A Novel Biorefinery Approach Using Edible Ascomycete and Zygomycete Filamentous Fungi to Valorize Vinasse from the Distillery Industry

The growing global demand for sustainable protein sources—driven by population growth, climate change, and mounting pressure on conventional agriculture—has intensified interest in valorizing agri-food by-products. Among these, the wine and distillery industries offer substantial untapped potential for resource recovery from oenological by-products, presenting valuable opportunities to advance circular bioeconomy solutions. Post-distillation wine lees (vinasse), generated at up to 17 liters per liter of ethanol produced, represent a high-volume by-product that poses environmental and health risks due to the complex composition and high chemical oxygen demand. This study explores a novel biorefinery approach to biovalorize vinasse utilizing edible Ascomycete and Zygomycete filamentous fungi, specifically Aspergillus oryzae, Rhizopus oryzae, and Neurospora intermedia. Submerged fermentations were conducted at various vinasse concentrations (5–100% v/v), at 35.°C, 115 rpm, and pH 5, over 48–120 hours. Optimal fungal growth occurred at 10% (v/v) vinasse, with moderate growth at 5% and 15%, and no growth above 20%. The highest biomass yield was achieved within 48 to 72 hours by Neurospora intermedia and Aspergillus oryzae, and between 72 and 96 hours by Rhizopus oryzae. These findings demonstrate the effective bioconversion of vinasse into protein-rich fungal biomass, contributing to food system resilience and environmental sustainability.