URBIOFIN

Demonstration of an integrated innovative biorefinery for the transformation of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) into new BioBased products (URBIOFIN)

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Project details

Type of project: Innovation Action - Demonstration
Project focus: Packaging
Feedstock origin: Industrial and municipal waste
Feedstock type: Organic fraction of municipal solid waste

Project period: 1 June 2017 - 30 September 2022
Status: Completed
CBE JU Contribution: € 10 946 366,03
Call identifier: H2020-BBI-JTI-2016

Summary

Each person in Europe generates an average of 500 Kg of municipal solid waste (MSW) per year. Around 50 percent of this is organic waste, made up of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids, all of which represent useful raw materials for creating valuable products. In addition, converting these will reduce the polluting effects and contribute to the shift to a genuine circular economy.

Digesting and composting have contributed to the reduction of the biodegradable fraction of MSW sent to landfill; however, the low economic value of compost and biogas means that citizens need to pay higher taxes for separate sourcing systems, slowing the potential uptake. However, new bio-based products can help to improve sustainability of such approaches.

The URBIOFIN project will demonstrate the techno-economic and environmental viability of converting the organic fraction of MSW on a semi-industrial scale. It will create chemical building blocks, biopolymers or additives using the biorefinery concept applied to MSW - i.e. urban biorefinery. Ultimately, URBIOFIN will offer a new feasible and more sustainable scenario alternative to the current treatment of the OFMSW.

The URBIOFIN project has set a number of objectives:

To evaluate the heterogeneity and compositional variability of the organic fraction of MSW in order to design the biorefinery and select representative feedstock.
To define the industrial requirements for final bio-product properties.
To reduce the operational costs of bioethanol production from the organic fraction of MSW by 20 percent.
To demonstrate, at semi-industrial scale, the viability of continuous conversion of bioethanol produced from the organic fraction of MSW into bio-ethylene.
To demonstrate, at semi-industrial scale, continuous volatile fatty acids (VFAs) production from partial anaerobic digestion of the organic fraction of MSW.
To validate, at semi-industrial scale, at least 50-60 percent of operational yields for Medium-chain volatile fatty acid (MCFA) and polyhydroxyalcanoates (PHA) production.
To validate, at semi-industrial scale, PHA extraction process.
To validate, at semi-industrial scale, biogas upgrading using microalgae.
To produce new bio-based material from biogas.
To produce final marketable products from the bio-based chemicals, polymers and additives obtained in URBIOFIN biorefinery and validate their performance.

The URBIOFIN project is aiming to deliver the following impacts:

To demonstrate that the current valorisation of the organic fraction of MSW can be improved, by converting it into chemical building blocks, biopolymers or additives. It will also generate biomethane and solid bio-fertilisers to valorise the entire organic fraction.
To achieve a competitive price for the products produced by the URBIOFIN process
Prepare the market for future introductions and commercialisations by ensuring products comply with requirements of EU legislation for safety, quality and purity.

Consortium map

Project coordination

PERSEO BIOTECHNOLOGY S.L. L'ALCUDIA, Spain

Consortium

URBASER SA Madrid, Spain
UNIVERSIDAD DE VALLADOLID Valladolid, Spain
NATUREPLAST Mondeville, France
NOVOZYMES A/S Bagsvaerd, Denmark
THE INTERNATIONAL NATURAL AND ORGANIC COSMETICS ASSOCIATION AISBL BRUXELLES, Belgium
LEYGATECH SAS SAINT ROMAIN LACHALM, France
CENTRO DE INVESTIGACIONES ENERGETICAS MEDIOAMBIENTALES Y TECNOLOGICAS MADRID, Spain
AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS Madrid, Spain
FUNDACION GENERAL DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DE VALLADOLID Valladolid, Spain
GESTION AMBIENTAL DE CASTILLA-LA MANCHA SA Cuenca, Spain
ETAM ANONYMH ETAIREIA SYMBOYLEYTIKON KAI MELETHTIKON YPIRESION Irakleio, Greece
AINIA Paterna Valencia, Spain
INSTITUTO REGIONAL DE INVESTIGACION Y DESARROLLO AGROALIMENTARIO Y FORESTAL DE CASTILLA-LA MANCHA Tomelloso, Spain
IRIS TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, SOCIEDAD LIMITADA CORNELLA DE LLOBREGAT, Spain
STICHTING WAGENINGEN RESEARCH Wageningen, Netherlands
BIOMASA PENINSULAR S.A Madrid, Spain