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About

EcoPlastiC Project

EIC Pathfinder funded project that adopts high-risk/high-gain approach to deliver a radically new approach for perpetual plastics recycling.

Challenge

Linear approach to plastics is a losing game

Only 1.2 % of all the plastic ever produced has been recycled and is still in use. Most of the recycled plastic bottles are turned into clothing, and are recycled only once before they end up in a landfil.

95% of the value of plastic packaging material, worth USD 80-120 billion annually, is forever lost to the economy, while adding to global greenhouse gas emissions.

Mixed plastic is our biggest challenge. Such plastic is deemed unrecyclable, due to complex issues of materials separation, and the inferior purity and grade quality of the recyclate.

Vision

Putting mixed PET plastics into a perpetual bio-cyclable loop

The technology developed in this project will lead to the production of research-grade PHA biopolymers, which can be regenerated perpetually and used in the same or similar applications as the equivalent fossil fuel produced virgin polymer, thereby reducing the carbon footprint.

Our long-term goal is for the process to be applicable to virtually any plastic material such multilayer packaging (including PET, PE, PP and barrier layers such as EVOH, PA, metallized films) but also flexible films that cannot be recycled cost effectively to date

Our approach

  • Degradation icon

    Degradation

    Series of mechano-green, chemical and biocatalytic technologies

  • Biofiltration icon

    Biofiltration

    Novel process for the preparation of highly fermentable monomer and oligomer feedstock streams

  • Biopolymerization icon

    Biopolymerization

    Microbiome processing to produce new biopolymers from monomer feedstocks

  • PHA Recovery icon

    PHA Recovery

    Green recovery including optimized enzyme cocktail will be employed

  • Validation icon

    Validation

    Enhancing biopolymer properties & creating demonstration prototypes

Impact

Far-reaching effects of the next-generation bioplastics

This technology has the potential to completely transform the plastics industry - drastically reducing the amount of virgin material produced from petroleum extraction, and positioning recycled PET as a valuable & reusable resource.

In addition to engineering, our project is relevant to several SPIRE sectors derived from chemicals and plastics which are characterized by a high dependence on fossil raw materials and energy in their production and processing technologies and are therefore under greater pressure to shift to circular models.

Our projects aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goal on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SDG12) and th EU Climate Plan. Moreover, being the technological lead for next generation plastics creates key intellectual property (IP) and new jobs in industrial manufacturing of bioplastics in Europe.

Project title

Eco conversion of lower grade PET and mixed recalcitrant PET plastic waste into high performing biopolymers

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European Union logo

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe EIC Pathfinder programme under grant agreement No 101046758

European Innovation Council logo

The project leading to this application has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe EIC Pathfinder programme under agreement No 101046758

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Views and opinions expressed are of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Innovation Council. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.