| Project Detail |
Establishing a European biopolymer value chain from biomass feedstock to finished product Plastics have become ubiquitous and nearly indispensable, yet they are largely made from fossil fuel-derived compounds and are having increasingly detrimental effects on the environment. One important way to mitigate the negative impacts of the plastics industry while acknowledging its relevance and supporting its existence is to transition away from petroleum-based compounds to bio-derived polymers. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are among the most promising candidates. However, the EU is currently dependent on other countries for much of the PHA value chain. The EU-funded NENU2PHAR project is out to remedy that, taking a holistic approach that includes raw material production with microalgae and bacteria, the formulation and processing of biopolymers and the production of eight different PHA-based products. Plastic is one of the preferred materials for manufacturing high volume consumer products and more particularly packaging thanks to its physical, mechanical, thermal or barrier properties. However, existing global plastic industry is mainly a petrochemical-based industry, bringing bad environmental footprint. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a group of biopolymers that are now widely recognized as attractive substitutes to fossil fuel derived plastics in a wide range of applications. Unfortunately, no sustainable value chain exists in Europe, and production schemes developed elsewhere in the world appear highly questionable from an environmental and ethical standpoint. The NENU2PHAR project aims at bridging this crucial gap in the EU industry, within an inclusive approach that will address the whole PHA-based plastic value chain, targeting high volume consumer products. The NENU2PHAR project gathers 17 partners (5 large industrials, 6 SMEs, 5 RTOs and 1 cluster), leaders in the different fields of research, from biomass development to formulation of biopolymer up to plastic processes. First, bio-source will be tackled by developing and optimised production of PHA biopolymer thanks to the optimisation of carbon feedstock from micro-algae biomass and selection of bacteria strains. Then, innovative polymer processing options will generate different structures with various bulk-surface properties, and various end of life properties. Market uptake of this new PHA will be supported by a competitive cost (5€/kg for PHA compounds), high purity product and processes optimised for PHA bioplastic to tackle functional properties of high volume consumer product better than fossil-based counterparts. 8 PHA-based products will be developed and benchmarked to their fossil-based counterparts. Full validation of the end of life scenarios and environmental footprint will be studied based on biodegradability, compostability or recyclability of the bioplastics formulated. |
