Clara Bilbao

The NEOPLAST2 project is researching the basis to provide the Basque industrial sector with ways of closing the cycles of plastic materials by applying chemical recycling technologies, treating their waste and generating valuable products.

The GAIKER Technology Centre, a member of the Basque Research & Technology Alliance, BRTA, is the coordinator of the NEOPLAST 2 project whose objective is to carry out research to develop, improve and adapt chemical recycling processes that facilitate the conversion of different plastic waste into high quality resources, capable of meeting the specifications demanded by the most demanding secondary raw material markets. The aim is to generate knowledge so that the industrial secor can make a better, more sustainable and circular use of plastic materials.

Improving the management of plastic waste has become a global requirement because of its impact on people, ecosystems and the natural environment. Chemical recycling has been confirmed as part of the solution, both to make use of plastic waste that is difficult or unfeasible to recycle by conventional mechanical means, and to obtain chemically recycled products that are virtually indistinguishable from the initial raw materials.

The NEOPLAST 2 project, which is currently addressing the product generation and quality improvement phases, was set up to research and develop different chemical recycling processes to their full extent. In particular, work is being carried out to increase the selectivity of solvolysis reactions of plastic consisting of condensation polymers or of pyrolysis and gasification processes of plastic mixtures, and also to define adsorption or extraction operations that succeed in purifying substances and fractions, such as monomers or oils, to demonstrate that it is possible, feasible and environmentally beneficial to produce new chemically recycled plastics.

Funded by the Basque Government, through its ELKARTEK collaborative research grant programme in 2023-2024, the NEOPLAST 2 project (Ref. KK-2020/00107), in addition to the GAIKER technology centre leading it, includes the participation of four other Basque technological agents, the Chemical Engineering Department and the Chemical Engineering and Environment Department of the UPV/EHU, TECNALIA and POLYMAT, which put forward their knowledge to convert plastic waste into products by thermochemical and solvolytic means combined with catalysis, process control, product purification or chemical synthesis.

Thanks to this research GAIKER, a reference in mechanical and chemical recycling, with extensive experience in waste characterisation and treatment, obtaining products, designing recycling schemes and scaling operations and processes, will have the full knowledge to understand and effectively apply chemical recycling by catalytic solvolysis. Specifically, by converting polyester (PET) and polyurethane (PU) waste, controlling reaction parameters and conditions and improving the grade of the resulting products, it will generate monomers and chemical products with high added value by achieving grades for the most demanding applications, such as the synthesis of new resins.

The SMYRNA project seeks to unite technological synergies and capabilities to keep Basque industry competitive in the field of water treatment.

The GAIKER Technology Centre, member of the Basque Research & Technology Alliance, BRTA, is participating in the "New materials and processes in physicochemical water treatment, SMYRNA” project.

The aim of this project is to bring together technological synergies and complementary capabilities among the six entities participating in the proposal for the development of new advanced materials and processes in the field of water treatment. The aim is to relaunch Basque industry through the development of new materials and processes in physicochemical treatment technologies.

The new regulations on water treatment foster the re-use and efficiency in the use of water in industrial processes. In the coming years, this will require the adaptation of these processes in terms of water saving through re-use and resource recovery of critical materials, biomaterials derived from sewage sludge and energy generated from biogas. There is a need to move from a concept of treatment for landfill to a concept of treatment for re-use, which leads to the need to address the following challenges:
•    Develop new materials to increase the efficiency of existing water treatment processes.
•    Eliminate emerging compounds present in the water and which may pose risks to the environment or to health.
•    Guarantee the sanitary quality of treated water
•    Increase the energy efficiency of the processes while facilitating the recovery of value-added compounds in liquid streams.

Facing these challenges means addressing them with a vision of sustainability, adopting technologies that reduce the use of chemical compounds and energy.

The SMYRNA project seeks to address these challenges and to do so, it proposes different strategic lines, such as the development of materials for their incorporation in water treatment systems and the development of new water treatment schemes for the elimination of compounds of emerging concern (CEC), pathogens and for the recovery of materials.

Funded by the Basque Government as part of the Elkartek collaborative research grant programme, the SMYRNA project will conclude at the end of this year. GAIKER, as an expert in advanced physicochemical treatment systems and water re-use technologies, will be responsible for developing new materials for the filtration and treatment of water by means of additive manufacturing and membrane modification and for testing and validating the materials developed. On the other hand, it will evaluate different treatments of emerging pollutants by means of advanced oxidation, adsorption and membrane separation processes. It will also carry out different water disinfection systems and assess their toxicity. Finally, it will collaborate in the simulation and modelling of the different innovative water treatment processes evaluated.

A new edition of in-cosmetics Global will be held in Paris from 16th to 18th April

 GAIKER, member of the Basque Research & Technology Alliance (BRTA), will be present at the latest edition of in-cosmetics Global to be held in Paris from 16th to 18th April. 

The Centre will present its range of R&D&I services in the field of dermo-cosmetics at a stand shared with Dr. Goya Análisis and Anmar Clinical Services. in-cosmetics Global is the world's leading event for personal care ingredients. This event brings together leading ingredient suppliers with finished product manufacturers to inspire tomorrow's cutting-edge cosmetics.
Visit us at Stand 1U85!

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With the Plastic2Plastic project, pyrolysis oils have been obtained from plastic waste for use as feedstock in the refinery sector and petrochemical industry.

The Plastic2Plastic project in which the GAIKER Technology Centre, member of the Basque Research & Technology Alliance, BRTA, has participated along with Zorroza Gestión S.L., the project leader, and Petronor, has come to an end with satisfactory results.

Plastic2Plastic started in 2021 with the aim of obtaining pyrolysis oils of sufficient quality for the manufacture of new products from plastic waste destined for landfill. This would give a second life to such waste and provide savings on raw materials and energy.

This was a continuity project, as GAIKER and PETRONOR had also been working on the REQUIPLAST project, which had studied the use of reject flows, with a high plastic content, to obtain oils with a homogeneous and controlled composition by means of the pyrolysis process.

This new research, financed by the Basque Government's Public Company for Environmental Management, Ihobe, as part of its circular eco-innovation aid programme, has addressed some of the key aspects previously identified in REQUIPLAST, such as:
The preparation and conditioning of waste for the subsequent pyrolysis process based on composition and morphology criteria.
The development of a robust and simple process that operates at moderate temperature and pressure conditions and which allows high yields of pyrolysis oils of a quality accepted by industrial pyrolysis oil conditioning facilities, for use as subsequent material.
The verification and control of the quality of the oils produced.
The evaluation of the options for material recovery of the by-products, such as the carbonaceous solid.

GAIKER has extensive experience in the development of processes for the chemical recycling of plastic, and also has a wide variety of sorting and conditioning equipment and pilot plants for scaling up thermochemical pyrolysis processes. For this reason, it has been responsible for both the definition of the waste sorting and conditioning processes and the optimisation of the selective pyrolysis process in this project. It has also analysed the pyrolysis oils and the carbonaceous product obtained in order to evaluate options for material recovery.