The BETTER PLASTICS project aims to be the Mobilizing Project of the plastics sector in Portugal, capable of leveraging the sector’s transition to a circular economy. It arises from an initiative of APIP, the Portuguese Plastics Industry Association, which, through this application to the R&D Mobilizing Programs, seeks to mobilize the private sector together with national authorities, universities, and citizens, thereby contributing to the objectives of the European Circular Economy: reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing resource efficiency, and creating employment.

The integrated process for the treatment and valorization of organic waste through the production of value-added compounds, namely polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), is an important step toward a sustainable society. In this project, the treatment and valorization of waste from the brewing industry through PHA production will be investigated. The brewing industry generates large quantities of waste, namely brewers’ spent grain (BSG) (30,000 tons/year) and wastewater (2.5 L per liter of beer) (SuperBock data).

A three-stage process will be operated at laboratory scale, and the impact of operating parameters on PHA production and on the quality of the produced effluent will be evaluated. An expanded granular sludge bed reactor will be used for the anaerobic digestion (AD) of the waste (Stage I), allowing the fermented stream to be fed directly to the PHA-producing reactor (Stages II and III). The use of a particulate substrate such as BSG is challenging, as information on its effects on sludge granules is scarce. A green method for sugar extraction from BSG using subcritical water will be evaluated. Based on the results of Stage I, either the hydrolysate or the solid BSG will be selected. Stage II, selection of the PHA-producing culture, will be carried out using a sequencing batch reactor operated under feast and famine conditions. Maximum PHA production (Stage III) will be performed in fed-batch mode, using the fermented waste from Stage I and the selected biomass from Stage II. Greener PHA extraction and purification methods will be investigated.

The microbial communities in Stages I and II will be studied using molecular techniques such as high-throughput sequencing and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Currently, the PHA production process is operated based on offline parameter measurements, such as PHA concentration by gas chromatography, resulting in long waiting times (1–2 days). In this project, 2D fluorescence spectroscopy will be used for the first time to monitor process performance online. Metabolic models will be developed for the three process stages and integrated with the aim of identifying combinations of operating conditions that lead to maximum PHA production rates and conversion efficiencies. In the short term, the main objectives proposed in this research plan are the simultaneous treatment and valorization of brewing industry waste, resulting in the production of packaging for Unicer. In the long term, an economic assessment of the integrated process will be carried out, and the process will be implemented at industrial scale.

The companies SuperBock and Logoplaste, as well as the University of Liège, support this project and are appropriate partners to enable the transfer and industrial implementation of this technology. The results of this project will be fundamental to assess the potential conversion of a wastewater treatment plant into a biorefinery within the framework of a circular economy.

Saline wastewater (SWW) is an environmental problem, causing contamination of groundwater and surface waters. Most SWW, in addition to having a high concentration of inorganic salts, also contains a high organic load. However, due to the strong inhibitory effect of salt on conventional biological processes, the treatment of SWW relies on costly physico-chemical methods. On the other hand, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), biodegradable biopolymers, are not competitive with conventional plastics due to their high price, making the development of more economical production alternatives urgent. This project proposes to study and optimize the biotechnological process for PHA production by mixed microbial cultures (MMC) under saline conditions, addressing two key challenges: (i) the treatment and valorization of saline wastes/by-products; and (ii) the reduction of production costs by using seawater as a dilution and washing agent, within a green economy perspective based on efficient resource use.

These objectives will be addressed through a sequential approach:

1) Acidogenic fermentation (AF) under saline conditions: AF will be carried out in a UASB reactor with anaerobic granules, producing a saline stream rich in volatile fatty acids (VFAs), which are PHA precursors and will be used in the subsequent selection and production stages. Different saline environments will be tested (using artificially salinated effluent), and operation will be optimized to maximize VFA production.

2) Selection of MMC under saline conditions: This step will be the main focus of the study, as MMC is central to the PHA production process. The best inoculation strategy for selecting a halotolerant, PHA-producing MMC will be determined by testing different inocula and start-up modes. The selection process will then be optimized in terms of PHA and biomass productivities.

3) PHA extraction: PHA extraction contributes significantly to the high cost of these materials due to the use of large amounts of toxic chemical solvents. A more environmentally friendly method will be investigated, based on extraction with NaClO and the use of seawater for washing. The proposed method has never been reported for PHA production by MMC.

4) Validation with real saline wastewaters: The MMC-based PHA production process will be validated using real saline wastewaters (from the fish-processing industry, canneries, tanneries, or whey), selected according to salinity level and organic load and based on the results obtained with artificially salinated effluent. Microbial communities and the polymers produced will be characterized, and the results will be correlated with operational efficiency.

The proposed technology for PHA production by MMC using saline resources will be validated at laboratory scale, achieving TRL 4. This project is expected to contribute to the development of a sustainable process for the valorization of saline resources through PHA production by MMC, leading to the practical establishment of this technology.

