BIO-MIMETIC

New bio-inspired processes and products from renewable feedstocks

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Within the FP7 PEOPLE project (Blue4Glue), Fraunhofer Institute (IFAM) and Procter and Gamble discovered a (PPO based) enzymatic process used by marine-organisms, which “produce” polymers in a much simpler way (less process steps) than industry does in classical chemistry. BIO-MIMETIC aims to transfer this new scientific knowledge into a blueprint for a novel (pre-)industrial enzymatic-based bio-polymerization process. It involves research partners (IFAM and UNITOV) with experience in enzymatic transformation and bio-based synthetic polymers, as well as expert SMEs such as Dyadic (enzymes), CIMV (biomass transformation into bio-chemistry) and CULGI (computational modeling of bio-chemical processes) to develop the process that firstly transforms biomass (lignin) into new bio-based polymers (pseudo peptides). These will used to create respectively: 1) Bioconjugated copolymers, that will be tested in detergents (by P&G) 2) Bio-cross-linked adhesive gels, to be experimented in antiageing cosmetics and in bio-textiles preparation (by an SME cosmetic producer MAVI). Potential environmental benefits are over 124 kton/yr less toxic solvents to produce chemicals, over 1 Billion kWh of energy savings (room temperature process) and a drastically reduced CO2 footprint i.e. replace 8000 Mtons of petrochemical based deposition aides and in the future substitute a large amount of phenol and phenolic derivatives, which are used to produce chemical intermediates for a myriad of applications. BIO-MIMETIC will carry out LCA and LCC (cost) assessments over the value chain as input to business plan and will use a new SME LCA tool (cCALC) to develop an LCA showcase, which will come available for SMEs. The cCALC tool and showcase will be freely downloadable as part of the exploitation plan targeted at the market uptake of project results in the emerging European market of bio-based products, projected to grow towards 250 billion Euro by 2020.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

A multidisciplinary research consortium is taking inspiration from nature to convert agricultural waste biomass into useful industrial products using an environmentally friendly process.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Traditionally, manufacturing of industrial products often requires toxic, expensive and energy-demanding chemical processes. In the search for alternative methods, researchers found a biological alternative for glue: water-resistant adhesives produced by molluscs that attach to underwater surfaces.

Using a similar approach, the EU-funded 'New bio-inspired processes and products from renewable feedstocks' (http://www.biomimetic-eu-project.eu/ (BIO-MIMETIC)) project aims to mimic the natural creation of other complex products. The project's researchers are attempting to convert lignin, an agricultural renewable waste, into high-value household products using natural enzymes rather than harmful chemicals.

A polymer, meaning many parts, is a complex chain-like molecule consisting of multiple repeated subunits that give it specific structural properties, such as strength or elasticity. To test lignin's potential use in polymer development, researchers first extracted lignin from different natural sources.

Enzymes were then used to modify the molecule. Next, the researchers used these modified compounds to form different molecules with novel chemical properties.

The BIO-MIMETIC team also aims to create polymers for commercial products such as detergents and adhesive gels, which could be used in cosmetics and bio-textiles. Their approach, once again, is to mimic the way in which marine organisms build and secrete adhesive bio-polymers.

Renewable waste resources and biological enzyme systems offer many economic and environmental benefits for industrial product development. BIO-MIMETIC products are expected to help reduce carbon footprints and energy use, and will not require the conventional toxic solvents used in chemical synthesis.