Periodic Reporting for period 1 - HICCUPS (Highly-Innovative technology demonstration for bio-based CO2 Capture and Utilization for production of bulk Plastic applicationS)
Berichtszeitraum: 2023-09-01 bis 2025-02-28
The HICCUPS project proposes a resource-efficient solution to convert biogenic CO2 emissions from wastewater treatment plants into bio-based polymers for the packaging industry. The aim of the project is to develop an efficient process to electrochemically convert CO2 emissions from water treatment sludge into monomers and polymerise them to produce the bio-based polymer, polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), for the food packaging industry.
PLGA is a polymer with excellent water and gas barrier properties that is fully biodegradable and can be entirely produced from renewable resources, making it a promising candidate to replace fossil-based polyethylene. To demonstrate the potential of PLGA, packaging materials will be produced using PLGA film coated paper and moulded plastic, including coated paper for food packaging.
PLGA is a polymer with excellent water and gas barrier properties that is fully biodegradable and can be entirely produced from renewable resources, making it a promising candidate to replace fossil-based polyethylene. To demonstrate the potential of PLGA, packaging materials will be produced using PLGA film coated paper and moulded plastic, including coated paper for food packaging.
In the first period of HICCUPS, the consortium focused on developing the HICCUPS technology, which includes several steps: 1) biogenic CO2 capture and separation from biogas produced in wastewater treatment processes; 2) (electro)catalytic conversion of CO2 into glycolic acid; 3) PLGA polymerization; 4) PLGA processing and prototype production. Research activities have been conducted to improve the performance of membranes for the CO2 capture and purification process and to optimize the boundary conditions of the conversion step for the production of glycolic acid. A recipe for the synthesis of PLGA at > 5kg scale has been developed and produced PLGA samples have been shared and used by the partners for characterization and processing tests. Basic engineering and process specifications for the separation and conversion of CO2 were established.
Further research and development is needed to improve and scale up the HICCUPS technology. We have another 2/3 of the project to prove the principle and to reach the objectives.