Description du projet
Une solution nouvelle dans la lutte contre la pollution par les plastiques
La transition de l’UE vers une économie plus durable et plus circulaire passe par des efforts visant à minimiser la production de déchets. Une économie des plastiques plus circulaire joue un rôle clé dans cette transition. Le projet RECOVER, financé par l’UE, vise à lutter contre l’accumulation de pollution due aux plastiques agricoles et d’emballage non recyclables et aux microplastiques. Il appliquera des solutions biotechnologiques, notamment une combinaison de micro-organismes, de nouvelles enzymes, de vers de terre et d’insectes pour dégrader les plastiques et les transformer en produits à valeur ajoutée. Parmi ses objectifs ambitieux, RECOVER développera des procédés pour la bioremédiation de la pollution des sols et du compost par les plastiques et la biotransformation des plastiques conventionnels en biofertilisants et en plastiques biodégradables pour des applications d’emballage agricole et alimentaire. Il contribuera ainsi à boucler la boucle dans les deux secteurs productifs tout en résolvant les défis environnementaux actuels.
Objectif
RECOVER is a disruptive RIA proposal built upon the actual needs to solve the contamination of agro-fields with non-biodegradable agro-plastics as well as to improve municipal waste handling by decreasing drastically the packaging fraction going to unsustainable waste management routes.
We intend to reach our ambitious objectives applying biotech solutions that will include symbiotic bioprocesses between previously reported high powered microorganisms through microbiotic systems vectored by several insect species. Indeed, one of the main innovations in our proposal is the combination of endogenous and exogenous microorganisms and their inoculation on insects. This will allow achieving higher levels of biodegradation and direct conversion (at the same time) of agri-food plastic wastes in insect by-products such as chitin, that can be converted in chitosan (high value as bioplastics raw materials and other interesting industrial applications due to anti-microbial activity) that will be used in active packaging, enhanced mulching films and biofertilizers applications.
RECOVER will help providing novel biotechnological solutions applying microorganisms, enzymes and insects to degrade conventional plastic packaging and agricultural films waste streams but also result in new feedstocks for the bio-based industries. The process will be optimized and performed either ex-situ in composting reactors (preferred route for non-recyclable plastics from municipal solid waste or for agricultural films that can be collected easily) or in-situ in the case of bioremediating soil pollution, by e.g. mulching films, further contributing to the long-term removal of non-biodegradable polymers from the environment. In addition, RECOVER can solve the microplastics pollution at the level of both industrial composting and soil.
Champ scientifique
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwaste management
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesenvironmental sciencespollution
- natural sciencesbiological scienceszoologyentomology
- engineering and technologyindustrial biotechnologybiomaterialsbioplastics
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiology
Mots‑clés
Programme(s)
- H2020-EU.3.2. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy Main Programme
- H2020-EU.2.1.4. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies – Biotechnology
- H2020-EU.3.2.6. - Bio-based Industries Joint Technology Initiative (BBI-JTI)
Thème(s)
Régime de financement
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinateur
04120 Almeria
Espagne