Materials 7. Chemical,
Materials 7. Chemical, structural, biological, physical and mechanical characterization of the PHAs that are produced.. 8. Preparation of blends and composites of PHAs with selected polymeric materials including synthetic analogues of PHA, inorganic and/or organic fillers such as nanofillers. The organic fillers also include renewable agro-waste (lignocelluloses, polysaccharides and surplus crops), either directly or after appropriate physical or chemical modification. 9. Engineering design of PHA production and extraction unit operations combined with the analysis of the cost efficiency of the industrial process as found in the down-stream processing of slaughterhouses, rendering and biodiesel factories. 10. A key factor for the success of the project, i.e. its cost efficiency for industrial scale production of PHAs, is assessed in terms of the costs of raw materials, chemicals and energy required for the production of PHAs and its blends. 11. Assessment of eco-compatibility with evaluation of biodegradability under different environmental conditions of the obtained PHA formulations, as well as of some selected prototype items based on relevant blends and composites. Validation of the eco-compatibility of selected items is assessed by means of LCA and ecotoxicity tests. 12. Assessment of the biocompatibility of some selected PHA formulations and relevant items processed by means of in vitro cell toxicity and genotoxicity tests in respect of their potential value-added applications in food, packaging and biomedical fields. 13. The utilization of novel bioplastics, as attainable by means of environmentally sound processes based on waste from renewable resources as the raw material, for environmentally friendly plastic materials, meeting the EC directive 62/94 and the subsequent national regulations, constitutes the ultimate goal of the project. The Project Team Industry Reistenhofer Argent Energy Termoplast Argus Umweltbiotechnologie Academic partners Graz University of Technology (Dr. Koller) Graz University of Technology (Prof. Narodoslawsky) Graz University of Technology Prof. Schnitzer University of Padua (Prof. Casella) University of Zagreb (Prof. Horvat) University of Graz (Prof. Mittelbach) University of Pisa (Prof. Chiellini) National Institute of Chemistry (Dr. Kržan, Ljubljana) Polish Academy of Science (Prof. Kowalczuk) University of Pisa Advisory Board KRKA (Slovenia) Novamont (Italy) Chemtex Italia (Gruppo Mossi e Ghisolfi, Italy) Eksportera USB (Lithuania) Austrian meat converter Large biodiesel producer (UK) Producer of plastic packaging materials German company, responsible for Downstream Processing Coordinator and expert on biotechnology Process engineering and Life Cycle Assessment Cleaner Production Studies Support in the field of microbiology and genetic engineering Mathematical modelling of bioprocesses Optimized conversion of animal lipids to biodiesel Special tasks in PHA characterization and composite preparation Special tasks in PHA characterization and composite preparation Special tasks in PHA characterization and composite preparation Tests for biodegradability and ecotoxicity of the novel materials Conclusion and Outlook From the already available data from the ANIMPOL project, it is obvious that important progress has been achieved in terms of combining the environmental benefit of future-oriented bio-polyesters with the economic viability of their production. This should finally facilitate the decision of responsible policymakers from waste-generating industrial sectors and from the polymer industry to break new ground in sustainable production. In future, PHA production from animal-derived waste should be integrated into existing process lines of biodiesel companies, where the raw material directly accrues. This can be considered as a viable strategy to minimize production costs by taking profit of synergistic effects. Info: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUnaZDCT7jA www.animpol.tugraz.at 28 bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7
