BARBARA

Main objectives:

• New materials: Develop new engineering biopolymers reinforced with bio-additives, designed to achieve customised physical-chemical properties.
• Sector validation: Validate the materials through fused filament fabrication additive manufacturing in two key European sectors, automotive and building.
• Value chains: Contribute to establishing two new bio-based value chains.

Specific objectives:

• Extraction: Extract biomolecules and biopolymers from agro-food by-products.
• Material development: Develop functionalised bio-additives, bioplastic matrices and engineering composites.
• Prototyping: Develop prototyping technologies and validate the materials.

Results

• Eight new materials: Created eight new bio-based materials from agro-food side-streams and residues.
• Extraction processes: Developed and tested processes to extract and functionalise high-value compounds from agricultural waste such as fruit peels and nutshells, using microwave-assisted extraction and supercritical water. They yielded natural dyes, biomordants, antimicrobials and essential oils.
• Functional materials: Produced filament spools for 3D printing containing maize polysaccharides, pomegranate and lemon pigments, pomegranate biomordants, lemon fragrance and almond peels. These gave the materials different colours, scents and textures with antimicrobial properties, while they resisted thermal and mechanical stress.
• Automotive prototypes: 3D printed door trims and a dashboard fascia for cars, with Fiat.
• Building prototypes: Made moulds for fabricating truss joints for buildings, with ACCIONA Infrastructures.

Impacts

• Sustainability: Replaces fossil-based inputs with natural biomolecules created from agricultural residues, offering manufacturers an alternative to petroleum-based plastics.
• Competitiveness: Improves the competitiveness of European companies and the quality of their products.
• Cross-sector benefits for agricultural, chemical and biopolymer producers, processing companies, and the automotive and building sectors.
• Wider applications: Opens up uses in aerospace, electronics and household appliances.
• Enabling technologies: Contributes to four key enabling technologies: biotechnology, nanotechnology, advanced materials and advanced manufacturing technologies.