Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Waste2BioComp (Converting organic waste into sustainable bio-based components)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2022-06-01 do 2023-11-30
The climate neutrality, aimed by the EU to be reached by 2050, cannot be achieved without a significant change in the manufacturing sector. Reduction of its pollution and waste and increase of its reprocessing potential is a must to achieve a true circular and sustainable economy. The replacement of fossil raw materials by bio-based ones is crucial for the green transition of manufacturing industries. To lower the environmental impact to a greater degree, the bio-based products should be easy to reuse and recycle. However, a transition from conventional materials to bio-based ones requires not only the development of new raw materials (e.g. biopolymers), but also the adaptation or even implementation of new manufacturing routes for them. The textile, packaging and footwear value-chains contribute in large-scale to the world pollution: 10 % of the global greenhouse gas emissions are caused by clothing and footwear production and, in 2018, the generated packaging waste in the EU was estimated at 174.1 kg per inhabitant. Petrochemical-based materials used in these value-chains are a threat to the environment due to their non-biodegradable and non-renewable nature.
To tackle these issues, Waste2BioComp aims to demonstrate relevant scale production of different bio-based products and materials for the abovementioned value-chains, using innovative manufacturing technologies. To increase the impact and market acceptance of these new materials, the project integrates all stages in the bio-based products’ life cycle, starting from R&I activities regarding the sourcing of feedstocks for the development of bio-based precursors and intermediate materials (PHAs, microparticles, nanocapsules, pigments and inks), smart inkjet printing techniques and smart manufacturing technologies for final products and the final demonstrators, which will entail the production of the following bio-based products: shoe sole materials with different hardness; three-layered shoe insoles; plastic films/packaging with different flexibilities; technical textiles for sportswear; different items (fashion garments, leather and textile shoes, paper for packaging) printed with bio-based inks. Waste2BioComp will also develop sustainability and toxicity assessments, as well as re-manufacturing and recycling approaches to ensure circularity by closing the material loop.
Training materials and activities are also under development, to support the creation of a skilled workforce in biomaterial-based manufacturing sectors, and increase the societal impact of the project.
Therefore, Waste2BioComp will have a significative impact on the reduction of the use of fossil-based materials, not only in the approached three value chains, which are highly resource and polluting intensive sectors, but also with potential for several other sectors and applications.
To tackle these issues, Waste2BioComp aims to demonstrate relevant scale production of different bio-based products and materials for the abovementioned value-chains, using innovative manufacturing technologies. To increase the impact and market acceptance of these new materials, the project integrates all stages in the bio-based products’ life cycle, starting from R&I activities regarding the sourcing of feedstocks for the development of bio-based precursors and intermediate materials (PHAs, microparticles, nanocapsules, pigments and inks), smart inkjet printing techniques and smart manufacturing technologies for final products and the final demonstrators, which will entail the production of the following bio-based products: shoe sole materials with different hardness; three-layered shoe insoles; plastic films/packaging with different flexibilities; technical textiles for sportswear; different items (fashion garments, leather and textile shoes, paper for packaging) printed with bio-based inks. Waste2BioComp will also develop sustainability and toxicity assessments, as well as re-manufacturing and recycling approaches to ensure circularity by closing the material loop.
Training materials and activities are also under development, to support the creation of a skilled workforce in biomaterial-based manufacturing sectors, and increase the societal impact of the project.
Therefore, Waste2BioComp will have a significative impact on the reduction of the use of fossil-based materials, not only in the approached three value chains, which are highly resource and polluting intensive sectors, but also with potential for several other sectors and applications.
The project has started with the research on the production of the biopolymers PHAs, both by chemical and fermentation routes. Diverse PHAs with different crystallinities have already been produced, in kg scale, achieving a very important milestone of the project. In parallel, methods to produce functional microcapsules and nanocapsules with commercial and developed in the project biopolymers have been exploited, being now on the phase of scaling-up their production. Activities have also been carried out to obtain bio-based pigments, through a mixed fermentation and chemical synthesis approach. From this, a blue pigment has already been produced in g-scale and being next produced in kg-scale. Red and yellow pigments are being developed, to achieve a trichotomy. The blue pigment has been employed to develop bio-based inks for different substrates, with the ink for cotton textile being already achieved.
For the inkjet printing systems, most of the components, namely the printheads, type of transport system for the substrates, the pressure sensor, optical leak sensor and humidity and temperature sensors, have been defined. These were chosen due to their versatility in terms of ink requirements, and substrates to use. The development of the whole 2D system is on-going, with a prototype of the print engine been accomplished. For the 3D system, the first simulated tests of the print trajectory for the 3D system have been carried out with success.
Some bio-based materials have also been produced for each value-chain, through different manufacturing processes, namely: foams for shoe soles and insoles, both PHA-based and PU-based, mostly with bio-based components; flexible and rigid plastics containing the PHAs developed in the project, using blown extrusion and melt processing. A spray system has been developed and is being applied to produce fibres with the PHAs. As the materials are produced, these have been characterized, with new methods being tested.
A video has been produced explaining what LCSA is, and a template has been distributed among the consortium for collecting LCI data, which is underway. This data is essential to assess the LCA, LCC and SLCA, which will indicate environmental, economic, and societal impacts of the project results.
For the inkjet printing systems, most of the components, namely the printheads, type of transport system for the substrates, the pressure sensor, optical leak sensor and humidity and temperature sensors, have been defined. These were chosen due to their versatility in terms of ink requirements, and substrates to use. The development of the whole 2D system is on-going, with a prototype of the print engine been accomplished. For the 3D system, the first simulated tests of the print trajectory for the 3D system have been carried out with success.
Some bio-based materials have also been produced for each value-chain, through different manufacturing processes, namely: foams for shoe soles and insoles, both PHA-based and PU-based, mostly with bio-based components; flexible and rigid plastics containing the PHAs developed in the project, using blown extrusion and melt processing. A spray system has been developed and is being applied to produce fibres with the PHAs. As the materials are produced, these have been characterized, with new methods being tested.
A video has been produced explaining what LCSA is, and a template has been distributed among the consortium for collecting LCI data, which is underway. This data is essential to assess the LCA, LCC and SLCA, which will indicate environmental, economic, and societal impacts of the project results.
The results achieved so far have, most of all, a scientific impact, as the several breakthrough scientific discoveries on new bio-based materials and their manufacturing processes for different applications in the textile, packaging, and footwear VCs, will affect the scientific community, providing knowledge on methods to produce PHAs with different levels of crystallinities, functional microparticles and nanocapsules, bio-based inks, foams, plastics and fibres. This knowledge can than be employed to produce similar components for other applications. However, for further uptake and success, the results still need further research to, in some cases, improve properties, and in others to up-scale the process, and also IP protection.