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Conversion of urban bio-wastes into sustainable materials and products

Conversion of diluted mixed urban bio-wastes into sustainable materials and products in flexible purple photobiorefineries - DEEP PURPLE

This holistic research consortium is working to transform diluted urban bio-wastes, including mixed waste streams, organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW), wastewater (WW) and sewage sludge (SS), into feedstock for bio-industry to obtain sustainable bio-products.

This revolutionary concept will be implemented in a novel Single-Site Multi-Platform Concept (Biomass, Cellulose and Biogas) to replace current polluting destructive practices with new value added concepts. The beneficial use of bio-waste is obtained by an innovative combination of optimized recovery technologies and novel solutions: the Purple Phototrophic Bacteria (PPB) PhotoBiorefinery.

The use of PPB -the most versatile metabolism reported- ensures the adaption to fluctuating and diluted waste streams to support a stable profitable production chain. The first PPB PhotoBiorefinery in the EU (the biggest worldwide) will be validated in different environmental, economic, logistic, and social scenarios. The concept will be implemented by end-users from four municipalities, namely Madrid (ES), Toledo (ES), TÅ™inec (CZ) and Velká Polom (CZ) to transform bio-wastes (OFMSW: 422 t/y, mixed waste: 438,000 m3/y) into high-added value bioproducts: fine chemicals (bio-cosmetics), fertilizers, bio-packaging and self-repairing construction materials.

The market uptake of DEEP PURPLE is facilitated by optimal logistics of bio-wastes conversion (reduction of landfilled OFMSW: 60%, WWTP solids recovery: 71%), and bio-products quality to favor their commercialization (440 t/y). The integration of value chains is boosted by relevant stakeholders participation and innovative business models, minimizing waste and maximizing benefits (85mln Euro benefits, GHG emissions savings: 11,300 tCO2eq/y in 2025). Key communities (social engagement strategies) will participate in the new value creation, calibrating the returns of the project like social innovation promotion and creation of new opportunities along the urban value cycle.

image showing the process of Conversion of urban bio-wastes into sustainable materials and products

Meet the Principal Investigator(s) for the project

Dr Evina Katsou

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Partnering with confidence

Organisations interested in our research can partner with us with confidence backed by an external and independent benchmark: The Knowledge Exchange Framework. Read more.


Project last modified 21/11/2023