Aimplas works to convert non-biodegradable plastic waste into natural materials for packaging and pharmacy

VALENCIA, 23 Aug. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Technological Institute of Plastics, Aimplas, has worked on a project, BioICEP, which converts non-biodegradable plastic waste into new natural materials for the packaging and pharmaceutical sectors, as reported by this research center in a statement.

Aimplas has developed chemical and biotechnological pretreatments to transform synthetic plastics into biodegradable bioplastics. Thus, it has applied methods based on microwaves and reactive extrusion that accelerate the biodegradation of conventional plastics.

The BioICEP (Bio-Innovation of a Circular Economy for Plastic) project in which the Valencian center participates began in February 2020 and is financed by the Horizon 2020 program. Its objective is to develop alternatives to plastic made from traditional oil that are sustainable and respectful with the environment.

This initiative has used "an innovative cascade process through the application and combination of chemical and biological methods to transform plastic waste of fossil origin into its natural and biodegradable substitutes for use in the packaging and pharmaceutical sector", the institute has specified.

The role of Aimplas in the project has consisted of the pretreatment of plastics by thermochemical degradation assisted by microwaves. Through this new technology "promising results have been achieved, converting non-biodegradable plastic waste, such as low-density polyethylene waste, into easily biodegradable materials and obtaining total degradation in less than 28 days," the center explained.

Likewise, he pointed out that another of the techniques that has been developed is the depolymerization of polyamides, obtaining the monomers of these polymers that can be used by microorganisms to convert them into other products of interest, such as bioplastics.

Likewise, Aimplas has developed other technologies based on reactive extrusion that allow introducing changes in the structure of the polymeric chains to facilitate the biodegradation of these plastics.

In addition, the Technological Institute of Plastics is in charge of coordinating the dissemination and exploitation of results, as well as communication activities.

BioICEP is meeting its goal of developing processes to reduce the amount of plastic waste in the environment. For this, the project is counting on the support of partners from different countries and with different areas of knowledge that is allowing us to face the challenge of developing alternative processes to improve recycling from a multidisciplinary point of view, "essential to have a successful project". , has exposed the Valencian institute.

Aimplas has added that the solution proposed by BioICEP is focused on the use of three technologies that accentuate, accelerate and increase the degradation of plastics to levels much higher than those that can be achieved today. It is a triple action depolymerization system that will break down plastic waste through three consecutive processes.

First, chemical disintegration processes, including a new microwave-based technology to reduce the molecular weight of base polymers to facilitate biodegradation; and secondly, biocatalytic digestion with enzymes improved by different innovative techniques including screening through fluorescent sensors and directed evolution.

These are joined thirdly by microbial consortia developed from the best individual strains, which, combined, carry out highly efficient degradation of mixed plastic waste streams. The products of this degradation process will be used for the synthesis of new polymers or other bioproducts to enable the circular economy of new plastics from waste.

Consortium and financing

The BioICEP project is funded by the European Union within the framework of the H2020 program, topic CE-BIOTEC-05-2019 "Microorganism communities for plastic bio-degradation", agreement number 870292.

In addition to Aimplas, thirteen partners from nine European and Asian countries participate: Acteco (Spain), Avecom (Belgium), Technische Universitat Clausthal (Germany), Institut za Molekularnu Genetiku i Geneticko Inzenjerstvo (Serbia), Institute of Experimental and Technological Biology and Logoplaste Innovation Lab lda (Portugal), Technological University of The Shannon and The Provost, Fellows, Foundation Scholars