Project description DEENESFRITPL Putting PET plastics into a perpetual bio-cyclable loop Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a polymer used extensively in single-use packaging and beverage bottles as well as in the textiles industry, is not very circular. There is a growing need to convert unrecyclable post-use PET into new, high-performance bioplastics. In this case, post-use materials become ingredients for new products. The EU-funded EcoPlastiC project will optimise PET circularity. It will convert lower-grade PET and mixed recalcitrant PET plastic waste into high-performing biopolymers, through the development of a suite of breakthrough technologies adaptable to the waste input. For instance, it will develop a series of mechano-green, chemical and biocatalytic technologies to depolymerise PET. Moreover, microbiome processing will be used to produce new biopolymers. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective ECOPLASTIC is designed to provide a seamless route to resolving pervasive PET plastic pollution, converting it to Eco-plastic prototypes. Conversion of unrecyclable post use PET into new, high performance bioplastics embodies the regenerative zero waste approaches found in nature, where post use materials become the ingredients for new products and with unlimited cyclical use of materials. It proposes a technological paradigm shift in recycling from the current zero to single digit circuits of recycling loops to a regeneration process providing a significant scientific step forward towards true circularity. ECOPLASTIC converts lower grade PET and mixed recalcitrant PET plastic waste into high performing biopolymers, through the development of a suite of breakthrough modular and technologies adaptable to the waste input, to funnel waste PET plastics into Eco-products that enter a perpetually bio-cyclable loop. The new Eco-plastics and products will provide drop in alternatives for seamless adoption within industry and by consumers. We will demonstrate that the resulting processes are economically & environmentally sustainable for valorizing currently non-recyclable materials such as multilayer packages and flexible films. The project will combine several approaches to optimise the material circularity:I. Depolymerization process: Series of mechano-green, chemical and biocatalytic technologies to depolymerize them into their constituent monomers, using novel biological filtration for the preparation of highly fermentable monomer and oligomer feedstock streamsII. Biopolymer production using microbiome processing to produce new biopolymers from monomer feedstocks which are then processed into bioproduct prototypes that are not harharmful to the environmentIII. Advanced processing will be used to advance the properties of recovered biopolymers and demonstration prototypes for applications including packaging will be produced. Fields of science engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwaste managementwaste treatment processesrecyclingnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesenvironmental sciencespollutionengineering and technologyindustrial biotechnologybiomaterialsbioplasticsnatural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiology Keywords Enzymes plastics recycling circular plastics Microbiome Programme(s) HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC) Main Programme HORIZON.3.1.1 - The Pathfinder for Advanced Research Topic(s) HORIZON-EIC-2021-PATHFINDEROPEN-01-01 - EIC Pathfinder Open 2021 Call for proposal HORIZON-EIC-2021-PATHFINDEROPEN-01 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC Grants Coordinator Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest Net EU contribution € 813 815,00 Address Moylish park campus V94 EC5T Limerick Ireland See on map Region Ireland Southern Mid-West Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 Participants (4) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all AVECOM Belgium Net EU contribution € 514 500,00 Address Industrieweg 122p 9032 Gent-wondelgem See on map SME The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed. Yes Region Vlaams Gewest Prov. Oost-Vlaanderen Arr. Gent Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 NOVA ID FCT - ASSOCIACAO PARA A INOVACAO E DESENVOLVIMENTO DA FCT Portugal Net EU contribution € 564 250,00 Address Campus de caparica faculdade de ciencias e tecnologia da universidade nova de lisboa 2829 516 Caparica See on map Region Continente Área Metropolitana de Lisboa Área Metropolitana de Lisboa Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 INSTITUT ZA MOLEKULARNU GENETIKU I GENETICKO INZENJERSTVO Serbia Net EU contribution € 543 750,00 Address Vojvode stepe 444a 11010 Beograd See on map Region Србија - север Београдски регион Београдска област Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 KUNGLIGA TEKNISKA HOEGSKOLAN Sweden Net EU contribution € 609 187,50 Address Brinellvagen 8 100 44 Stockholm See on map Region Östra Sverige Stockholm Stockholms län Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00
