During the first 36 months, the MARISURF team has screened more than 500 marine bacteria strains for surfactant / emulsifying activity. The industrial end users have identified the desirable properties for the bio-surfactants & 79 have been identified with promising properties that could potentially  replace the current mainly petroleum-based, chemical products.  LEITAT & ULSTER have been working to optimise the fermentation process at laboratory scale of the most promising candidates. LEITAT has been concentrating on strains with promising emulsion & gel forming characteristics. Ulster has determined suitable substrate concentration & growth conditions (temperature, pH, aeration rate, agitation rate, feed rate) for enhanced biosurfactant production where strains have been selected based on their ability to reduce surface tension. From this wor , 4 promising strains ( 2 biosurfactants & 2 bioemulsifiers) have been selected for pilot scale production  at BBEU. ULSTER  genetically sequenced  the 79 promising strains & is exploring possibilities for increasing yield using genetic modification. UPAT established  isolation/purification protocol of SAs, which allows for further understanding of the biophysical & functional characterization of materials with biopolymer characteristics. It is also conductung NMR analysis & other identification techniques to ascertain the chemical composition of the promising strains.
UNN , DUTH , HWU, ETS  and NIT  have completed the phase 1 characterisation of the 4 promising strains. This has covered functional characterisation and some toxicity testing of the strains. UNN , DUTH , HWU, ETS  and LEITAT are now completing further testing to highlight other properties the promising strains may have such as anti-inflammatory/ anti-aging etc
The consortium is actively working to develop an efficient process for polymer production so that all partners get polymer when they require it & further testing is ongoing.  Very initial testing has been done by the end users on some of the promising strains &, over the next year, production at BBEU will be increased so that much wider testing can be carried out by end users.
All deliverables & milestone have been met and  the project is proceeding as originally planned. 6 monthly consortium meetings & regular technical work package meeting have been occurring.