Ecofriendly multipurpose Biobased Products from municipal biowaste

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

Major environmental problems affect the sectors of municipal biowaste (MBW) management, agriculture, and chemicals production. In terms of MBW, 100 million tonnes is generated each year in the EU, including gardening residues and kitchen waste, but its chemical potential is wasted or poorly valorised. Currently, MBW is treated in equal parts by controlled fermentation, incineration and landfilling. Fermentation yields 30 million t/yr compost and 13 million t/yr anaerobic digestate. However, the market value of compost is low. The environmental impact of digestate production stems mainly from the ammonia produced, which is normally recycled to farmland. Downstream technology for removing the excess of inorganic nitrogen (N) from digestate requires substantial process costs that impact negatively on the waste treatment economy. A prototype technology developed by the University of Torino (UNITO) in Italy has good potential for using MBW to produce new material to make bio-based products. Their use could help address the environmental problems in the waste management, agriculture and chemicals sectors. Increased recycling of MBW will reduce the amount sent to landfill or incineration, for example, while replacing fossil-fuel based materials with bio-based products, such as soil fertilisers, biopolymers to make plastics and surfactants to make detergents, will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

OBJECTIVES

LIFE EBP aims to convert municipal biowaste into more efficient and diversified products, building on a TRL5 technology developed by the University of Torino (UNITO). Bio-based products (BPs) obtained from municipal biowaste (MBW) are new products, not currently known in the market, patented by UNITO for their unique chemical compositions and usable as agrochemicals, surfactants for tailored applications, and biopolymers for the manufacture of materials. LIFE EBP aims to address current environmental problems by implementing two core actions. First, to prove the process for the production of new bio-based products and insoluble residues (BPs/IR) from MBW, and second, to prove BPs/IR as biofertilisers/agrochemicals, and BPs as bio-based chemicals and biopolymers, are feasible alternatives for commercial fossil-based products for the same use.

The project team will conduct pilot demonstrations showing the environmental, economic and social benefits of BPs/IR in the sectors of municipal biowaste management, agriculture and chemical industry, in five EU countries (Italy, France, Spain, Greece, and Cyprus). These case studies will:

Replicate the BPs/IR production process under real operational conditions using local municipal biowaste as feedstock;

Validate the BPs/IR performance as soil fertilisers, plantbio-stimulants/anti-pathogen agents, biopolymers to make plastics, and surfactants to make detergents;

Confirm BPs/IR compliance with EU regulation to register them according to waste management policy, Common Agriculture Policy, and REACH regulation; and

Assess BPs/IR marketability.

Based on the results achieved, the project team intends to establish joint ventures among stakeholders in the sectors of waste management, agriculture and chemical industry to promote the industrialisation of the BPs/IR and their use in all EU countries.

During its lifetime, LIFE EBP will scale up BPs/IR production and test its pilot plant to upgrade it from TRL5 to TRL6, under close-to-real operational conditions. An after-LIFE replicability plan will foster BPs/IR industrialisation and prove their added value throughout Europe.

The project contributes to the implementation of EU policy, especially waste management plans (WMP), Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Reach regulation. The projects policy objectives are to include BPs in the EU regulation on fertilisers within CAP, include LIFE EBP hydrolysis as a process for biowaste treatment within WMPs, include BPs as authorised chemical specialties within REACH, and contribute to bio-based products standardisation and certification.

RESULTS

Expected results:

LIFE EBP will validate the technology for producing new bio-based products (BPs) and insoluble residues (IR) from municipal biowaste (MBW) in a close-to-real operational environment;

Hydrolysis of MBW from different sources gives yields of 90% or more of BPs;

1 kg performance-wise of BP is equivalent to 5 kg NPK fertilisers and to at least 1 kg of organic fertilisers derived from fossil products (leonardite);

5 000 t of BPs and IR produced from 5 000 t of MBW may cover the cultivation of 100 000 ha of soil, at an average 50 kg/ha;

Using the AB Acea municipal biowaste for this scope, in place of landfilling and incineration, enables the reduction of air and soil pollutants, and GHG emissions;

Reduction of 700 000 m3 (458 t) methane (CH4), 547 000 m3 (983 t) CO2, 200 kg dust, 7.7 t other GHG, and toxic organic compounds;

Reduction of 14 t nitrate leaching through soil into groundwater;

Reduction of 7 500 t CO2 emissions from fossil leonardite containing 40% carbon;

From the validation of process and product performance, the expected economic benefits in 2023-2024 are an allocation value by 1-30/kg of BPs in the agriculture market, and an increase of revenue by 2-3 orders of magnitude for the municipal biowaste treatment plant integrated with BPs/IR production;

Assessment of reliable estimates of BPs and IR potential marketability amounts and value in the EU for fertilisers/agrochemicals, plastics and surfactants-based cleaning products; and

Preparation and validation of registration dossiers for BPs and IR in compliance with EU WMP, CAP and REACH.