Objective
Changing shopping habits and trends to convenience products have precipitated a
plastic waste disposal crisis. Relief is expected by recycling, however, due to the
high cost of collection, separation and purification recycling is considered as
economically ambiguous. Assuming that biodegradable plastics meet the price
expectation, it would be better to use biodegradable plastics which are easily
compostable. The estimated EEC market (year 1998) for such products is of
significant size : approximately 4-5 x l05 tons/yr.
The overall goal of the present project is the synthesis of biodegradable polyesters
from two main monomers, 1,3-propanediol and succinate (produced by
fermentation from renewable sources) and from other dicarboxylic acids (like
terephthalic acid) used as an auxiliary monomers to modified the chemical and
physical properties of the polyester. The advantages of this approach compared to
polyhydoxyalkanoates or polylactides (two biodegradable polyesters that can be
produced from renewable sources) are the lower cost of production and the
possibility to easily modify the physical properties of the polyester to the qualities
required for the article made of plastic.
Therefore the main items of this project are :
Production of 1,3-propanediol out of glycerol coming from the oleochemical
industry (fatty acids, fatty alcohols) and rape seed oil production. Development of
genetically modified microorganisms for maximal yield of 1, 3-propanediol
production and evaluation of their performances in fermentor up to the m3 scale
and in high volumetric productivity membrane bioreactor.
Production of succinic acid from starch hydrolysates using Anaerobiospirillum
succiniproducens in high performance bioreactor (membrane bioreactors with
optimized ratio of cell bleeding and effluent flow rates and in situ product recovery
by electrodialysis), to increase the productivity and decrease the waste water
treatment of the process. This fermentation is original by the fact that carbon
dioxide is consumed for succinate production. Several patents have been deposited
regarding the process of succinate production but the productivities reported are
low due to low cell density.
Development of polyesters based on 1, 3-propanediol and succinic acid optimised
regarding processability and thermo-mechanical properties by means of utilization
of improved polymerization-copolymerization methods and blending. Manufacture
of prototypes of product using the referred optimised polymers, copolymers and
blends. Biodegradation studies using various test systems including C-balances,
isolation and characterization of degradative microbial consortia and involved
enzymes systems (lipases, hydrolases).
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 water treatment processes wastewater treatment processes
- engineering and technology environmental biotechnology bioremediation bioreactors
- engineering and technology chemical engineering separation technologies desalination electrodialysis
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture grains and oilseeds oilseeds
- engineering and technology industrial biotechnology bioprocessing technologies fermentation
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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.
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.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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.
Coordinator
31077 TOULOUSE
France
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.