Development and testing of biodegradable gillnets in Norway – source Clean Nordic Oceans 2019
Review of recent advances in the biodegradability of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) bioplastics and their composites – Source: Kjeld W. Meereboer, Manjusri Misra and Amar K. Mohanty – Royal Society of Chemistry – 2020
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Van Beelen Group B.V. is a manufacturer of high tenacity synthetic netting and rope, located in The Netherlands. The company was founded in 1906 and has always had a strong link with the commercial fishing industry. Today, products are used by maritime, offshore, defense, fishing and aquaculture customers worldwide. The emphasis of the rope and netting design is on durability and efficiency.
The fishing industry will welcome a new material that will help work towards a lower impact of its operations on the marine environment.
The challenge is: to create a material that will actually perform in highly demanding fishing operations.
Van Beelen Group will assist in the outlining of specifications of the synthesized Glaukos fibres for fishing industry purposes (WP4 and WP5).
Then, Van Beelen Group will be involved in the development, production and testing of netting, netting twine and rope that may be used in a commercial fishing trawl design (WP5).
Caroline Van Beelen (Director): cvb@vanbeelengroup.nl
B4PLASTICS is a Belgian Polymer Architecture SME designing, developing and distributing eco-plastic products. Tomorrow’s sustainable world will increasingly require the use of local, renewable and/or biodegradable resources, and that is exactly what B4Plastics is starting already today. B4Plastics’ products are pioneering a novel balance between price, quality, functionality and sustainability.
The main mission of B4Plastics is to catalyze the introduction of novel bio-materials in niche to bulk applications, thereby improving the ecology of the materials in terms of sourcing, logistics, consumer awareness, and/or end-of-life options. The company fulfills this mission in a way that is not mainstream: by combining (1) pioneering know-how about (bio)chemical sourcing of novel biobased building blocks, with (2) expertise in converting these building blocks to functional materials up to multi-ton scale, novel materials can be obtained with new combinations of functionalities. The launched product, Biorix® – the first OK Home Compost certified bioplastic straw in the world – is a typical example of a products that sets new eco-standards in its respective market. B4P is committed to make the greenest plastics ever possible.
B4Plastics will take a central role in the design, development, and production of new polymeric materials for biobased textile fibres. Inspired by nature’s molecular toolbox, a first and second round of biobased and biodegradable plastics will be screened and evaluated within the Glaukos project. B4Plastics’ molecular thinking for the design of new plastics focuses on fine-tuning biodegradability together with desirable mechanical properties to satisfy end-user requirements and improve the end-of-life situation.
B4Plastics recognizes the societal urgency to change the established plastic types to better balanced ecological materials. Targeting pilot scale production of novel ecological plastic granulates for textiles and fishing gear products during the project, the aim is to make Glaukos a game changer underway to new textiles and fishing practices in tomorrow’s sustainable Europe.
I-Coats N.V. (Innovative Coating Solutions) is located in Belgium and was founded in 2006 to provide the market of fibres, rope, netting and wire rope with solutions for the applications of overlay finishes and coatings.
I-Coats is involved in the polymer and coating design work package (WP4) of the Glaukos project. The application of coatings and overlay finishes to fibres, ropes and nets will increase the performance by increasing the abrasion resistance and knot strength.
First, I-Coats will develop an appropriate biodegradable coating for the newly synthesized Glaukos fibres, to obtain the desired performance properties. Next, the replacement of current coating ingredients by bio-derived Glaukos monomers will be explored.
Managing Director: kvg@i-coats.be
Business Development Manager: SMi@I-Coats.be
Pak Gida Uretim and Paz. A.S. (PAKMAYA) is part of PAK Group of Companies based in Turkey with headquarters in Istanbul and is involved in fermentation technology in almost 50 years. It has three production sites in Turkey and one site in Romania. Pakmaya is one of major yeast manufacturers and manufactures mainly yeast and yeast derived products.
Fermentation scale up, pilot fermentations
Mustafa Turker: mustafa.turker@pakmaya.com
Quantis guides top organizations to define, shape and implement intelligent environmental sustainability solutions. In a nutshell, our creative geeks take the latest science and make it actionable. They deliver resilient strategies, robust metrics, useful tools, and credible communications.
With offices in the US, France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and clients around the world, Quantis is a key partner in inspiring sustainable change on a global scale.
Sustainability metrics and making it actionable is in the DNA of Quantis. Therefore, we lead the corresponding work package and will contribute with this respect. The need of accessing sustainability indicators in a quantitative way is especially important for the development of new technologies. In this sense trade-offs of different development pathways can be detected and avoided at early stage.
Quantis has successfully contributed to 20+ European research projects and developed a solid foundation of expertise in this regard.
