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Work package one will cover the development and validation of an engineering process for the capture and separation of CO2 generated during the wastewater treatment process. This work package will focus on the following objectives:
• Design, manufacture and operation of a gas upgrading process unit to capture and purify CO2 from biogas at a wastewater treatment plant.
• Optimisation of the membrane through the introduction of new materials.
• Supply of 150 kg of CO2 from the wastewater treatment plant to be used in the electro-catalytic conversion process to monomers and further polymerisation to PLGA.
Work package two will develop and up-scale the multiple steps involved in the full CO2-to-monomer conversion process, comprising the following steps:
• Engineering, design and fabrication of the upgraded electrochemical unit for the production of oxalate.
• Development and upscaling of oxalate acidification.
• Process development and optimisation of the catalytic hydrogenation of oxalic acid to glycolic acid.
• Design, testing and validation of process steps for the glycolic acid purification and concentration
• Supply of 100 kg GA for PLGA production.
The third work package will focus on the development and up-scaling of the polymerisation step and the large-scale production of the polymer:
• Recipe development for the polyesterification reaction from lab to multi-kg scale
• Study of structural, mechanical, thermal and mass transfer properties (for gas and water vapor) for PLGA samples with different composition
• Production of PLGA from CO2-based glycolic acid at 100 kg scale
Work package four will focus on the application and performance evaluation of PLGA in different end products. The following work steps are planned:
• Preparation of protocols for the use of PLGA in extrusion, blow moulding and as a film in paper coating.
• Mathematical modelling to predict polymer performance.
• Development of a process for chemical and mechanical recycling of PLGA.
• Study the biodegradation behaviour of various grades of PLGA in different media.
• Production of end products by film coating and extrusion moulding.
The main objective of work package five is to understand and evaluate the environmental and cost performance of the novel process route to the bio-based-polymer PLGA e.g., for packaging material. This includes:
• Environmental assessment using LCA
• Techno-economic assessment of the HICCUPS process
• Creating a monitoring system of the carbon removal potential
The sixth work package will ensure the timely and qualitative delivery of the results of the project through effective project management. Another focus of this work package is to ensure transparent and successful knowledge transfer through effective dissemination, communication and exploitation strategies of the project results:
• KPI and Impact questionnare
• Plans for communication, dissemination, exploitation, IP-management, data-management and risk-management
• Stakeholder analysis
• Knowledge management and transfer