AIMPLAS, AITIIP, CIDAUT and GAIKER make up this network, which focuses on applying bioplastics to food safety in packaging, making transport components lighter and improving agricultural practices.
The success of the MARFIL Network will help reduce dependence on oil, recover agricultural by-products and limit the amount of waste going to landfill without any recovery.
The AIMPLAS Plastics Technology Centre, the CIDAUT Foundation for Research and Development in Transport and Energy and the AITIIP and GAIKER technology centres set up the MARFIL Network to intensify the use of bioplastics, additives and reinforcements from renewable sources as innovative materials in key sectors.
These plastic materials, which have a lower environmental impact, are more easily recyclable and/or biodegradable, and are made from alternative sources to petroleum, will be promoted in sectors that consume large quantities of industrial materials, such as the food packaging sector, and in industrial sectors with high added value, such as transport or agriculture. The aim is to significantly increase their use in applications where they are the best option from an environmental, technical and economic point of view.
To this end, the MARFIL Network will develop a strategic research, development, innovation and training programme focused on strengthening the skills of these centres in terms of developing bio-based plastics, mainly from waste, agro-industrial by-products and alternative biomasses. The skills acquired will be disseminated at different levels to promote collaboration with leading research groups, increase the interest of industry in developing sustainable raw materials and products, attract talent and raise awareness about the environmental benefits of bioplastics for use in applications such as food safety in packaging, making components for the transport sector lighter and improving agricultural practices, thereby ensuring the resilience of the supply chain.
The aim is to use polymers from renewable sources to account for more than 5% of the total in Spain by 2030, which equates to around 200,000 tonnes. The success of the MARFIL Network will go a long way towards reducing dependence on oil, by recovering agricultural by-products (thereby helping to reduce depopulation in rural areas) and limiting the amount of waste going to landfill without any form of recovery.
Three main lines of research
Work will be carried out along three main lines: the sustainable and scalable processing of agro-industrial biomass to produce biopolymers, additives and reinforcements; improvements in their properties and processability through new bioplastic polymerisation techniques; and increased compostability and recyclability.
Although the initial aim is to focus on three main sectors –transport and logistics, packaging, and agriculture and fisheries– the MARFIL Network’s results will be extrapolated to other sectors that use plastics (e.g. construction, electrical-electronics, textiles and furniture) and high value-added industries (e.g. healthcare, biotechnology and aeronautics-aerospace).
GAIKER's work
GAIKER will contribute to all the strategic objectives of the MARFIL Network in order to strengthen the competitive impact of biopolymers in the market. At the level of R&D&I development lines, this Centre specifically leads several of the Network’s training areas, such as:
• Bioprocesses for obtaining microbial biopolymers.
• New routes for obtaining bio-based polymers and reinforcement
• Development of bio-based intermediate composites and products
• Study of functional validation in demonstrators and new end-of-life strategies for biodegradability and recyclability.
Thanks to this Network, GAIKER will significantly increase its technology-related training, and strengthen its transversal strategy on BIOECONOMICS to allow it to go “upstream” in the value chain. This involves training on the latest monomer and material conversion/modification/synthesis technologies and the subsequent development of bio-based products with functionality and processability based on market demand.
The MARFIL Network project is part of the Cervera Technology Centres of Excellence 2023 call published by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and financed with European funds from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. The programme is managed by the Centre for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI by its Spanish acronym).
