Bizente Project

Applying ligninases to resolve end-of-life issues of thermoset composite plastics

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Did you know that in Europe almost 70% of the thermoset composite residues aren´t properly recycled?

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Approach

BIZENTE project presents a biocatalytic model of enzymatic degradation as a novel alternative to the end-of-life (landfill and incineration) of thermoset composite.

Directed Evolution

Directed molecular evolution allows the design of enzymes with improved features and novel enzymatic functions not required in natural environments.

Therefore, it is possible to generate enzymes with the desired characteristics, such as stability at high temperature or in organic solvents, improved catalytic activities, higher specificity, etc.

Composites chemistry

Pre-treatments of composites: mechanical and chemical pre-treatments must be applied on the target resins in order to increase the exposed surface to the enzymatic degradation.

Chemical modification of resins: identify the physico-chemical parameters that are influencing the enzymatic biodegradation of the resins and finely tune the resins components in order to introduce specific moieties that will favour the degradation.

Soluble Compounds

Biodegradation processes will initially be studied in liquid medium using customised enzymes and low-molecular weight model compounds which contain all structural features of the target resins.

The aim is to determine how the enzymes attack corresponding bonds in the model compounds and what products are obtained.

Biodegradation Process

The methodology and protocols developed at lab level will be upscaled in a bioreactor.

The products obtained will be chemically modified to turn them into useful bulk chemical building blocks which will be valorised in new products and sectors, contributing in this way to achieve a circular economy in the thermoset composites.

Outcomes

Decrease in at least a 40% the amount of non-biodegradable polymers currently discharged to the environment or sent to landfill and incineration

Develop the first bio-catalytic technology based on ligninanses enzymes to efficiently and sustainably solve problems posed by thermoset composites once they have reached their end-of-life.

Open up new markets and business opportunities for the treatment of plastic waste while establishing a new value chain for the products obtained after biodegradation.

Consortium

A unique consortium coordinated by AITIIP, which consists of 10 partners from 5 different European countries. The consortium includes 3 research institutes and 7 different companies that are leaders in composite materials and enzymatic technologies.

  • Aitiip Centro Tecnológico
  • EvoEnzyme
  • Delft University of Technology (TUD)
  • European Composite Recycling Technology
  • Specific Polymers
  • Biosphere
  • The University of Cadiz
  • Teruel International Airport
  • Acciona
  • Avernnova
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BIZENTE project presents an innovative solution to resolve end-of-life of thermoset composites based on the development of a new technology focused on a controlled enzymatic biodegradation.

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