Project
POLYMEER aims to establish a sustainable bio-based value
chain for bioplastic products, using brewers’ spent grain
(BSG) as feedstock. Focused on agricultural films, brewery
tertiary packaging, and automotive textiles, the project
designs bioplastics to be recyclable and/or biodegradable for environmental sustainability.
Bioplastics represent just 1,5% of the annual global plastic production, which is
a far lower proportion than the plastic market needs. Substantial investment and
innovation are needed to advance the production of biobased, recyclable and/or
biodegradable bioplastics. Furthermore, brewers’ spent grain (BSG) is the main
by-product of the brewing industry, and its production is massive.
This is why POLYMEER focuses on developing new biobased polymers, copolymers and polymer blends based on BSG, exploiting green, waste-minimised processes and providing high added value materials for three demanding applications: the agriculture sector, tertiary packaging, and automotive textile.
The project, which is based on a green, agile, and scalable transformation, will thus enhance economic sustainability by reducing reliance on finite fossil resources, lowering production costs, and creating new markets.
The process
Expected outcomes
01
10% of BSG in Europe is used for the production of bioplastics.
02
20 industries in Europe from the bioplastic production value chain apply more sustainable methods based on POLYMEER insights.
03
30 industries in Europe produce final applications/products with POLYMEER bioplastics as their main component.
04
The three applications reach the market and reach 1,000+ potential consumers, so that:
- 5 breweries replace plastic tertiary packaging by bioplastic based on BSG.
- 50 consumers of agricultural film switch to biodegradable and
BSG-based options. - 10 automotive brands demand BSG-based textile.
Benefits to society
The project will also provide benefits to society and the environment, including:
- Improved sustainability, safety, and circularity.
- Enhanced environmental
performance across the value chain - Public awareness and eco-conscious consumer
choices - Economic sustainability, portfolio diversification,
higher competitiveness
Work packages
WP1
Brewer’s spent grain, bio-based building blocks and polymers (Leader: UNIPG). Fractionation of the BSG into high-quality fractions, synthesis and characterisation of the resulting monomers and macromers and development of polymers and co-polymers.
WP2
Bioplastics formulation, compounding and characterisation for application in agriculture, packaging and textile fields (Leader: UNIROMA). Characterisation of the biobased polymers according to the requirements for their processability in the fields of application: film for the agricultural sector and tertiary packaging and textile for the automotive sector. This WP includes the production of the compounds at lab scale, their formulation, testing of their properties and evaluation of their end-of-life biodegradation and recyclability.
WP3
Process scale up to pilot (Leader: Bio-mi). Demonstration of the feasibility of the process at industrial scale by testing a pilot process comprising the whole process, from the fractionation of the BSG to the production of the film for agriculture, for packaging and textile for automotive, including the recycling process of the bioplastics.
WP4
Sustainability assessment and end of life scenarios (Leader: LOM). Analysis of the technoeconomic feasibility, cycle sustainability, safety and the end-of-life scenarios for the developed bioplastics and evaluation of the best conditions for the social acceptability of the developed materials.
WP5
Dissemination, Communication and Exploitation (Leader: Zabala). Focused on the definition and implementation of strategies for the exploitation, dissemination and communication of the project activities and results to give visibility to the project and increase its impact.
WP6
Project coordination (Leader: UNIPG). Dedicated to the strategical organisation and coordination of the POLYMEER project, this WP focuses on activities such as following up the project, administrating it and updating its status to the EC and assuring the data management, protection, and privacy during all the project duration.