US4GREENCHEM aims to design a biorefinery concept for the complete valorization of lignocellulosic biomass that is energy- and cost- efficient and based solely on green technologies. The concept combines mechanical pretreatment of the substrate with the aid of ultrasound to overcome its recalcitrance and disrupt inhibitors with mild CO2 hemicellulose degradation and with the enzymatic recovery of sugars and technologies for the valorization of the byproducts released in the process. Aim of the Project - Develop ultrasound (US) pretreatment that effectively disrupts the lignocellulosic matrix. - Further degrade lignocellulose with CO2 technologies to maximize release of sugars as main target products of the process. - Develop purification and conversion strategies for lignin-based products, in order to maximize the material valorization of the biomass components. - Valorize the solid residues of the product for energy. - Optimize the yield and reduce by 50% the cost of enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose fibers. - Test for fermentability of the sugar fraction - Propose effective integration and upscaling to strategies pilot scale through the experienced industrial partners involved in the project. - Perform a thorough analysis of the outcomes of the proposed combination of technologies to evaluate the potential economic and environmental impacts and compare the proposed concept to existing technologies on the market and being currently developed.

SIMPLIFY, the Sonication and Microwave Processing of material Feedstock project, aims at enabling the electrification of the chemical process industry – and in particular the specialty chemicals industries. SIMPLIFY's vision is that of intensified processes, where alternative energy sources enable flexible continuous technologies to achieve localized ultrasound and microwave actuation of multiphase, flow reactors powered by electricity from renewable sources for the purpose of high-value product synthesis. SIMPLIFY has selected three major classes of specialty processes to work on: i. The class of chemical processes involving highly viscous streams, with MW/US-assisted reactive extrusion of polyurethane as representative; ii. The class of chemical processes involving suspensions, in particular those requiring long residence times (up to hours), with US/MW-assisted reactive crystallization of zeolite microparticles in a continuous oscillatory baffle reactor (COBR); iii. The class of chemical processes involving suspensions, in particular those with inherently high reaction rates (residence times of seconds to minutes), with MW/US-assisted reactive crystallization of titania nanoparticle synthesis in a plug flow reactor (PFR). SIMPLIFY advances the technology readiness level (TRL) of flow technology for these multiphase streams involving suspensions or viscous products from TRL4 (technology validation in lab) to TRL6 (industrial demonstration), thus pushing the transition from chemical reactions with poor resource – both material and energy – efficiency and variable product quality to processes with high resource efficiency and excellent, uniform product properties.

SIMPLI-DEMO, the Demonstration of Sonication and Microwave Processing of essential chemicals project, aims at strengthening the chemical process industry ? and in particular the specialty chemicals and pharmaceuticals industries ? in its capacity to produce materials and chemicals in a sustainable and competitive way by moving from batch to continuous and modular production with flexibility being ensured by the application of alternative energy forms. Currently, the conventional technologies in the specialty and pharma sector tend to be batch-type, combined with mechanical mixing and conduction-based heat transfer, inherently leading to poor process control. SIMPLI-DEMO's vision is that of intensified processes, where alternative energy sources enable continuous and modular technologies to achieve localized actuation of multiphase, flow reactors for the purpose of high-value product synthesis. SIMPLI-DEMO focuses on the synthesis of specialty polymers and particles for use in a wide variety of every-day-use products, e.g. insulation, paints and coatings, plastics, catalysts, as well as health applications, which are important domains in the chemical industry today and into the future. Therefore, SIMPLI-DEMO advances the technology readiness level (TRL) of modular flow technology for multiphase streams involving suspensions or viscous products from TRL5 (validation in relevant environment) to TRL7 (industrial system demonstration). SIMPLI-DEMO has brought together a consortium of four end-user chemical companies, two technology suppliers (ultrasound and microwave technology), five universities and research institutions (process control & automation, reactive extrusion, oscillatory flow, ultrasound, microwaves), one SME experienced in modular automation and another SME experienced in sustainability assessment and exploitation.