Aimplas leads €5.5M EU project converting slaughterhouse waste into personal care packaging

15 Jun 2023 --- Aimplas is spearheading a project in the EU to produce cost-efficient polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) for agricultural and personal care packaging applications. The company will do this by coprocessing organic wastes such as sludge from the dairy industry and glycerol from the biodiesel industry, as well as recovering nutrients to produce bio-based fertilizers.

The Ellipse project will address the valorization of heterogeneous waste streams generated in significant amounts in Europe, slaughterhouse waste (bellygrass or rumen content) and paper and pulp sludge. The technology will impact the European bioeconomy by valorizing 20,000 metric tons of rumen content waste and 50,000 metric tons of paper sludge annually.

Aimplas details that the integration of these waste streams as biorefinery feedstocks will reduce the volumes of landfilled waste, opening new avenues for platform chemicals and bioplastics production. It will also create additional revenue for the related industries generating them, with added advantages of water recycling, decreased soil degradation, groundwater pollution and methane emissions.

Furthermore, the Ellipse project will be able to cope with 100 metric tons of slaughterhouse waste and 20 metric tons of wastewater sludge derived from the pulp and paper industry. The selected Ellipse feedstocks are locally available and renewable, leading to nearly 100% renewably sourced personal care packaging and agricultural products.

The EU funds the project research under the Circular Bio-based Joint Undertaking and has been allocated €5.5 million (US$5.9 million) over 48 months. The Ellipse consortium includes 13 partners, including actors in the bio-based system from the waste stream production and management, technology developers and industrial actors. Image credit: Ellipse.

Three pilot approach
The project comprises three pilots to be carried out by the relevant consortium members. A co-digestion of feedstocks will be carried out to ensure the most optimal conditions to produce volatile fatty acids. Slaughterhouse waste will be the main residue used, coupled with either sludge from the food industry (dairy sludge) or glycerol.

In pilot 2, residues from the paper industry will be used. This residue is a heterogeneous mix consisting of organic matter (e.g., cellulose fibers), filler (kaolin, calcium carbonate), ink, binder or stickies and other impurities (e.g., plastics).

The inorganic impurities will be separated using a pretreatment, and the presorted waste paper industry waste will be used to produce VFA. “For this pilot, the requirements of a VFA stream rich in valerate is not so high, as the final applications achieved do not require the same processing conditions,” Ellipse details.

“For the final formulations produced in pilots 1 and 2, the addition of commercial additives like thermal stabilizers and plasticizers to avoid thermal degradation during the processing will be considered. Apart from that, compounds and coating formulations will be characterized and validated by assessing their processability by the corresponding processing technologies by the different partners.”

Finally, the project aims to produce PHA-based rigid packaging, coatings and mulching film with compostability, mechanical recycling and chemical recycling attributes.Image credit: Ellipse.

Bioplastic boom
In March US president Joe Biden announced that his administration is setting a goal to replace 90% of plastics with biomaterials within the next 20 years. The statement was met with mixed reviews, with some calling it a step in the right direction while others speculate about the plan’s feasibility.

The US is preparing to release plans to make plastics, chemicals, fuels and other materials with biological processes. It is doing so to solidify its place in the global biomanufacturing race as industries are falling behind Europe and China.

Meanwhile, at Interpack 2023 this May, the future of bioplastics and compostable packaging solutions took center stage, with a range of industry experts highlighting how non-fossil fuel-based materials can be incorporated into product designs to drive down emissions, reduce waste and help circularize the global economy.

Aimplas held the eighth edition of its International Seminar on Biopolymers and Sustainable Composites in March in Valencia, Spain, where speakers highlighted globally increasing bioplastic production and discussed the challenges and opportunities currently facing the bioplastics industry.

“The forecast [for bioplastics production] is set to triple and reach 6.3 million metric tons by 2027. The applications that are expected to grow the most are those related to agriculture, which will increase from 4% to 5% of total production,” an Aimplas spokesperson told Packaging Insights.

Edited by Radhika Sikaria

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