Systematic approach to Reduce Energy demand and CO2 emissions of processes that transform agroforestry waste into High Added-value Products

REHAP aims at converting agricultural (wheat straw) and forestry (bark) waste into building blocks (1,4 and 2,3-Butanediol, estherpolyols), materials (polyurethanes, phenolic resins, modified hydrolysis lignin) and products (wooden boards, insulation foams, cement, adhesive). The developed processing technologies such as fermentation and chemical, thermal and enzymatic conversions, will be optimized at pilot scale (TRL6-7). 

Rehap will:

    1. Develop methods to convert natural wastes into sustainable polyurethanes. These can be used to develop insulation foams and adhesives, as well as fire retardant products.
    2. Develop a new high-performance bio-resins to produce eco-friendly wooden panels.
    3. Produce eco-friendly sustainable cement with improved properties
    4. Design and assemble an environmentally sustainable and fire resistant construction solution.
    5. Demonstrate the development of eco-friendly products and their sustainability and business potential compared to existing solutions.

As such, Rehap will help to reduce the use of fossil resources and energy in the process industry. This will be done by developing insulation foams, adhesives, bio-resins and cement that are produced using renewable materials and that do not require the use of petroleum-based materials.

REHAP scheme

REHAP scheme

 

ACTIVITIES of Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant

  • Recovery of tannins and sugars from bark
  • Recovery of lignin and sugars from straw hydrolysate
  • Production of chemical building blocks from the recovered sugars via fermentation
  • Scale-up of the 2,3 Butanediol fermentation process to 1.500L scale
  • Scale-up of the aforementioned recovery processes to 10.000L scale

Click here to find more information on the REHAP project (official REHAP website)

SUPPORTED by:

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research innovation programme under grant agreement No. 720670.