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Renewable and safe Aromatic compounDs As Replacements for substances of concern

Project description

Safer, sustainable alternatives to harmful chemicals

Many everyday products, such as plastics, detergents and clothing, contain fossil-based chemicals. Some of these chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA) and phenol are harmful to both human health and the environment, especially when people are exposed to them. BPA and similar substances are persistent in nature and have been linked to various health issues. As concerns grow, there is an urgent need for safer alternatives. In this context, the EU-funded RADAR project will develop renewable, eco-friendly chemicals to replace these harmful substances. By using biomass side streams and cutting-edge technology, RADAR focuses on creating safer, more sustainable alternatives. The project strives to ensure that these new chemicals are both environmentally friendly and safe for human health.

Objective

Fossil-based aromatic chemicals like phenol, bisphenol A (BPA), BPA derivatives and alkylphenols are produced on a million ton scale and are commonly used in surfactants, flame retardants and plastics. However, they also raise serious environmental and health concerns especially in applications that result in potential exposure to the body such as detergents, furniture, textile or food packaging. Therefore, this multidisciplinary EU project aims at developing renewable compounds as benign alternatives for current aromatic chemicals following the Safe and Sustainable-By-Design (SSbD) framework. The project will focus on the molecular design of novel biobased compounds as alternatives for substances of very high concern (SVHC) via an inventive catalytic biorefinery of biomass sides streams. New approach methodologies (NAMs) will be used for hazard assessment of the new chemicals in terms of human health and environmental toxicity. Machine learning models will be developed for the design phase and for the in-silico impact assessment of the novel chemicals. Successful products will be safe, follow the principles of green chemistry, demonstrate a lower carbon footprint than their petrochemical counterparts and will have a calculated life cycle and socio-economic impact. Formal SSbD reporting in RADAR will demonstrate the applicability of the framework and support EU policy. The selected RADAR chemicals will be upscaled to multi kg scale and investigated in industrial applications while they will be benchmarked against functional properties of standard flame retardant, surfactant or can coating materials. RADAR data will allow mapping of the substitution barriers in terms of supply, production cost and performance. To reach its goals, the RADAR consortium involves all relevant industrial actors along the value chain ranging from biomass refinery to chemicals production and brand owners in end markets supported by excellent knowledge institutions.

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation Actions

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL4-2024-RESILIENCE-01

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Coordinator

KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 2 746 720,00
Address
OUDE MARKT 13
3000 LEUVEN
Belgium

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Region
Vlaams Gewest Prov. Vlaams-Brabant Arr. Leuven
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 2 746 720,00

Participants (16)

Partners (1)

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