Quantis is motivated and engaged in a variety of sustainability metrics development initiatives and is convinced about: “You can’t manage what you can’t measure”. We see huge potential in the following points:
The CIM-UVIGO is the core element of the University of Vigo’s marine strategy, and it constitutes an interdisciplinary reference pole at the local, national and international levels, in areas such as ocean observation and global change, marine ecotoxicology, sustainable exploitation of marine resources or the integral management of the coastal zone. CIM-UVIGO is one of the eight Galician accredited research centres co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF, OPG 2019 – 2022).
The centre encompasses 17 research teams, that add up a total of 200 staff and has one of the two marine stations that integrate the Spanish Node of the European infrastructure EMBRC-ERIC, the Toralla Marine Science Station (ECIMAT).
The UVIGO will be co- leading WP6 (End-Of-Life solutions) and, in particular, the development of tools to assess textile biodegradability and ecotoxicity, and their standardization. Currently, complete standard methods for the assessment of polymer biodegradation in marine environments are not available. The diversity of marine habitats (pelagic, sublittoral, and littoral zones) is one reason for this lack of standardization. Inevitably related to polymer biodegradation is the toxicity of the generated microplastics to the sensitive early life stages of several aquatic organisms. Recent research performed by UVIGO showed that this toxicity is partly caused by certain chemical additives used during polymerization and compounding. Therefore, biodegradability assessment can clearly not be separated from ecotoxicity analysis and UVIGO will work in the integration of both assessments in one protocol. Thus, Eco-toxicity assessment will be an important tool to direct the choice of additives and coatings towards non-toxic alternatives as an integral part of Glaukos.
Ricardo Beiras (Full Professor and PI): rbeiras@uvigo.es
Beatriz Noya-Mariño (Project Manager): beatriz.noya.marino@uvigo.es
Bundesverband der Deutschen Sportartikel-Industrie (BSI) is the federation of German sporting goods manufacturers, importers and wholesalers founded in 1910. BSI currently has around 150 member companies. In addition to large international companies, over 80 percent are small and medium-sized companies that belong to the market leaders in their respective sports segments. The members of the Association of the German Sporting Goods Industry generate an annual turnover of around 35 billion euros. BSI is a member Federation of the European Sporting goods Industry (FESI) based in Brussels.
BSI advocates the interests of its members vis-à-vis political and economic actors. In this sense, the association participates on behalf of its members in the design of industry trade fairs, frequently organizes stakeholder events and carries out market studies. Last but not least, BSI has been regularly involved in interdisciplinary and cross-sector research and CSR projects for several years. These activities mainly focus on ecological challenges associated with the production of sports and outdoor equipment, e.g. the TextileMission project dedicated to the reduction of textile-related microplastics in the environment.
BSI as a project partner will be involved in the communication and dissemination activities around Glaukos. Its task will be to address in particular the manufacturers of sports and outdoor textiles and their consumers and to involve them in the project. BSI will act as a multiplicator between Glaukos and its network, provide insight and feedback into the fibre characteristics desired by the industry, communicate specific requirements and recommendations and spread information on the Glaukos innovations. To further boost stakeholder engagement across the textile industry, additional stakeholders that are relevant to the sportswear and clothing industry will be involved through communication activities like stakeholder labs. The two Stakeholder Labs, one dedicated to the clothing sector, the other to the fishing gear sector, will be set up at the beginning of the project and will facilitate the stakeholder exchange throughout the entire duration of the project.
Located in Ghent (North Sea Port), Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant is an independent, open innovation pilot and demonstration facility. It is your go-to partner for process development, scale-up and custom manufacturing of biobased products and processes from lab to multi ton scale. A wide and flexible spectrum of modular unit operations combined with a team of highly trained and experienced engineers and bioprocess technicians facilitates the translation of biobased laboratory processes into viable industrial processes. BBEPP offers technical solutions for biomass pretreatment, biocatalysis, fermentation, gas fermentation, green chemistry and purification and product recovery.
Fully operational since December 2012, the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant has successfully performed 325+ projects for more than 125 companies and participated in 50+ public projects interacting with 320 additional companies and research institute.
BBEPP is the Glaukos project coordinator and will also take on the following technological challenges:
Zsófia Kádár (Project Coordinator): zsofia.kadar@bbeu.org
Tanja Meyer (Project Manager): tanja.meyer@bbeu.org
Nexis Fibers, headquartered in Humenné, Slovakia, is a manufacturer of high tenacity multifilament Polyamide yarns as well as specialty polymers.
Vertically integrated with twisting and air- texturing, Nexis Fibers provides tailor- made product range to high demanding applications in Automotive, Safety, Leisure and Aquaculture market sectors.
