New products from sustainable cellulose pulp exploitation

Specific challenge: Although market prospects of cellulose based products in textiles, films and thermoplastics are high, their current market share is relatively small due to environmental and cost limitations of current cellulose based processes such as viscose, lyocell and cellulose ester based ones. The need to meet tighter environmental demands and to compete with cotton and fossil based polymers counterparts calls for the development of high-cellulose content pulp, new innovative cellulose dissolution, regeneration and derivatisation processes.

Scope: Development of innovative cellulose dissolution processes and concomitant technologies enabling the production of cellulose based products with innovative properties. Proposals should address the processing and processability of pulp, including dissolving pulp, into new products such as textile fibres, films, and thermoplastic materials. If justified by improved processability or product quality, the proposals could also emphasise modification or improvements to dissolving pulp production. A life-cycle assessment should be carried out in order to evaluate the environmental and socio-economic performance of the developed technologies. The feasibility of integrating the developed technologies into existing industrial processing chains should be assessed. Proposals will consider potential standardisation-related activities expected to facilitate the market uptake of the developed products.

It is considered that proposals with a total eligible budget of between EUR 5 and 8 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals with another budget.

Expected impact:

         Delivering eco-friendly and cost-competitive cellulose products leading to a significant improvement in environmental performance, cost and quality as compared to establised alternatives.

         Strengthening market position of cellulose based products by a reduction of at least 10% of investment and operating costs of newly developed cellulose dissolving processes as compared to conventional ones.

Achieving technological validation of at least one of the targeted cellulose-based products to be ready for demonstration.