Abstract
Sludge produced in the EU by treatment of urban and industrial wastewater (WWTS) is 6 and 4 Mt/y on a dry basis. The organic matter contained in WWTS is enormous and the introduction of novel strategies that can valorise WWTS as feedstock for the synthesis of bio-based chemicals is a win-win approach in terms of circular economy and fossil resource exploitation. The CROSS-LIFE project will play a novel role in the “WWTS-to-chemicals” panorama by converting the C atoms in WWTS into a specific drop-in chemical (crotonic acid, CA) without consuming new resources, and simultaneously decreasing the volume of WWTS to manage at the End-of-Life. Crotonic acid, currently 100% fossil-based, finds application in coating, paint, textile, adhesives, ceramics, and agrochemical industries, with a global production of 60000 t/y and a selling price of 7-10 €/kg. Unigrà, a food company specialized in edible oils and fats, will participate in the project as an industrial WWTS supplier, while AqA, a company in the field of integrated water services, will be involved as a supplier of urban WWTS. Two DEMO plants (1000 t/y of WWTS) will be realized during the project at both companies‘ sites. Unigrà and AqA will benefit from a significant reduction of the volume of WWTS (about 70-80%) and will produce 1.5 t/y of bio-based crotonic acid with a carbon footprint of 4.8 kgCO2eq/kg CA (almost 3-times lower than the carbon footprint of fossil-based crotonic acid, 13.5 kgCO2eq/kg CA). A supplementary credit of 280 kgCO2/t dry WWTS will come from the avoided impacts of producing fossil-based crotonic acid, WWTS dewatering, and transporting a higher amount of WWTS to the final disposal site. Vinavil, one of the main Italian end-user of crotonic acid, will exploit bio-based crotonic acid to produce poly(vinylacetate-co-crotonic acid) during (and after) the project. From a close to market perspective, Vinavil will benefit from the introduction of a novel bio-based monomer into its polymer portfolio.
Project details
Unibo Team Leader: Chiara Samorì
Unibo involved Department/s:
Dipartimento di Chimica "Giacomo Ciamician"
Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale "Toso Montanari"
Dipartimento di Scienze Aziendali
Coordinator:
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - Università di Bologna(Italy)
Other Participants:
Unigra' S.P.A.
(Italy)
B-PLAS sbrl
(Italy)
Università degli Studi di PAVIA
(Italy)
Vinavil Spa
(Italy)
Total Eu Contribution: Euro (EUR) 2.945.686,00
Project Duration in months: 48
Start Date:
01/09/2022
End Date:
31/08/2026
Cordis webpage
Project website
This project has received funding from the European Union's LIFE Programme under grant agreement No 101074164