The BARBARA partners extracted and characterized functional additives from lemon and pomegranate agrowastes, from the residue of discarded fruits by Spanish farmers and supplied by FECOAM. The UA team was in charge of developing and optimizing microwave assisted extraction (MAE) protocols at the laboratory scale for lemon and pomegranate agroresidues by using multivariate experimental designs. These protocols allowed the extraction of essential oil from lemon, pigments (lemon and pomegranate), and biomordants from pomegranate (tannins and other polyphenols) as well as its functionalisation and design to be used as additives for polymers. CELABOR was responsible for the purification of the active additives and their upscaling. The optimization of chlorophylls extraction from broccoli at lab scale by MAE was also performed by UA (supported by UNIPG). Seven additives with colouring, fragrance, antimicrobial or biomordant functionalities were obtained from the studied agrowaste residues in the work carried out by the partners UA and CELABOR: lemon essential oil; yellow pigment from lemon; pomegranate pigments and antibacterial biomordant from pomegranate; green pigment from broccoli; and antimicrobial extract and reinforcing additive from almonds.
Regarding the development of engineering bioplastic blends combining polysaccharide fractions isoltaed from corn by-products (starch from broken corn and arabinoxylan from corn fiber) and engineered polymer resins (polyamides and polyesters) provided by NUREL, KTH optimized and implemented the chemical modification procedures. In total, 16 new formulations using BARBARA polysaccharide substrates were produced and characterized. The upscaling production of the target final matrix based on starch and PA for the construction mould was carried out by AITIIP. To this end, a grafting approach was selected, developed, upscaled and implemented.
TECNOPACKAGING successfully upscaled the selected formulations from lab level (work carried out by UNIPG) as best candidates for the final 3D printing prototypes. 8 materials (33 spools) were produced.
AITIIP developed a new heading for the 3D printer particularly designed to overcome Fused Filament Fabrication weaknesses: layer thickness quality and anisotropy. Modifications were required in the printer and the heading device in order to optimise the printing process and properties of the samples. Mechanical characterization of injected and 3D printed samples was also conducted, with the main aim of verifying the role of the processing conditions of the overall performance of produced formulation in the frame of the project. Disintegrability, recyclability, fragrance release and antimicrobial activity was also tested.
Three industrial prototypes were manufactured through FFF processing using BARBARA materials: fascia and interior door trim for the automotive sector and a mould for the construction sector. All the prototypes were successfully validated by CRF and ACCIONA.
Dissemination of key results were disseminated through diverse tools and channels; such as webpage, social networks, 7 scientific publications, 3 brochures, 9 videos, 15 radio/TV interviews and 7 newsletters (sent to stakeholders with targeted sectors and audiences).
A specific business plan has been developed for the key exploitable results (the ones which represent a potential business) to drive the generation of value of BARBARA project for the different partners and stakeholders in the value-chain. The activities associated to the Business Plan are strictly related to the technological activities within the BARBARA project, and are directly fed by dissemination and exploitation strategies, providing the guidelines to be followed and the key aspects of marketing that are crucial to ensure positive follow-up. .
