3,269/ton
Total embedded loss
Includes ingredients, labor and energy.
$100/ton
Disposal penalties
In regulated jurisdictions.
600kg
CO2e per ton avoided
By replacing traditional organics disposal.
Process flow
Excess dough and bread are slurried and dosed with a food-grade enzyme blend.
Enzymatic conversion reaches 80% waste-to-sugar yield and 77% biomass reduction.
The slurry is separated, polished and concentrated to 70–72° Brix.
Food-grade syrup, ready to reintegrate as a bakery input or sell via offtake.
The Symbio value uplift
5×
Value
uplift
Pilot ROI
15 months
80%
Waste-to-sugar conversion per batch.
77%
Biomass reduction in a single 6-hour cycle.
Syrup functionality and use
A food-grade glucose-maltose syrup at 70–72° Brix, produced for direct reintegration as a bakery input, or sold through Symbio-facilitated offtake agreements. It doses straight into your existing mix as a liquid sweetener, replacing or supplementing purchased sucrose.
A ready fermentable sugar source to feed pre-ferments and sponge stages.
Drives richer Maillard browning and color in the bake.
Improves moisture retention to extend product shelf-life.
Need more than syrup? The same platform extends downstream to high-value functional sugars: trehalose, maltooligosaccharides and isomaltulose.
Where it re-enters the line
Bulk storage
Liquid tank held at 15–25°C
Pump dosing
Metered by pump, warmed if viscous
Mixer
Added with the wet ingredients
Fermentation
Sustained CO2 through proof
Bake
Deeper Maillard crust
Already dissolved, the syrup joins your other liquids straight at the mixer, with no melting or pre-dissolving the way granulated sucrose requires, and no new process step on the floor.
Syrup formulation
Dial toward glucose →
Faster, front-loaded fermentation and deeper crust color. Best for short-proof rolls and buns.
← Dial toward maltose
Slow, sustained fermentation, lighter crust and the best moisture retention. Best for artisan and cold-retard doughs.
A like-for-like substitute for barley malt syrup (BMS) can also be produced, with no reformulation needed for substitution in bagel and pretzel production.
| Product | Starting ratio · maltose:glucose |
|---|---|
| White sandwich loaf | 30:70 – 50:50 |
| Enriched rolls & buns | 30:70 |
| Artisan & sourdough | 70:30 – 90:10 |
| Rye & wholegrain | 50:50 – 70:30 |
Process modifications
Syrup carries 20–30% water. Reduce recipe water by its water content (from the Brix spec) to hold dough hydration on target.
High-glucose proofs faster, so trim 5–10%. High-maltose sustains late-stage gas, so keep the full proof.
Both sugars brown more than sucrose. Drop top heat 5–10°C on the first runs to avoid over-browning.
A syrup is a functionally different ingredient, not a literal drop-in for sucrose; it trades fixed sweetness for control. Validate with a trial bake, then a pilot run, before full rollout.
This system is currently in development.
Contact usA byproduct of cocoa processing. Enzymatic-assisted extraction yields theobromine at ~80% recovery w/w and >98% purity, and flavanols at ~60% recovery w/w and ~25% purity.
Raw material composition (avg.)
Dry weight. Composition data: Delgado-Ospina, 2021.
System outputs
| Product | Applications & processing | Est. yield |
|---|---|---|
| Theobromine | Polyphenol-rich alkaloid for nutraceuticals, cosmetics and functional food fortification. | ~80% recovery w/w >98% purity |
| Flavanols | Polyphenolic antioxidants for nutraceuticals, functional food fortification and cosmetics. | ~60% recovery w/w ~25% purity 35–45% purity possible with process chromatography |
| Protein-enriched animal feed | Press cake from solid-liquid separation, enriched via SSF. Reduced antinutrient content suitable for ruminants, swine and poultry. | ~19% protein DW |
Indicative financials · 5,000 MT/yr
| Base | Optimistic | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ||
| Theobromine | $3.65M | $8.36M |
| Flavanol extract | $1.53M | $2.80M |
| Feed residue | $0.67M | $0.90M |
| Total revenue | $5.85M | $12.05M |
| Operating costs | ||
| OpEx | $2.01M | $2.12M |
| EBITDA | $3.84M 66% | $9.93M 82% |
| Capital | ||
| CapEx | $10.34M | $10.34M |
| Simple payback | 2.7 yrs | 1.0 yr |
Compound profile
| Compound | Class | Avg. range (mg/g DW) |
|---|---|---|
| Theobromine | Methylxanthine | 12–16 |
| Caffeine | Methylxanthine | 1.5–2.0 |
| (+)-Catechin | Flavanol monomer | 2.5–3.5 |
| (−)-Epicatechin | Flavanol monomer | 1.0–2.0 |
Feasibility determination and economic assessment
Schedule preliminary analysisHPLC quantification of theobromine content from client CBS sample. HPLC screening for mycotoxins and TXRF screening of heavy metals and pesticide residue. Preliminary report on sidestream suitability.
Small-scale SSF for carbohydrase titer confirmation on CBS substrate. Establishes optimal strain and fermentation parameters.
Pilot-scale extraction run at the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory (IBRL). Up to 1,600 L batch-fed.
Market and process-side Monte Carlo analysis. Quantifies capital and operating costs, revenue potential, and environmental impact relative to conventional disposal.
This system is currently in development.
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