RES URBIS aims at making it possible to convert several types of urban bio-waste into valuable bio-based products, in an integrated single biowaste biorefinery and by using one main technology chain. This goal will be pursued through: - collection and analysis of data on urban bio-waste production and present management systems in four territorial clusters that have been selected in different countries and have different characteristics. - well-targeted experimental activity to solve a number of open technical issues (both process- and product-related), by using the appropriate combination of innovative and catalogue-proven technologies. - market analysis whitin several economic scenarios and business models for full exploitation of bio-based products (including a path forward to fill regulatory gaps). Urban bio-waste include the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (from households, restaurants, caterers and retail premises), excess sludge from urban wastewater treatment, garden and parks waste, selected waste from food-processing (if better recycling options in the food chain are not available), other selected waste streams, i.e. baby nappies. Bio-based products include polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) and related PHA-based bioplastics as well as ancillary productions: biosolvents (to be used in PHA extraction) and fibers (to be used for PHA biocomposites). Territorial and economic analyses will be done either considering the ex-novo implementation of the biowaste biorefinery or its integration into existing wastewater treatment or anaerobic digestion plants, with reference to clusters and for different production size. The economic analysis will be based on a portfolio of PHA-based bioplastics, which will be produced at pilot scale and tested for applications: - Biodegradable commodity film - Packaging interlayer film - Speciality durables (such as electronics) - Premium slow C-release material for ground water remediation

RefuCoat project aims to develop hybrid bio-based high oxygen/water barrier and active coatings to be used in a monolayer bio-based food packages (films and trays) as alternative to current metallised and modified atmosphere (MAP) packages to avoid the use of non-renewable materials in multilayer structures that currently lead to complex and expensive recycling steps. Hybrid coating formulations will combine cost-efficiently produced polyglycolic acid (PGA) and modified silica oxide. Fully biodegradable packages for fresh food products will be obtained with middle chain modified PHAs. PGA and PHA based hybrid coatings with high gas barrier properties will be further improved with active substances for improved shelf-life. Furthermore, new packages based on bio-PET and bio-PE combined with hybrid and active coatings will be developed. The generated products will be validated and compared to current metallised, non bio-based alternatives in industrial products, in performance, shelf-life and biodegradability. Safety and regulatory compliance, environmental and economic sustainability will be specifically addressed. RefuCoat consortium is formed by 12 synergistic partners, 7 of them BIC members, reunites all actors in the value chain, SME partners (MIPLAST and IRIS), industrial partners (UNILEVER, MANOR, DACSA and BIOPOLIS), and RTO Partners (THUNEN, CIB, AIMPLAS, EUFIC, Fraunhofer and AINIA). The project maximizes exploitation within the Consortium, promoting a circular economy concept, but also considers dissemination and communication in order to maximize the value of the project outcomes. maximizesexploitation within the consortium, promoting a circular economy concept, but also considers dissemination andcommunication in order to maximize the value of the project outcomes. Refucoat main impacts are expected in the improved performance of food packages, reduction of landfilling waste, cost-and environmental effectiveness in processing by Life Cycle and Techno-Economic Assessment, improved preservation of food products, new markets and contribution to KPI of BBI-JI. RefuCoat aims at a significant contribution in more than 880 jobs.

The aim of PULPACKTION project is to develop cellulose-based tailored-to-purpose packaging solutions for specific food and electronic packaging applications which needs medium and high barrier requirement’s and that nowadays are packing in polymer fossil based solutions. This innovation will take advantage of the flexibility in the wet-moulding production of wood pulp based materials. Different types of wood pulp will be combined to prepare slurries for wet-moulding applications. These slurries will be additivated with biopolymers and other bio-based compounds in order to tailor the final properties of the resulting wet-moulded materials. By tailoring the composition of the wet mouldable slurry, a wide range of final properties in the resulting dry material will be achieved. This flexible packaging manufacturing system will be combined with 100% bio-based coatings and films on the cellulose-based substrate. To fulfil the properties required for PULPACKTION’s specific packaging applications using a fully bio-based approach, additional barriers will be implemented onto the wet moulded substrate. For this purpose, new bio-based polymer blends will be optimized. These new blends, containing biopolymers such as thermoplastic starch (TPS), poly (lactic acid) (PLA), other bio-additives, and reinforcements such as microfibrillated cellulose (MFC), will be processed into multilayer films, composites and coatings. In this manner, not only coatings for improved barrier properties, but also 100% bio-based films for packages’ top lids will be produced. Therefore, a final 100% bio-biobased integral packaging solution with similar properties to existing fossil-based packaging solutions will be achieved.

Today, fresh food as well as convenience food is sold in packages. Hygienic conditions, long shelf life and easy availability of these packed products account for our standard of living. However, this convenience contributes in a significant way to environmental pollution, as packaging is mainly achieved by plastic materials in this case. Biodegradable packaging materials have been on the market for many decades. However, there are severe restrictions preventing their broad application in food packaging, as these materials do not provide the requested properties, such as a sufficient barrier against water vapour, oxygen or flavours. Our idea is to improve these properties by a biodegradable coating. We have developed high-barrier coatings based on a class of materials with glass-like structural units, so called ORMOCER®s. However, these coatings are not biobased, nor biodegradable. The target of the planned project is the development of new functional hybrid (inorganic-organic) coatings for applications in food, cosmetic & medical device packaging. These new coatings will be based on the work of Fraunhofer ISC who has patented and licensed ORMOCER® lacquers used for coating applications in order to increase barrier properties of packaging films. The aim of the planned project is to synthesise new coating materials based on bioORMOCER®s, which are formed of functionalised biopolymers extracted from lignocellulosic biomass sources using the bioORMOCER® synthesis approach. In particular, the polymeric structures of hemicelluloses and polyesters will be exploited. By the use of these biopolymer, the organoalkoxysilanes which are components of the state-of-the art ORMOCER® lacquers will be substituted to obtain a purely biobased functional coating material. The new functional bioORMOCER®s will be coated on flexible and rigid biopolymer substrates and tested for packaging applications for food, cosmetic and medical devices.