H2020 EMBRACED Project: Establishment of a multipurpose biorefinery for recycling the organic content of AHP waste in a circular economy domain

Type Project
Status Filled
Execution 2017 -2022
Assigned Budget 15.821.700,00 €
Scope Europeo
Autonomous community Aragón
Main source of financing Horizon 2020
Project website https://www.embraced.eu/

Description of activities

EMBRACED was created to demonstrate an innovative and integrated biorefinery model that transforms AHP waste into bio-based materials and products.

This model is based on:

The valorization of the cellulosic fraction of AHPs used for the production of bio-based and biodegradable products.
A cascading approach, where secondary streams from biologically derived processes are valorized to increase cost competitiveness and environmental sustainability.
A circular economy approach that can help minimize the use of primary resources. This model has been supported by pilot tests for the selective collection of AHP waste in households and institutions in Amsterdam, Paris, and Verona.

The AHP waste was collected using so-called smart containers, located in front of daycare centers, businesses, and public places. Based on this and the experience gained by Fater and Contarina in managing the existing industrial-scale mechanical pretreatment plant in Italy, a scenario analysis has been completed for the logistics and concession plan, aiming to achieve 10,000 tons of collected raw material per year for the biorefinery.

The first stage of the biorefinery was implemented in Contarina with the Fater mechanical pretreatment plant, which allowed the recovery of key components of AHPs, mainly cellulose, plastic, and superabsorbent polymer. At EMBRACED, the feasibility of expanding, adapting, and upgrading the existing pretreatment plant was demonstrated, and a protocol for quality assurance of the obtained material was defined. The adjustment of the business model will be defined on a case-by-case basis, based on local conditions, in terms of market opportunities, local legislation and authorization procedures, as well as the macroeconomic scenario. Novamont, in collaboration with Fater and Contarina, has demonstrated an innovative value chain (Value Chain A), successfully converting the recovered cellulosic fraction of AHP waste into sugars that are subsequently used to produce, through a biotechnological process, bio-based building blocks that can be applied to biodegradable and compostable bioplastics for various applications.

Efficient and sustainable protocols for converting AHP waste into bioplastic formulations have been validated through the effective integration of biotechnology and chemistry. The conversion of AHP waste cellulose into bio-based building blocks and polymers has been successfully achieved at increasingly larger scales, achieving good results in terms of biopolymer yield and quality. Novamont has finally scaled up the value chain processes to demonstration scale by installing the process units and integrating them into Novamont facilities through its partner, Mater-Biotech. The resulting biopolymers have also been successfully processed into biodegradable and compostable biomaterial formulations, which have been validated for use in films for non-food packaging applications, as well as in biodegradable soil mulch. Organic by-products and co-products obtained during the main stages of the value chain have also been successfully validated for biogas production through biodigestion under anaerobic conditions, with results comparable to those observed with other industrial feedstocks commonly used for biogas production.

As a further step towards the valorization of all by-products, Novamont has also evaluated the possibility of valorizing the solid fraction of digested sludge from the anaerobic digestion process through a composting process, demonstrating the possibility of obtaining high-quality compost that complies with current Italian limits for compost obtained from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste, for use in soil improvement and regeneration. Starting from the conversion of AHP waste cellulose into sugars, already demonstrated in Value Chain A, Novamont has also demonstrated a second value chain (Value Chain B), using these sugars in a biotechnological process for the production of PHB, leveraging its expertise in this field. The fermentation process protocol to obtain PHB from the sugars in AHP waste cellulose has been designed and implemented by Novamont on a pilot scale, along with an environmentally friendly downstream process for the extraction and purification of PHB, with promising results for future developments. Also for this value chain, Novamont, in collaboration with Fertinagro, has evaluated the opportunity to valorize the byproducts obtained from the biotechnological process for the formulation of biofertilizers and plant biostimulants. PHB has also been validated by Novamont for the development of its biomaterials, based on the properties of this biopolymer to improve the biodegradation and disintegration rates of materials.

Contextual description

Taking action to reduce resource consumption within the framework of a circular bioeconomy represents the most advanced trend in the implementation of virtuous processes capable of recovering material from critical waste fractions, reintroducing them into subsequent industrial cycles or returning them to the ecosystem. Waste generated by the use of Hygiene Absorbent Products (HAP) constitutes a visible fraction of municipal solid waste (estimated at between 3% and 4%) that is collected along with household waste for treatment in incinerators or landfills. Furthermore, HAP consumption is expected to grow due to the demographic dynamics that are manifesting as a long-term trend in the EU.

The progressive increase in life expectancy, despite the disruption imposed by the pandemic and associated with persistently low birth rates, defines a landscape of overall aging of the European population. Therefore, the importance of developing circular industrial processes for PAH waste is evident. The result achieved by EMBRACED is an integrated supply chain model for the recycling of PAH waste, which begins with the separate collection of waste to valorize the materials. These are then transformed into building blocks and polymers for applications in various sectors, from biomaterials to fertilizers.

Objectives

A significant category in terms of organic content within MSW is represented by Hygiene Absorbent Products (HAP; e.g., diapers, adult incontinence products, feminine hygiene products, wipes, etc.). These wastes are currently considered a non-recyclable fraction of MSW and end up in landfills or incineration, raising significant environmental concerns. In fact, 8,500,000 tons of this waste are incinerated or landfilled each year in Europe (the equivalent of almost 30 landfills per year) and more than 30,000,000 tons worldwide.

PAHs are primarily composed of a mixture of natural fibers (cellulose) and polymers (PP/PE and superabsorbent polymer), valuable materials that currently lack adequate valorization. Within the framework of the EMBRACED project, a first-of-its-kind, multipurpose integrated biorefinery will be established to valorize, in a relevant environment, the cellulosic fractions obtained from AHP waste for the production of bioproducts of high commercial interest and, simultaneously, high-value-added coproducts, such as polyolefin plastics and SAPs (superabsorbent polymers). This innovative biorefinery model will involve all key actors in the value chain, from AHP consumers and the local population to waste management and logistics companies, major AHP producers and bioprocess developers, as well as end-product developers.

In a circular economy perspective, all fractions obtained from the processed AHP waste will be reused through valorization into final products and, in particular, the high-quality cellulosic fraction of AHP (approximately 1,275,000 tonnes/year in Europe), which has significant advantages over traditional second-generation lignocellulosic feedstocks in terms of homogeneity and downstream bioprocessing costs, will be converted and valorized in two parallel value chains, leading to the production of bio-based building blocks, polymers and fertilizers.

Coordinators