The international conference ISWA 2019 — "Circular economy, what are you doing?” Was held from 7-9 October 2019 in Bilbao (Spain).

The congress was organized by ATEGRUS, ISWA National Member in Spain, in cooperation with the International Solid Waste Association – ISWA. The global meeting was based on a scientific programme focused on sustainable waste management, circular economy and resource efficiency. IMECAL represented PERCAL project with a poster during the event to present new and alternative solutions to treat the Organic Fraction of the Municipal Solid Waste.

24th month meeting held last 11th July at TBWResearch facilities (Vienna, Austria)

18th month meeting held last 9-10th January at Ghent University (Ghent, Belgium)

12th months meeting held last 3rd & 4th of July at ATB (Postdam-Germany)

6th months meeting held last 17th-18th of January at AUA (Athens-Greece)

December 10th, 2017 - PERCAL project in BBI JU Stakeholder Forum 2017

The first BBI JU Stakeholder Forum was held last 7th of December 2017 in Brussels. This Stakeholder Forum is a one-day public event dedicated to engaging directly in dialogue with BBI JU’s stakeholders. Visitors took the opportunity to meet the 65 BBI JU ongoing projects presented throughout the event in the exhibition area. PERCAL project was represented in its booth by its coordinator IMECAL, together with Exergy, Leibniz-Institut für Agrartechnik und Bioökonomie e.V. (ATB) and the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA) project partners. [Link]

September 18th, 2017 - Presentation of PERCAL project in Hammer Bioenergietage conference

The international conference Hammer Bioenergietage was held from 12th to 14th of September 2017 in the city of Hamm (Germany). Here different European companies and technological centres presented the last advances and projects in the field of biorefineries and bioenergy. IMECAL was invited by the event organizer to present its PERSEO Bioethanol® technology as well as the international projects in which it is participating, including PERCAL project. In addition to the oral presentation, PERCAL project was also presented with a poster and leaflets during the discussion and poster sessions of the event.

Kick-off meeting of PERCAL project

The kick-off meeting of PERCAL project “Chemical building blocks from versatile MSW biorefinery” was held last 4th and 5th July 2017 in Valencia (Spain). With a budget of 3.4 M€ and 3 years of duration, the objective of PERCAL project is to develop intermediate chemical products with huge industril interest (bioethanol, lactic acid, succinic acid) at high yield and purity from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (MSW). The international PERCAL consortium is composed of 12 organisations: IMECAL, AIMPLAS and CENER (Spain), Agricultural University of Athens (Greece), ATB Potsdam and Covestro (Germany), Genth University (Belgium), TBW Research (Austria), VISUM (Ireland), Hayat Kimya (Turkey) and Exergy (United Kingdom).

Korneel MFC Science

Bio-electrochemical processes can drive a broad range of processes, from conversion of waste to electricity, through to the production and recovery of chemicals

PALM

The VISUM PALM; a small and convenient portable NIR analyser for fast quality control in the warehouse and in the field.

NIR

The VISUM IN-LINE is an In-line Near Infrared (NIR) Analyser for continuous monitoring of chemical composition.

Chemical building blocks from versatile MSW biorefinery

PERCAL will exploit Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) as feedstock to develop intermediate chemical products at high yield and low impurity level with huge industrial interest. These will be complementary to the bioethanol (current PERSEO technology), to achieve a cascade valorisation of the MSW components, i.e.:

• Lactic acid (LA) to produce: 1) Eco-friendly ethyl lactate solvents by reactive distillation from lactic acid & bio-ethanol to be used in cleaning products and inks and 2) hot-melt adhesives for cardboard and other non-food applications in combination with maleic anhydride by reactive extrusion.

• Succinic acid (SA) as an intermediate building blocks to production of polyols for the polyurethane industry.

• Biosurfactants by chemical and/or microbiological modification of protein and lipid fraction from remaining fraction of MSW fermentation.

Overall Objectives

To improve enzymes cocktails to maximize organic hydrolysis for several MSW compositions.
To determine the suitability of a given MSW organic composition for different chemicals
To study the production and purification of LA from MSW using sequential and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation
To study the production and in-line purification of Succinic Acid (SA) from MSW using membrane electrolysis technology.
To valorise the fermentation by-products in order to increase the recovery from the organic content of MSW by 25 %
To extend esterification to a Continuous process with a yield of 3-5L / h; Product Purity › 90%
To produce hot melts based on lactic acid for application in cardboard and labels by reactive extrusion With similar resistance to analog EVA HMA.
To produce polyether and polyether polyols for application in polyurethanes (PUR). Objective 1,000 MW, compatible with petrol-based polyester / polyether polyols
To study the integration of in-line control technologies to the PERSEO pilot plant to increase its process control parameters, its versatility & maximize homogeneity of the fermentable feedstock
To demonstrate safety and regulatory compliance, as well as the environment and economic Sustainability of developed processes and products
To define sustainable value chains and cross-sectorial connections
To maximize the innovation impacts of the project for contributing to the uptake of the project results for companies’ business and employment growth

PERCAL consortium

PERCAL consortium has a well-balanced composition. It brings together a wealth of expertise and resources within the areas, including partners that propose the best solutions to maximize the valorisation of the different components of MSW. The presence of main actors in the whole value chain demonstrates the critical mass of complimentary resources that will enable the PERCAL project to achieve its targeted societal, industrial, and scientific breakthroughs and commercial success.

IMECAL

The R&D line of production technology for second generation bioethanol, has developed a biotechnological patented technology for obtaining bioethanol from Organic Municipal Waste.

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AIMPLAS

AIMPLAS’ fields of work are related to technological R & D on thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials & products, its transformation processes and their recyclability and sustainability.

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ATB

The Institute’s mission is to develop sustainable and highly innovative technologies for the resource efficient utilization of biological systems to produce food, raw materials and energy.


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Agricultural University of Athens

The Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition (DFSHN) of AUA promotes the existing knowledge on Food Science and Human Nutrition through research and development programs...

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CMET

The principal research strategy at CMET aims at understanding phenomena of microbial ecology in order to manage the vast metabolic capabilities of complex microbial communities to solve practical problems.


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FUNDACION CENER

The National Renewable Energy Centre (CENER) is a technology centre specialised in applied research, and the development and promotion of renewable energies. It is highly rated and has acknowledged national and international prestige.

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TBWR

TBWR`s focus is on applied research only especially in cooperation with industry partners. Thematic fields of R&D activities are in general mobility, energy & renewables, construction and water management.

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VISUM

VISUM is an optical engineering company from Dublin that specializes in the development and commercialization of Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS)-based portable and inline analyzers and measurement systems for process monitoring...

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YPAREX

The Compound Company is headquartered in Enschede, the Netherlands, next to its main production facilities, warehouses and quality lab. The Compound Company has 2 product brands: Yparex® and EcoForte®. Yparex® is a product range of extrudable adhesive resins and EcoForte® is a product range of customized thermoplastic compounds.

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HAYAT

Hayat Kimya was established in 1937 as a textile trading company. Company has entered the FMCG industry in 1987. Today, with 5200 employees Hayat Kimya is one of the largest FMCG (household cleaning & personal care, baby–care & feminine hygiene, and paper tissue & towels)...

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COVESTRO

Covestro is a world-leading supplier of high-performance polymer materials for key industries. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life.

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INEUVO

INEUVO Ltd is a UK based SME company that provides process science, engineering and enterprise solutions with the aim to meet the current trends towards innovative, smarter intelligent production and manufacturing.

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This project has received funding from the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement Nº 745828