With its Polyamide 6 high tenacity yarn products, Nexis Fibers serves all the major manufacturers of marine ropes and fishing nets, worldwide. Nexis Fibers has two ISO- certified production sites located in Slovakia and in Latvia.
Nexis Fibers will use its expertise in polymerization and spinning in Glaukos project, with the aim to propose a bio-base yarn suitable to fulfill requirements of the Fishing Industry.
Should the project result into a validated bio-based product suitable to manufacture netting and rope goods for the marine Industry, with a lesser impact on the environment than the current commercial solutions, Nexis Fibers will be the first European Community-based Polyamide yarns manufacturer to include this sustainable solution in its product portfolio.
Barbara Danak (Global Sales Manager/ Non- Automotive): Barbara.Danak1@Nexis-Fibers.com
FZJ is a large-scale national research facility in the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers. By conducting research on the global challenges currently facing society, we contribute to the welfare of mankind and responsible action with respect to the Earth.
Our fundamental scientific and engineering research is inspired by the notion of utilization. It is always conducted with a view to application – be that in the near or more distant future.
Glaukos partners are part of FZJ Institute of Bio- and Geosciences IBG-1, which has a long track record in microbial biotechnology. The research of IBG-1 aims at strategically relevant aspects of white biotechnology, specifically the development of microbial cell factories, enzymes and processes for conversion of renewable ca are part of FZJ Institute of Bio- and Geosciences IBG-1, which has a long track record in microbial biotechnology.
The research of IBG-1 aims at strategically relevant aspects of white biotechnology, specifically the development of microbial cell factories, enzymes and processes for conversion of renewable carbon sources to chemicals, pharmaceuticals and proteins based on a systemic knowledge.
In Glaukos, FZJ participates mainly in work packages three and six. In WP3, we will focus on safe and easy to cultivate yeasts from the genus Ustilago. The substrate and product range of these yeasts will be engineered and the production process will be scaled up in order to facilitate the sustainable production of the polymer building blocks from several industrial side streams. With this, we enable the regional production of bio-based chemicals, providing exciting new opportunities for polymer chemistry.
In WP6, efficient bio-recycling strategies will be developed for the Glaukos polymers. We will find and characterize microbes and enzymes that can degrade the textiles. With this knowledge, we will depolymerize the Glaukos textiles back into their chemical building blocks. The resulting depolymerized plastics will be upcycled by microorganisms to new high-value chemicals, ensuring that the Glaukos textiles are properly managed at the end of their lifetime.
Nick Wierckx: n.wierckx@fz-juelich.de
Novozymes is the world leader in bioinnovation. Our business is industrial enzymes and microorganisms.
Enzymes are proteins, and in nature they initiate biochemical reactions in all living organisms. It is enzymes that convert the food in our stomachs to energy and turn the falling leaves in the forest to compost.
Novozymes finds enzymes in nature and optimize them for use in industry. In industry, enzymes replace chemicals and accelerate production processes. They help our customers make more from less, while saving energy and generating less waste.
Like enzymes, microorganisms have natural properties that can be put to use in a variety of processes. Novozymes supplies a range of microorganisms for use in agriculture, animal health and nutrition, industrial cleaning and wastewater treatment.
Novozymes will be involved in work package 6, End-of-life solutions. This will involve library screening and protein engineering as well as proof of concept of the enzymatic depolymerization at pre-pilot scale.
The major contribution by Novozymes will be centered on developing an enzymatic process for bio-recycling of the novel biopolymers developed by B4Plastics. This work will be done in collaboration with Prof. Nick Wierckz at Forschungszentrum Jülich.
Kenneth Jensen, PhD: khjn@novozymes.com
Maastricht University (UM) is the most international university in the Netherlands and, with 18,000 students and 4,400 employees, is still growing. The university stands out for its innovative education model, international character and multidisciplinary approach to research and education. Thanks to its high-quality research and study programmes as well as a strong focus on social engagement, UM has quickly built up a solid reputation. Today it is considered one of the best young universities in the world.
One of its research institutes is Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM). The AMIBM conducts research on biobased materials in a so-called value chain approach, spanning new and modified high quality biological sources, new chemical building blocks, new polymer chemistry and polymer physics, polymer processing and innovative technical and medical textile applications. In all these areas, the AMIBM focuses on the sustainability of materials and processes from resource to application and recycling of materials. The aim is to create new materials in a cleaner world, making use of biobased renewable resources. Seven research lines can be identified which cover the value chain: Molecular and Applied Biotechnology, Biobased Monomers and Polymers, Polymer Physics and Technology, Polymer Engineering, Biobased Materials for Medicine, and Sustainability of Materials.
