Highly-Innovative technology demonstration for bio-based CO2 Capture and Utilization for production of bulk Plastic applicationS

Informazioni relative al progetto

HICCUPS

ID dell’accordo di sovvenzione: 101112455

DOI

10.3030/101112455

Data della firma CE 24 Maggio 2023

Data di avvio 1 Settembre 2023

Data di completamento 31 Agosto 2027

Finanziato da

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Costo totale

€ 7 138 171,75

Contributo UE

€ 4 999 970,50

Coordinato da

AVANTIUM CHEMICALS BV
Netherlands

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - HICCUPS (Highly-Innovative technology demonstration for bio-based CO2 Capture and Utilization for production of bulk Plastic applicationS)

Periodo di rendicontazione: 2023-09-01 al 2025-02-28

Sintesi del contesto e degli obiettivi generali del progetto

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.

Lavoro eseguito dall’inizio del progetto fino alla fine del periodo coperto dalla relazione e principali risultati finora ottenuti

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.

Progressi oltre lo stato dell’arte e potenziale impatto previsto (incluso l’impatto socioeconomico e le implicazioni sociali più ampie del progetto fino ad ora)

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.

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