The main objective of the PROVIDES project is to develop a radically new, sustainable and techno-economically feasible pulping technology for wood and agro-based lignocellulose raw materials based on deep eutectic solvents (DES), a new class of natural solvents which have the unique ability to dissolve and thus mildly fractionate lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose at low temperature and atmospheric pressure for further processing into high added value materials and chemicals. The aim is to transfer recent scientific findings in novel lignin dissolving DES to process concept level that can be evaluated against current pulping processes. The technological breakthrough expected through the development of such new DES pulping technology could reduce process energy intensity by at least 40% and investment costs by 50% compared to traditional chemical pulping technology. In parallel, the development of efficient novel cellulose-dissolving DES and other DESs to process lignocellulose materials, starting with paper for recycling, is aimed at with focus on sustainability in selecting DES chemical components and technical and economic applicability of the solvent system. PROVIDES will create both fundamental and industry driven technological knowledge based on lab to bench/pilot scale experimentation, through: mapping and selection of most effective DES families; investigating processes and process technology options, including DES regeneration and recycling, in order to define full industrial processes that would isolate high quality cellulose/fibres, lignin and hemicelluloses; providing products for industrial evaluation; establishing technical data to evaluate industrial feasibility and integration; performing life-cycle oriented assessment of environmental and socio-economic performance; assessing impacts in terms of energy and cost reductions as well as new high added value applications PROVIDES could provide to the pulp and paper industry sector.

Europe aims to reach climate neutrality and a circular economy by 2050. Current practices to treat industrial wastewater by large are not designed for the water valorisation and reuse and, therefore, are not coherent with the European ambitions. To design the wastewater treatment systems compatible with the requirements of circular economy, CORNERSTONE aims at integrating novel technological and digital developments into the existing industrial wastewater treatment systems for recovery and recycling of freshwater, energy and solutes. The project introduces innovative principles and practices at the component level and rationally integrates the developed components to recover valuables and freshwater from industrial wastewater. To achieve its objective, CORNERSTONE puts together a multidisciplinary 16-partner consortium from 8 European member states, consisting of large enterprises, academia, and research & technology organisations. The project targets steel, pulp and paper and chemical industries as the end users due to their importance in realizing the objectives of P4Planet in transforming European process industries to make them circular and achieve overall climate neutrality at EU level by 2050, while enhancing their global competitiveness. CORNERSTONE builds on the success of former initiatives and projects which have delivered technological, methodological and community assets that CORNERSTONE will convincingly and coherently leverage and advance to achieve its objectives. The project designs also ensures that new developments, together with digital tools can be easily deployed cross-sectorial and deliver long-lasting impacts to a sustainable European industrial water management approach.