Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English en
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

PHA through continuous, Tunable, Safe and Sustainable production

Objective

PHACTUS aims to scale up (final TRL 6-7) a 1st-of-its-kind continuous process for production of biodegradable polymers (namely the copolymer PHBV, belonging to the polyhydroxyalkanoate family, PHA) starting from organic waste and using mixed microbial cultures. Being all competing processes based on discontinuous (batch) or sequential (sequencing batch) modes, the transition to a continuous process aims to make the PHA production cheaper, more reliable and more sustainable. To date, the continuos processwas demonstrated on a bench scale with synthetic substrates (TRL 3), and not including upstream and downstream. PHACTUS will realize, operate and optimize a continuos-flow pilot plant for the production of PHA (from urban biowaste and sludge from municipal wastewater treatment), including continuous upstream and downstream steps (acidogenic fermentation of organic waste and PHA extraction, respectively). Also, the development of advanced online monitoring and control (using novel online probes, process modelling and digital tools) will make the process more robust and reliable.
Based on pilot plant production capacity (around 3 kg PHA per day), 3 PHA grades (at purity >50, >80, and >95%) will be available for development of PHA-based biomaterials, for several uses such as civil construction, agriculture, coatings and packaging. Moreover, several end-of-life solutions will be experimentally tested, such as conventional mechanical recycling and carbon recovery through anaerobic digestion as well solvent reprocessing and chemical/organic recycle (i.e. returning back to PHA precursors in order to obtain new PHA).
In parallel, safety and sustainability (environmental, social and economical) of the whole technology chain (process and product) will be ensured through alignment with Sustainable and Safe by Design framework, also taking care of regulatory compliance (both waste and product sides), market strategies, and replicability at regional level in the EU.

Keywords

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.

Topic(s)

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.

HORIZON-JU-IA - HORIZON JU Innovation Actions

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

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

(opens in new window) HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI ROMA LA SAPIENZA
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.

€ 856 120,00
Address
Piazzale Aldo Moro 5
00185 Roma
Italy

See on map

Region
Centro (IT) Lazio Roma
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.

€ 976 120,00

Participants (19)

My booklet 0 0