New treatment of plastic waste
Petroleum-based plastics are consumed in large quantities due to their wide range of uses, durability and low cost. About 400 million tons of plastics are produced globally, and their consumption is expected to quadruple by 2050.
It is estimated that 60% of the plastic produced by 2017 (8 300 million tons) has been landfilled or dumped in the environment, leading to the uncontrolled release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and the leakage of plastic particles in the form of micro- and nanoplastics into terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. In addition to environmental damage, the management of plastic waste also represents an economic burden.
To tackle this problem, the research group in biochemical process engineering at Luleå University of Technology, ETH Zurich and the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology have combined and strengthened their expertise to develop an integrated and sustainable process to valorize plastic waste within the FORMAS-funded project Bioholistic. In Bioholistic, we will couple mild thermochemical and microbial/enzymatic processes for the extraction of plastic monomers that can then be used for the production of high-value microbial metabolites with niche applications. The project's ambition is to deliver a holistic solution for the treatment of plastic waste, a solution that promotes the global goals for sustainable plastic management while paving the way for several scientific breakthroughs.
Bioholistic had its first physical kick-off meeting at LTU at the end of April 2023. The international partners visited LTU and had interesting scientific discussions about the project and how to ensure successful results.
The productive meeting ended with a visit to the Biochemical Process Technology lab, where the project partners had the opportunity to see the new customized continuous pilot organosol reactor. This reactor is the first of its kind to run the organosolv process in continuous mode. This reactor will be used in a later phase of the project to enable the continuous fractionation of plastic waste (e.g. bottles and food packaging) consisting of polyethylene terephthalate and polyolefins. The fractionation will allow a separate downstream processing via biological systems for the production of new plastics as well as high-value products such as omega-3 fatty acids, squalene, etc.
Thanks to its innovative approach, Bioholistic has already received strong support from relevant multinational companies, which will provide a unique opportunity for industrial feedback with the potential to actually contribute to a concept that can be applied in the future.
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