Objective
Currently paper pulp is made mainly from either wood or recycled paper, however this has placed a huge burden on forests with deforestation still alarmingly high in many parts of the world.
Pulping straw (a low to no value by-product of the wheat industry) to make paper pulp appears to be the perfect solution. However this process produces a black liquor with no viable economic disposal solution for small-scale production. The process cannot achieve reasonable running costs (heat, pressure, chemical renewal), requires dry straw, uses expensive recovery techniques and requires skilled workers to operate the digester.
ECOPULPING is an alternative processing method enabled by corresponding novel equipment design. This process in turn enables much easier and more efficient processing and 100% valorisation of the process output. Our novel ECOPULPING process does not require any pressure and very low heating meaning low running costs and which simplifies the recovery treatments and requires less costly materials. This leads allows access to valuable co-products which will be worth up to or more than twice the value of output when compared to current pulping mills and produces no liquid waste or odour. The plant is designed to operate as a closed-loop system meaning that there is little chemical top up needed. It can use straw with high moisture content and therefore there are no storage costs.
We have already built a pilot plant capable of producing 400 kg per day of unbleached and un-cleaned pulp, and soon a cleaner pulp in the UK. The plant is successfully being used to process pre-production samples for prospective partners using paper mills to finish the paper products.
The overall first objective for the ECOPULPING project is to build a 50 tonne bleached straw pulp a day demonstrator. We will first conduct a feasibility study including the validation of customer demand, securing a demonstration site, validation of co-product uses and technical gap analysis.
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 materials engineering woodworking
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology tissue engineering artificial pancreas continuous glucose monitors
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture grains and oilseeds cereals
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries forestry
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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.3.2. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.3.2.4. - Sustainable and competitive bio-based industries and supporting the development of a European bioeconomy
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H2020-EU.3.2.1. - Sustainable agriculture and forestry
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H2020-EU.2.3.1. - Mainstreaming SME support, especially through a dedicated instrument
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H2020-EU.3.2.2. - Sustainable and competitive agri-food sector for a safe and healthy diet
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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
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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.
RH13 6PE HORSHAM
United Kingdom
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.