Imagine taking a standard biogas plant and adding a 'smart upgrade' kit to it. Instead of just making energy, it now turns food scraps into a versatile bio-material that can replace traditional plastics. It's like turning a simple compost heap into a factory for high-end cosmetics and car parts.
Existing biogas plants only produce energy, leaving a gap in the high-value chemical market. Companies struggle to find cost-effective, bio-based alternatives to polypropylene that don't require massive new capital investments.
An industrial-scale retrofitted biorefinery add-on that converts food waste into lactic acid, lactate salts, and recyclable PLA.
If you are a packaging manufacturer dealing with high carbon footprints from polypropylene—this project developed recyclable PLA that replaces fossil-based plastics. This allows you to offer fully bio-based food packaging that reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
If you are a cosmetics company dealing with the need for sustainable raw materials—this project developed clean lactate salts and lactic acid. You can integrate these bio-based intermediates into your product formulations to meet market requirements for green chemistry.
If you are an automotive supplier dealing with strict plastic reduction targets—this project developed polymer-grade PLA. This material can replace fossil-based polypropylene in vehicle interiors, helping you avoid environmental pollution.
Based on available project data, retrofitting an existing biorefinery using this method allows for a saving of at least 10% of the CAPEX compared to building from scratch.
Yes, the project aims to demonstrate the technology at an industrial scale by retrofitting a pre-existing facility and intends to reach TRL8 by the end of the period.
Based on available project data, specific licensing terms are not listed, but the technology is designed as a scalable and replicable 'add-on' for existing food waste infrastructures.
The project period runs from 2024-09-01 to 2028-08-31, with the goal of reaching TRL8 by the end of this timeframe.
The system is designed as an 'add-on' to existing food waste processing infrastructures, specifically upgrading biogas plants to also produce lactic acid and PLA.
The consortium is heavily industry-driven, with 16 industrial partners (89% ratio) and 7 SMEs across 10 countries. This high concentration of commercial entities suggests a strong focus on market viability and immediate industrial application rather than academic research, as there are zero universities or research institutes listed.
Contact TRIPLE W LTD in Israel for technical specifications on the retrofitting kit.
Contact us to connect with the CIRCLE consortium for PLA sourcing or biorefinery licensing.
