
LOOPS is a live webinar series committed to spotlighting innovation in the field of circular economy. The topic of this episode on 13 May will be bio-based resins and coatings, processed by two Horizon 2020 projects: Lignicoat and TomaPaint.
LOOPS is a live webinar series committed to spotlighting innovation in the field of circular economy. The topic of this episode on 13 May will be bio-based resins and coatings, processed by two Horizon 2020 projects: Lignicoat and TomaPaint.
The Re-think Circular Economy Forum will be held on 28 and 29 September 2021 in Taranto, Italy. The event aims to examine macro-trends, possible evolutionary paths and the main circular economy projects, involving stakeholders operating at different levels, such as companies, start-ups, research centres and other institutions. This two-day event will be an incredible opportunity to analyse the theme of the circular economy, looking at issues key to the city of Taranto. The forum will cover: Energy transition and renewable energies; Circular ports; Environmental management and waste.
The URBIOFIN project aims to demonstrate the techno-economic and environmental viability of an integrated and innovative biorefinery for the transformation of the organic fraction of municipal solid wasteinto new marketable bioproducts, chemical building blocks, biopolymers and additives for different markets like agriculture and cosmetics.
Each of the companies in the Envien Group produces a biofuel component, with waste used for specific purposes, such as manufacturing pelleted animal feed or as a co-substrate for biogas production.
Frontrunners of the BioCircular Economy 2.0: Nordic-Netherlands Roundtable is an official WCEF (World Circular Economy Forum) Side Event held on 27 May 2021 under the auspices of the ECESP. This timely Nordic-Netherlands Roundtable will focus on creating a shared need between Nordic-Dutch frontrunners with the aim to lead and accelerate the transition to a Circular Bioeconomy 2.0. It will gather a select group of Nordic-based and Dutch corporate leaders and frontrunners who are leading by example as well as key EU decision-makers. This is the very first time that such a virtual roundtable is being organised.
As the Horizon 2020 research programme becomes Horizon Europe, what better time to witness how great ideas turned into real projects? LOOPS will be the opportunity to show the resulting cutting-edge research, and the change it can bring to our communities. The 22 April episode will focus on smart and circular composite materials.
Crude Tall Oil (CTO) is obtained from the wood pulping industry. Tall (from the Swedish word for pine) oil soap is collected from paper mills and then acidulated to make crude tall oil which is a mixture of fatty acids, rosin acids and other neutral materials.
CTO is a renewable material with great potential, high added value and extremely low carbon emissions. CTO can be further refined by fractionation, which separates it into tall oil fatty acids, tall oil rosins, distilled tall oil, pitch and heads.
CTO derivatives can be used in several sectors, such as animal feed and asphalt recycling, as well as for paints, lubricants, glues and road marking agents. CTO is not yet a widespread practice and could be further explored in the EU.
L&T organises the collection of waste oils, oil-contaminated water and a range of emulsions from industry. The collected materials are analysed and processed at L&T’s recycling plant.
Remondis is one of the world's largest recycling, service and water companies with over 30 000 employees and 900 business locations. The Lippe plant in Lünen is one of their largest sustainable projects: it has a surface area of 230 ha and is the largest industrial recycling plant in Europe.
The Circular Navarre Catalogue is a booklet showcasing 20 organisations - based on circular business models - in the Navarre region, who are looking for international cooperation.
ACI’s Future of Polyolefins Summit, on 20 and 21 January 2021 in Antwerp, will provide the perfect opportunity to meet with leading executives and experts from across the entire value chain.
According to the 7th edition of the International Seminar on Biopolymers and Sustainable Composites organized by AIMPLAS on 4 and 5 March, bioplastic production is expected to increase by 15% by 2024 and is carving out a niche in the construction and automotive sectors.
The overall objective of the project is the "smart" exploitation of Petroleum Refinery Sludges (PRS) produced by the Refinery of Motor Oil Hellas in Corinth (Greece).
AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre, will host the seventh edition of its International Seminar on Biopolymers and Sustainable Composites on 4 and 5 March 2020 in Valencia.
AgriChemWhey seeks to build first-of-a-kind bio-refinery with a view to transforming dairy waste into added-value bio-based products.
Within the European project INCOVER, an experimental plant uses low-energy photobioreactors to cultivate micro-algae and transform wastewater into bioproducts.
This article describes this new experimental plant and the start-up stage, starting from the new design of three semi-closed horizontal photobioreactors with low energy requirements, for microalgae cultivation (30 m3 total), using agricultural runoff and urban wastewater as feedstock.
The inflow nutrients concentration is adjusted to select cyanobacteria, microalgae able to accumulate polyhydroxybutyrates, which can be used for bioplastics production. Part of the harvested biomass is used as substrate for anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) with secondary sludge to obtain biogas. This biogas is then cleaned in an absorption column to reach methane concentration up to 99%. The digestate from the AcoD is further processed in sludge wetlands for stabilization and biofertilizer production.
On the other hand, treated water undergoes ultrafiltration and disinfection through a solar-driven process, then it is pumped through absorption materials to recover nutrients, and eventually applied in an agricultural field to grow energy crops by means of a smart irrigation system. This plant presents a sustainable approach for wastewater management, which can be seen as a resource recovery process, more than a waste treatment.
'The circular economy and the bioeconomy — Partners in sustainability' is the third EEA report on the circular economy. It aims to support the framing, implementation and evaluation of European circular economy policy from an environmental perspective. It shows that the two policy agendas have similar objectives and areas of intervention, including food waste, biomass and bio-based products, and that they would benefit from stronger links, particularly in product and infrastructure design, and collaboration throughout the value chain.
The increasing demand for food, feed, biomaterials and bioenergy resources could worsen the over-exploitation of natural resources. By extending the lifetime of products and recycling materials, a circular, bio-economy approach can help retain material value and functionality for longer time as well as avoid unrecycled biowaste.
Promising innovations and strategies for circular biomass use include biorefinery, 3D printing with bioplastics, multi-purpose crops, better use of residues and food waste, and biowaste treatment. Consumers can also contribute by eating less animal-based protein, preventing food waste and separating biowaste from other waste streams.
Implementing the circular and bio-economy in tandem, by applying specific design principles within a systemic approach, would improve resource efficiency and reduce environmental pressures.
The emerging bioeconomy is moving from a research niche to market norm and Europe needs to maintain its current global leadership. The update of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy is a major European Commission wide policy initiative which will be presented and discussed during the Bioeconomy Conference on October 22, in Brussels.
The European Bioeconomy Congress Lodz 2018 will be held on September 24th, 2018, in Lodz, Poland to support the development of a bioeconomy in the Central and Eastern European Bioregions.
Kalundborg Symbiosis is a partnership between nine public and private companies in Kalundborg, Denmark.
The Granada Sur Biorefinery of Emasagra has set up an ambitious environmental strategy in order to become European circular economy reference in the field of sanitation and wastewater treatment.
Laura Cutaia, researcher at ENEA, is an Environmental Engineer (1996) with a PhD in raw materials engineering (2002). Her main research topics are:
Laura Cutaia is responsible for making the most of resources at ENEA , where she is working on the circular economy and resource efficiency, industrial ecology and symbiosis, LCA, environmental certification schemes, the REACH regulation and sustainable industrial areas (more information).
Laura Cutaia is also president of SUN - Symbiosis Users Network (Italian network for industrial symbiosis) and president of UNI CT 057 on the circular economy that works with ISO TC 323 on the circular economy. UNI is the Italian body responsible for standardisation.