Report N° Organisation
Report N° Organisation name Short name Country Organisation type 1 Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique INRA France Res 2 Valtion teknillinen tutkimuskeskus VTT Finland Res 3 Energy research Centre of the Netherlands ECN The Netherlands Res 4 Compagnie Industrielle de la Matière Végétale CIMV France SME 5 Chimar Hellas AE Chimar Greece SME/end-user 6 Arkema SA Arkema France MNI/end-user 7 National Technical University of Athens NTUA Greece HE 8 Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg IFEU Germany Res 9 Katholieke Universiteit Leuven KULeuven Belgium HE 10 Syral SAS Syral France MNI/end-user 11 SYNPO, akciová společnost Synpo Czech Republic Res 12 Stichting Dienst Landbouwkundig Onderzoek DLO The Netherlands Res 13 Chalmers Tekniska Hoegskola AB Chalmers Sweden HE 14 Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry IWC Latvia Res 15 INRA Transfert IT France Other 16 The Energy and Resources Institute TERI India Res 17 CAPAX environmental services CAPAX Belgium SME 18 nova-Institut GmbH NOVA Germany SME 19 Institut für Umweltstudien - Weibel & Ness GmbH IUS Germany SME 20 Imperial College London Imperial United Kingdom HE 21 Solagro Association SOLAGRO France NGO 22 Szent Istvan University SZIE Hungary HE 23 Tarkett SA Tarkett Luxemburg MNI/end-user 24 DSM Bio-based Products & Services B.V. DBPS The Netherlands MNI/end-user The Team 15 Research organizations, 8 companies, 1 NGO Regarding olefins, Biocore develops a portfolio of original processes and engineered microor-ganisms that produce ethylene, a polyethylene precursor and isopropanol, a precursor of propylene, which is the building block of polypropylene. Moreover, using pilot scale equipment and smart integration pathways for both biotechnological and chemical pro¬cesses, Biocore will demonstrate a cellulose to bio-PVC value chain. Development of Lignin-based Polymers When applied to wheat straw, the CIMV organosolv process provides a lignin fraction that is composed of linear polymers. Coherent with Biocore’s ambition to develop new ligninbased polymers, researchers from Synpo, Czech Republic, have developed a solvent-free method for the preparation of a polyurethane formulation. The integration of CIMV biolignin into a conventional PU formulation has provided elastomers with enhanced mechanical product properties, in particular increased tensile strength and toughness, with surface hardness being significantly increased. Synpo’s novel formulation, particularly appropriate for the manufacture of flooring materials and electrical appliances, constitutes one of Biocore’s first commercially-promising inventions. New bio-based PVC PVC is manufactured using ethylene, thus logically this well-known polymer can be produced partly from biomass. In Biocore, a combined research effort involving several partners is focused on the development of PVC from 2nd generation ethanol. In this process, ethanol is first dehydrated to afford ethylene, then the ethylene is converted into vinyl chloride monomers, which are finally polymerized to obtain PVC. The aim of work in Biocore is to first determine how the use of 2nd generation ethanol can influence the quality of the ethylene obtained, and also to establish the economic sustainability of the whole process, within the framework of a multiproduct refining scheme. In a further effort to make ‘greener’ PVC, Biocore researchers are also working on bio-based alternatives to DEHP, which is a widely-used additive that plasticizes PVC. Using biomass as raw material, chemists from DLO (Wageningen, The Netherlands) have synthesized a biobased phthalate, which is actually more efficient in making PVC flexible than DEHP. In tests, PVC containing 30% of the new plasticizer is about twice as flexible as PVC containing a similar amount of DEHP, without compromising the strength of the product. Biocore: Indian case studies Biocore aims to reveal how biorefineries can be implemented within defined local contexts. To achieve this, critical factors such as feedstock availability and logistics, but also social impacts and policy, will be examined and accounted for during the course of the Biocore project. Specific actions aim to critically analyze regional availability of lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks (straws, hardwood and SRC (short rotation coppice) wood) in different parts of Europe and India and optimize their supply for Biocore biorefineries in an economically-, socially- and environmentally-sustainable way. Bioenergy is an excellent opportunity for India and so the Biocore project aims to play a part in its development, by providing an analysis of how a biorefinery could work, and thus provide benefits, in India. To achieve this, the Indian case study will focus on rice straw, which is a major resource in India, and more widely in Asia. Currently rice straw is 44 bioplastics MAGAZINE [01/12] Vol. 7
not exploited by Indian farmers, being burnt in the field, thus provoking significant environmental pollution and wasting precious biomass resources. The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), the Indian partner of Biocore, will investigate feedstock provision potential at regional level and availability requirements, providing cost-supply curves for different scenarios in Punjab and Haryana. Evaluation of agronomical and environmental impacts and benefits related to the use of rice straw will be studied. As well as contributing to benchmarking studies and supply chain modeling, TERI will be active in the definition of the settings for a comprehensive sustainability assessment that will take into account social, legal and political factors, key points that will ultimately determine public acceptability and market diffusion of new technologies. To probe some of these aspects, a meeting was held in India in November 2011, at which Indian stakeholders (including policymakers, farmers and NGOs) and Biocore partners discussed biorefinery and exchanged views on the opportunities and hurdles that would characterize the implementation of a next generation biorefinery plan in India. bioplastics MAGAZINE will watch the development and keep the readers updated. Michael Carus of nova-Institute during the meeting in India, Nov. 2011 (photo: courtesy Michael Carus) O O O O www.biocore-europe.org/ www.international.inra.fr/ Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) bioplastics MAGAZINE [01/12] Vol. 7 45
