Objective
Every year 7.5Mton of Absorbent Hygiene Product (AHP) waste is produced in Europe. This is disposed either by landfilling or incineration. AHP waste consists of disposable child nappies, adult incontinence products, feminine hygiene and similar products. Thereof, 30% corresponding to 2.25 Mton/year can be collected as mono-stream AHP waste. However, current state of the art does not offer an economically viable solution for the recovery of raw materials from this stream. The underlying reason is that existing technology strongly depends on waste disposal gate fees and produces cellulose with a purity of typically 70-75%, which is only suitable for low grade application, e.g.as cardboard.
The main objective of the innovation project is to provide a technical solution for the recycling of high grade cellulose from AHP waste. The patented process is based on dissolving lignin with mild acids, thus upgrading the overall cellulose purity. Based on this solution a total of 360 kton of cellulose per year with a high degree of purity (> 92%) can be produced from the AHP waste. This high quality cellulose that can be used as paint additive or as chemical building block, could result in an economically viable operation without depending on gate fees. The proposed valorisation of Psicon’s process represents a potential total value increase for the European economy of up to 360 M€/year and 2,000 new jobs. The European environment strongly benefits as CO2 emission is reduced up to 700 kton/year and reducing resources consumption by reusing them.
The long term ambition of Psicon is to create enough production sites, at strategic locations close to the feedstock, in order to be able to convert 70-80% of the mono-stream AHP waste. This is a significant step towards near-zero AHP waste in Europe. In this feasibility assessment the final hurdles will be taken towards an EU wide market introduction supported by demonstrating the process of Psicon in an operational environment.
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.
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.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering waste management waste treatment processes recycling
- engineering and technology materials engineering coating and films
- social sciences economics and business economics sustainable economy
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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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H2020-EU.3.5. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Climate action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.2.3.1. - Mainstreaming SME support, especially through a dedicated instrument
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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.
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.
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-SMEInst-2016-2017
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
2723RM ZOETERMEER
Netherlands
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
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.