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Bringing a new life to industrial waste in construction applications

Project description

Cellulose waste from paper mills gets a second chance in recyclable construction materials

Medium-density fibreboard, MDF, is an engineered wood product made of virgin fibres bonded with resin under heat and pressure. A stronger and less costly alternative to wood, it is virtually ubiquitous – which makes the fact that it uses virgin raw materials, emits volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and is not recyclable, highly problematic. The Spanish SME Honext Material has developed a recyclable substitute for fibreboard called HONEXT® board, made 100 % from cellulose waste and without added VOC emissions. When recycled, the panels can be used again directly to make more boards. Given its excellent technical properties, barriers to market entry are low. The EU-funded HONEXT project is helping the team turn HONEXT® boards into a market-ready product.

Objective

MDF is used in large quantities by the construction industries, 2.5 million m3in 2015, but it is currently unrecyclable. We at Biprocel
have developed an eco-sustainable, functional and design material, called EcoMDF that can be used as a direct substitute for MDF in
construction. It is made from cellulosic waste generated by the paper industry that would otherwise be sent to landfill or burnt.
EcoMDF is 100% recyclable. When its use has come to an end, it can be recycled an unlimited number of times within the same manufacturing process, hence assuring its sustainability throughout its whole life-cycle (cradle-to-cradle). This is particularly relevant for green buildings. What is more, it has excellent technical properties. EcoMDF is water resistant, flame resistant, a natural sound insulator and durable.
Having successfully completed a feasibility study, we will now use the SME instrument phase 2 to scale up production of EcoMDF to an industrial level and to demonstrate the characteristics of the new material to the construction industry.
After the project, we will establish EcoMDF production facilities as joint ventures with paper mills. This will allow us to increase our
production capacity and our impact, reaching expected revenues of 37M€ by 2025, with 3 production facilities employing 50 staff.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2

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Call for proposal

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

(opens in new window) H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020

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Coordinator

HONEXT MATERIAL S.L.
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.

€ 1 192 734,00
Address
PS MARINA JULIA NUM.43
08310 ARGENTONA
Spain

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SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
Este Cataluña Barcelona
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding 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.

€ 1 703 906,25
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