Project description
Converting leftover cereal straw into eco-friendly plastics
Europe leaves millions of tonnes of cereal straw underutilised or burned each year, causing resource waste and carbon emissions. However, this agricultural waste could help meet the growing demand for green textiles and sustainable packaging. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the PHOENIX project will develop an eco-friendly route to convert cereal straw into valuable bio-polyesters. Researchers will use a solar- and mechanically driven chemical process to transform straw-derived glucose into green hydrogen and key bioplastic building blocks. The project will design high-entropy oxide catalysts with efficient solar and mechanical energy responses to enhance this conversion. Advanced modelling and spectroscopy will reveal the reaction mechanisms, supporting a practical prototype for decentralised biomass conversion.
Objective
Europe generates over 144 million tonnes of cereal straw each year, much of which is open-burned or underutilised, causing CO2 emissions and resource loss. Meanwhile, demand for sustainable polyesters is rapidly growing across textiles and packaging. A major bottleneck is the green synthesis of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), a key monomer for bio-based polyesters.
The proposed proejct, PHOENIX, introduces a novel piezo-photocatalytic cascade to convert wheat straw-derived glucose into FDCA and green hydrogen under ambient conditions. By combining solar and sustainable mechanical energy sources (wind, tidal, ultrasound) with high-entropy perovskite oxides tailored for band-gap alignment and strong piezoelectric response, the project enables efficient charge separation for selective oxidation and water splitting without harsh conditions.
While piezo-photocatalysis has shown promise, its reaction pathways and active-site dynamics remain poorly understood. PHOENIX will address this by integrating operando spectroscopy, piezo-response mapping, and multiscale modelling to uncover the fundamental mechanism of photo-piezo synergy and translate it into practical design rules. The final goal is to deliver a TRL-6 bench-top prototype for decentralised biomass conversion, advancing EU priorities in climate-neutral materials, circular bioeconomy, and sustainable textiles.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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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.
M13 9PL Manchester
United Kingdom
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.