MultiBiorefinery aims at fostering Portuguese bio-based economy by bringing value to forestry, agro-food, and fisheries wastes and by-products. This is a multidisciplinary scientific research and / technological development proposal submitted by a consortium of six research units with complementary expertises to create synergies that capitalize and optimize existing means and resources and to generate critical mass that will accelerate the production of knowledge and solutions to societal challenges, mainly in food sectors ensuring environmentally friendly practices. It is our goal to develop and use multi-purpose strategies and sustainable innovative technologies, namely industrial biotechnology and green chemistry, for by-products valorization towards a truly integrated biorefinery dealing with multiple feedstocks. A series of case study of by-products from forest (Eucalyptus globulus stumps and knots, and Pinus pinaster bark and needles), agriculture (melon, winery and tomato by-products), and fisheries (fish bones, salt-cured codfish wastewater, cooking waters and head-space of cooking tanks from canning industry) will be transformed into added-value products using advanced cascading conversion technologies. The main end products will include biopolymers such as bacterial cellulose, and polyhydroxyalkanoates and a platform of biocompounds with biological activity, and even commodity chemicals and biofuels. More specifically, MultiBiorefinery will concentrate on extracting and characterizing high value products, obtained by clean extraction techniques; developing novel chemical transformation and bioconversion processes; formulating adequate forms for the storage, use and delivery of functional and bioactive extracts; evaluating toxicity and bioactivity of extracted and formulated compounds, using chemical, enzymatic and cell-based pre-clinical assays; demonstrating 2 of the new processes at pilot scale; and developing activities of process and value chain design with a focus on mathematical modelling, allowing for in silico optimization and process design scale up and extension of the concept to other by-products/value chains. MultiBiorefinery aims to contribute to stimulating some of the strategic axes of development embodied in the Portuguese Strategy for Smart Specialisation, notably the “Production Technologies and Process Industries” with particular emphasis on the “Green Chemistry” and “Industrial Biotechnology” subtopics. Also, its vision is aligned with the circular economy and industrial symbiosis concepts and the proposals of the resource-efficient Europe Flagship initiative under the Europe 2020 Strategy, supporting the shift towards a resource-efficient and low-carbon economy to achieve sustainable growth. One valuable aspect of this project is the commitment to training highly qualified human resources skilled to the challenges of the modern bioeconomy, and by the enrolment of PhD and Master students at all research units.

The WATINTECH project proposes a combination of concepts of sewer mining with urban run-off treatment in decentralized treatment facilities to enhance the recovery of valuable resources including water, methane (heat, energy) and value-added chemicals, either extracting or producing them from the fluxes inside a sewage pipe. It is also postulated that this combination improves the management of centralized wastewater infrastructures under variable weather events (such as heavy rain episodes combined with long dry periods). The impact of sewer mining and wastewater characteristics on downstream wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) will also be analysed. In an ideal scenario, besides generating the value-added products for local reuse, decentralized treatment will also impact positively on the existing centralized sewage collection and treatment facilities, an aspect rarely taken into account in the design of decentralized infrastructure.

Plastics are a major source of environmental pollution, but are also an indispensable part of our contemporary society. Bioplastics not only offer a solution to this impasse, but it simultaneously offers an opportunity to extend the value chain of the Norwegian fishing and aquaculture industry. In this project, unutilized rest raw materials from Norway’s fishing industry (estimated at over 600,000 tons per annum) will be used as a feedstock to produce bacterial polymers, called polyhydroxyalkanoates. These polymers can be used in bioplastic production, but can also serve as a source of valuable monomers. Both of these bioproducts (i.e. polymers and monomers) are associated with high future growth projections and the potential to strongly contribute to Norway’s bioeconomy. The global bioplastics and biopolymer market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 17,5 % or more between 2016-2020, with an expected increase to USD 20 billion by 2019, and USD 324 billion by 2030. An ongoing pre-project has yielded promising results, but to evaluate the commercial potential of this idea, optimization funding is required. In this project, several fermentation strategies will be employed to convert various different types of marine raw rest materials into biopolymers, which will then be assessed for use as environmentally-friendly bioplastics and/or as a source for high-value monomers. In order to achieve this, a strong multinational and multidisciplinary team of industrial microbiologists, polymer and organic chemists, environmental scientists, as well as business developers and industrial advisors has been assembled. The project is expected to be completed within three years. At the end of this project we will have the results and partners needed for market verification (FORNY2020) and the establishment of a new production company. This project offers a clear contribution to Norway’s bioeconomy within the paradigm of sustainable and environmentally responsible development.

Textile wastewater (WW) is rated as the most polluting of all industrial sectors, both in terms of discharged volumes and composition. High organic loads and the presence of color have long been considered its top environmental issues. However, the use of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) in textile industries has been rapidly increasing, mainly to enhance textile wettability and dye absorption or to confer stain, water and microbial resistance.  (…)The results from this project will support the application of AGS technology for textile WW treatment, providing crucial data on the potential mechanisms of ENP and MP removal in AGS, relevant for both municipal and industrial WW, and contributing to the definition of additional treatment requirements. The project will also give insights needed to establish the principles of nano and synthetic textile safety by design, which represent a significant impact on the environmental performance and sustainability of the textile sector.

Triggered by the reduction of fossil resources consumption and CO2 emissions, and by the need to reduce the ecological impact of oilbased plastics and industrial wastes, the PACK4COMPOST project proposes to explore new routes for the production of new biomaterials and for their processing into packages which can be composted together with the packed food. The current bottlenecks which hamper the delivery of such packages to the market are the high cost and low processability of existing biodegradable plastics, the empirical design (test and error method) of the package, the lack of knowledge of the structure-properties relationships of the package and of the structuring of materials during their process. PACK4COMPOST proposes to scientifically address these issues for the specific case of coffee packaging.

GlueCork - Rolhas técnicas de cortiça de origem 100% natural, financed by QREN in co-promotion with AMORIM & IRMÃOS, S.A., ARCP (Associação Rede de Competência em Polímeros) and University of Porto.