CBE4I aims at the development of a novel, fuel-flexible biomass updraft gasification based technology for a highly energy efficient, almost zero emission and zero waste process heat supply for flexible implementation at industrial settings satisfying the specific demands of industry. Low-value biomass residues which are available in large quantities shall be applied. CBE4I shall provide either (i) heat at different temperature levels which can be applied for indirectly heated processes via product gas combustion in an almost zero-emission gas burner with integrated three-way catalyst flexibly coupled with different boiler types (hot water, thermal oil, steam) or (ii) process heat and a clean product gas via product gas extraction with integrated thermal and catalytic tar reforming for utilisation in gas burners for direct heating. A novel flue gas condensation concept with directly coupled heat pump shall boost efficiency up to 120% (related to the NCV of the fuel). A newly developed condensate treatment shall allow for a direct discharge into sewers and regarding ash utilisation a new concept for application of biomass ashes in fertilizer production shall be developed. Moreover, CBE4I shall include the necessary fuel pre-treatment technologies and fuel logistics suitable for industrial sites. The latter comprise space saving on-site fuel logistics and on-line fuel quality assessment based on a new intelligent crane system. The methodology applied to reach these goals relies on technology development tasks (based on process simulations, CFD aided design of the single units, test plant construction, performance and evaluation of test runs), a technology assessment part covering risk assessments, LCAs, techno-economic, environmental and overall impact assessments as well as targeted dissemination activities. A market study shall investigate and define the framework conditions and application potentials of the CBE4I technology in different industrial sectors.

1.2 Million tons of mixed plastics arise from Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) treatment in Europe and this quantity is still growing. WEEE plastics often contain undesired additives that hamper recycling in Europe. 75% of WEEE is currently exported to Asia where it is recycled to secondary plastics containing undesired (hazardous) substances or ending up in landfill where leaching occurs. Hence for WEEE plastics a closed loop solution is needed. PLAST2bCLEANED’s aim is to develop a recycling process for WEEE plastics in a technically feasible, environmentally sound and economically viable manner. To fulfil this aim, PLAST2bCLEANED addresses the recycling of the most common WEEE plastics acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and high impact polystyrene (HIPS) that contain up to 20wt% brominated flame retardants (BFR) and up to 5wt% of the synergist antimony trioxide (ATO). PLAST2bCLEANED will close three loops: (1) polymer, (2) bromine, and (3) ATO. Key technologies developed within the project are: (1) improved sorting of HIPS and ABS that contain BFR from other polystyrene and ABS fractions; (2) dissolution of WEEE plastics in superheated solvents; (3) separation of additives to concentrate BFR and ATO fractions for recycling; (4) energy efficient recovery of solvent and of polymer. The developed technology will be integrated in a pilot facility with capacity of 2 kg/hr (TRL 5/6) delivering polymer samples. The developed technology can be applied to similar waste streams from other sectors, e.g. automotive. The combination of improved sorting and use of superheated solvents offers an economic and environmental advantage. First calculations indicate a sound business case. The consortium is well equipped to develop this technology and consist of partners to cover the whole value chain.

Fossil-based aromatic chemicals like phenol, bisphenol A (BPA), BPA derivatives and alkylphenols are produced on a million ton scale and are commonly used in surfactants, flame retardants and plastics. However, they also raise serious environmental and health concerns especially in applications that result in potential exposure to the body such as detergents, furniture, textile or food packaging. Therefore, this multidisciplinary EU project aims at developing renewable compounds as benign alternatives for current aromatic chemicals following the Safe and Sustainable-By-Design (SSbD) framework. The project will focus on the molecular design of novel biobased compounds as alternatives for substances of very high concern (SVHC) via an inventive catalytic biorefinery of biomass sides streams. New approach methodologies (NAMs) will be used for hazard assessment of the new chemicals in terms of human health and environmental toxicity. Machine learning models will be developed for the design phase and for the in-silico impact assessment of the novel chemicals. Successful products will be safe, follow the principles of green chemistry, demonstrate a lower carbon footprint than their petrochemical counterparts and will have a calculated life cycle and socio-economic impact. Formal SSbD reporting in RADAR will demonstrate the applicability of the framework and support EU policy. The selected RADAR chemicals will be upscaled to multi kg scale and investigated in industrial applications while they will be benchmarked against functional properties of standard flame retardant, surfactant or can coating materials. RADAR data will allow mapping of the substitution barriers in terms of supply, production cost and performance. To reach its goals, the RADAR consortium involves all relevant industrial actors along the value chain ranging from biomass refinery to chemicals production and brand owners in end markets supported by excellent knowledge institutions.