Upon completion of the LIFE ECOMETHYLAL project, a Layman report was produced not only as a way of presenting the results of the project, but also to highlight the project’s achievements and its long-term environmental and economic benefits.
Download the electronic version of the report HERE.
A consortium of European research centres develops plastic bags, soap and food from mushroom waste
Zaragoza, April 14th 2021. - Have you ever learned that about 25% of every kilogram of mushroom is discarded as waste? For instance, the stem is the part of the mushroom that is usually not sold. However, it has molecules with very high protein value that can be used to create new plastic, cosmetic and food bio-products. Thus, the European project FUNGUSCHAIN has successfully developed compostable shopping or garbage bags, films for crops, soaps, essential oils and multiproteic foods for the elderly from mushroom waste.
The FUNGUSCHAIN Research Project has been funded by the European Commission and brings together 16 partners from ten European countries. They have worked on these super properties of mushrooms for four years and a half and the project has just finished successfully achieving its goals. Not only has the project developed new products, but it has also enabled an innovative circular economy approach that will entail a breakthrough in the current industrial system.
In the five-year long project, LIFE ECOMETHYLAL, the Spanish company Blue Plasma Power has designed and built a pilot plant for the treatment of non-recyclable plastic waste, using Catalytic Plasma Hydroplinification technology.
Plastic waste of various origins and compositions thus becomes a raw material for the production of methylal, an industrial solvent that replaces petroleum-based solvents.
Methylal can be used in various industries due to its low toxicity, low viscosity and especially its high dissolving power, making it a sustainable replacement for petroleum-based solvents (in the production of paints, adhesives, foams, perfumes, coating resins, as an additive to diesel fuel, as electrolyte in a lithium-ion battery).
In the final stretch of the project, Mi-plast organizes a workshop in which we will present the project and the results it has achieved - the pilot plant and the final eco-product, methylal.
ECOMETHYLAL is truly an example of a true circular economy. We would like to encourage companies in the field of waste management, chemical industry, as well as potential investors to join us at the workshop to be held
On the 25th of NOVEMBER 2020, 9:45 ONLINE or 10:50 LIVE at MI-PLAST.
Please, register HERE.
Webinar on Advanced filtration technologies for recovery and later conversion of relevant fractions from wastewater. Register here: https://afterlife-project.eu/webinar/
Food processing plants generate large amount of mostly biodegradable liquid and solid waste which require separation. Large amount of wastewater is produced in these facilities due to the intensive use of water in food and beverage processing. These residual streams are usually treated in-situ and/or discharged to the grid for their treatment in a municipal wastewater treatment plant. However, they have an important potential for the conversion of the present biodegradable compounds and the valorisation as bio-based products. In AFTERLIFE project, researchers are optimizing membrane filtration systems that will separate different components in the wastewater. The recovered concentrates will be treated to obtain high-pure extracts and metabolites and are converted into value- added biopolymers through innovative extraction and purification techniques. This webinar will focus on various extraction and concentration techniques that will lead to the valorization of wastewater. You will also hear some of these techniques that currently used by the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant and Celabor.
AFTERLIFE, a 4 million € EU project focused on finding an integrated solution for the recovery and conversion of relevant fractions from wastewater, was officially launched Monday September 11. Led by EggPlant Srl, the project consortium is comprised of 15 partners from 7 European countries.
On September 11th and 12th the official kick-off was held for the Afterlife project in Bari, Italy. Scientists at companies and research institutes will be cooperating for the next four years to find an integrated solution for the recovery and conversion of relevant fractions from wastewater. AFTERLIFE is a European collaborative project framed on the Bio-based Industries (BBI) call. 15 partners (Idener, Austep, BBEU, Celabor, Lurederra, Mi-Plast, nova-Institut, VTT, CSIC, CTC, Nova-id-FCT, Jake, Heritage 1466, Citromil) from 7 European countries (Belgium, Germany, Finland, Croatia, Italy, Spain and Portugal) participate in this European 4 million € project.
The CIRC-PACK project will create, test and validate alternative bio-based and recyclable plastics, and new types of multilayer and multimaterial packaging.
Rijeka, July 30, 2017 - A new EU-funded initiative aims to transform plastic waste into a resource by developing a more sustainable, re-usable form of packaging. Launched in May, the project will support market uptake of the new packaging, promoting a transition to a circular economy.
CIRC-PACK (Towards circular economy in the plastic packaging value chain) will create, test and validate alternative bio-based and recyclable (including biodegradable or compostable) plastics for the manufacturing of trays, bottles, coffee capsules, jars, films and pallets, and new types of multilayer and multimaterial packaging. It is also expected to improve the recycling rates of the automotive and hygiene product industries, and increase the amount of recycled materials in products such as car parts, sanitary towels and nappies.
A 22-partner consortium led by the Zaragoza-based Research Centre for Energy Resources and Consumption (CIRCE) will carry out three large-scale demonstrations through an eco-innovative approach that will involve actors across the whole value chain, including consumers, plastic suppliers, converters and retailers, as well as those responsible for waste recovery.
Grant agreements have been signed for three new projects (Afterlife, RefuCoat and CIRC-PACK) funded through the EU program Horizon 2020, where Mi-plast will realize its partner role. Horizon 2020 is the EU program which contributes to accomplishment of goals stated in the key strategic documents of the European Union related to research, technological development and innovation. The guiding idea of the new framework program is to provide solutions and responses to the economic crisis, investing in future business and development, addressing EU citizens' concerns about their material security, general security and the environment, as well as strengthening the EU's global position in research, innovation and technology. Horizon 2020’s structure is based on three main priorities: Excellent Science, Industrial Leadership and Societal Challenges.