The AMIBM was established as an international academic research institute embedded in the Brightlands Chemelot Campus with crossovers to the other Brightlands Campuses. It was founded as a joint institute of Maastricht University, RWTH-Aachen University and Fraunhofer IME (Aachen) and has, since 2019, established a strong collaboration with the DWI Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials (Aachen). The AMIBM comprises teams with transdisciplinary competence, including experts in biotechnology, chemistry, materials science, engineering, medicine and sustainability, working in fully-equipped laboratories with state-of-the-art research infrastructure.
AMIBM scientists are also involved in educational programs, contributing their knowledge to the Maastricht Science Program, Biobased Materials Master, and University College Maastricht. AMIBM researchers helping establish new Bachelor’s degree programs in topics such as Business Engineering and Circular Engineering, and will be involved in the development of new Master’s degree programs such as Biotechnology and Sustainable Manufacturing.
Furthermore, the AMIBM works together with more than 50 industrial partners in the (Eu)region, Europe and worldwide. This large network of institutes, companies and public-private partnerships has led to many new projects in which the AMIBM is a participant or coordinator.
The activities of AMIBM mainly focusses on WP5: spinning, weaving and prototypes. AMIBM, which combines process development expertise and scale-up facilities for the production of new textile products (extrusion, spinning, weaving, prototype) has ample experience in the development of biobased fibres and yarns. NEX and VBG are industrial leaders in the textile fibre and fishing gear industry, respectively. They are typical lead users: companies that are looking for solutions to problems long before industry at large does so. Moreover, ICO, NEX and VBG already form a functioning value chain for fishing gear, which boosts the chances of successful market introduction of the Glaukos fishing gear. Interaction between AMIBM, B4P, ICO, NEX and VBG will result in the development of yarns that are compatible with industrial equipment.
AMIBM avails highly sophisticated lab equipment for polymer characterization, melt compounding, melt spinning, filament characterization, filament processing and textile demonstrator development. Labs are equipped with thermal analysis techniques i.e. DSC, TGA, rheological analysis techniques i.e. capillary rheometer, parallel plate rheometer, morphology analysis techniques i.e. FTIR, NMR, WAXD, SEM and many other analytical instruments. Filaments can be characterized for their mechanical, shrinkage and morphology properties at AMIBM labs.
Gunnar Seide: gunnar.seide@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Ermo Daniels: ermo.daniels@maastrichtuniversity.nl
https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/research/aachen-maastricht-institute-biobased-materials
Eurocord is a European Association of Rope, Twine and Netting manufacturers, their suppliers and their affiliate industries. As such, we promote dialogue between our members from all over Europe and work closely with the European Commission on our fields of interest.
Eurocord’s role is the dissemination of information to the “stakeholding group” of rope and net manufacturing companies. Obviously also the collection of information from that group can make a difference, as time goes by.
Philippe Verschueren: Philippe.verschueren@eurocord.com
FVA is an Italian SME operating since 1990 in the field of new media communication and advanced ICT for research and organizations contexts. Since 1998 FVA is involved in EU financed research projects as partner expert in Strategic Dissemination and Communication to promote science, Social media strategies and ICT solutions (Applications, Widgets, Animated Commercials, Egames), Serious games, advergames and entertainment, Training, co-creation workshops and focus groups with stakeholders, Media and New Media production, Technology Enhanced training solutions.
FVA is partner of several CSAs projects in bioeconomy dealing with awareness raising, stakeholder engagement and co-creation in the Circular Bioeconomy domain, actively organizing workshops and focus groups with quadruple helix stakeholders to address challenges and opportunities.
FVA is the main contact point and animator of the European Bioeconomy Network (EuBioNet.eu). The main goal is to maximise the efforts, increasing the knowledge sharing, networking, mutual learning, coordination of joint activities and events of CSAs funded by the European Commission. The EuBioNet is mentioned in the Bioeconomy Strategy update and currently counts 60 CSAs and CSAs like projects and initiatives.
FVA is the leader of WP2 Communication Dissemination and Exploitation. Main tasks are designing a impacting dissemination and communication and social media strategy and implement tools and activities to increase the Glaukos project visibility. FVA is also responsible of the setting-up and organization of the Stakeholders Labs to boost stakeholder engagement, collect requirements and needs, create the conditions for the implementation of the Glaukos outputs in the two domains, fishing gear and textile industry.
Louis Ferrini (Dissemination and Communication): ferrini@fvaweb.it
Susanna Albertini (Stakeholders Labs): albertini@fvaweb.it
Michela Cohen (Social Media): cohen@fvaweb.it
