Waste2BioComp | Converting organic waste into sustainable bio-based components

Summary

Waste2BioComp project aims to demonstrate relevant scale production of bio-based products and materials, as alternatives to traditional materials with high environmental footprint, using innovative manufacturing technologies.

The project integrates all stages in the bio-based products´ life cycle, starting from R&I activities regarding the sourcing of feedstocks for the development of bio-based precursors and intermediate materials, smart inkjet printing techniques, and smart manufacturing technologies for final products, and the final demonstrators, which will entail the production on a relevant scale of the following bio-based products: shoe sole materials with different hardness; three-layered shoe insoles; plastic films/packaging with different flexibilities; social face masks; fashion garments printed with bio-based inks; leather and textile shoes printed with bio-based inks; paper for packaging printed with bio-based inks.

Waste2BioComp will also develop sustainability and toxicity assessments to the developed materials and products, as well as re-manufacturing and recycling approaches to ensure circularity by closing the material loop. Furthermore, the project will develop dedicated training activities to support the creation of a skilled workforce in biomaterial-based manufacturing sectors, particularly for the textile, footwear, and packaging activities.

Therefore, Waste2BioComp will have a significative impact on the reduction of the use of fossil-based materials, not only in the approached three value chains (textiles, packaging, and footwear), which are highly resource and polluting intensive sectors, but also with potential for several other sectors and applications.

The project will run for 36 months, and it will be constituted by 13 partners from France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.

More information & hyperlinks
Web resources: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101058654
https://waste2biocomp.eu/
Start date: 01-06-2022
End date: 31-05-2025
Total budget - Public funding: 5 861 765,00 Euro - 5 861 763,00 Euro
Cordis data

Original description

Waste2BioComp project aims to demonstrate relevant scale production of bio-based products and materials, as alternatives to traditional materials with high environmental footprint, using innovative manufacturing technologies. The project integrates all stages in the bio-based products´ life cycle, starting from R&I activities regarding the sourcing of feedstocks for the development of bio-based precursors and intermediate materials, smart inkjet printing techniques, and smart manufacturing technologies for final products, and the final demonstrators, which will entail the production on a relevant scale of the following bio-based products: shoe sole materials with different hardness; three-layered shoe insoles; plastic films/packaging with different flexibilities; social face masks; fashion garments printed with bio-based inks; leather and textile shoes printed with bio-based inks; paper for packaging printed with bio-based inks. Waste2BioComp will also develop sustainability and toxicity assessments to the developed materials and products, as well as re-manufacturing and recycling approaches to ensure circularity by closing the material loop. Furthermore, the project will develop dedicated training activities to support the creation of a skilled workforce in biomaterial-based manufacturing sectors, particularly for the textile, footwear, and packaging activities.
Therefore, Waste2BioComp will have a significative impact on the reduction of the use of fossil-based materials, not only in the approached three value chains (textiles, packaging, and footwear), which are highly resource and polluting intensive sectors, but also with potential for several other sectors and applications.
The project will run for 36 months, and it will be constituted by 13 partners from France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.

Status

SIGNED

Call topic

HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-05

Update Date

27-10-2022
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Comment:

Waste2BioComp will develop bio-based materials for key sectors: textile, footwear and packaging. This will be done by adapting existing technologies to the new materials (faster integration of the materials in the market) or developing innovative processes. The project contemplates the whole value chain: from polymers production from waste raw materials, to the final product, and its end-of-life, with the possibility of re-introducing the recyclates in the value chain.
After the project, developments on the scale-up of the developed processes will be required.

Comment:

Waste2BioComp contemplates the end-of-life of the materials developed, either by re-manufacturing approaches (colour removal to allow new printing of the substrate), chemical recycling and study of the re-introduction of the recyclates in the process, or by biodegradability and compostability. 
In the end, if all goals for re-manufacturing and recycling are achieved, a circuit for product collection will need to be set-up.

Comment:

Waste2BioComp will develop bio-based inks for inkjet printing, and later on, the colour removal followed by new printing will also be studied, so that the product do not need to be discarded when it is “out of fashion”.
It is expected that at the end of the project this approach will still need many developments till it is scalable.

Comment:

Waste2BioComp uses bio-based raw materials to replace fossil-based ones (PHAs to replace polyester, bio-based pigments to replace fossil-based ones, etc.), and is studying how best to adapt different manufacturing processes to the new materials, in order to obtain final products with similar properties as the ones currently used.

Comment:

Waste2BioComp contributes to this priority by reducing the use of fossil fuels in manufacturing (scope 1), and is developing a process for a optimal and efficient PHA production regarding energy and resource consumption. LCAs will show quantitatively this contribution.

Comment:

Waste2BioComp will develop dedicated training activities to support the creation of a skilled workforce in biomaterial-based manufacturing sectors, particularly for the textile, footwear, and packaging activities. The materials will be made available on digital platforms.