GreenPolymers

Novel high-tech polymers from lignocellulosic raw material

The goal of the project was to develop new bio-based polymers for high-tech applications (e.g. plastics in the automotive industry, surface coatings, packaging, etc.) as a joint effort of Estonian, Lithuanian and Norwegian partners. Citric acid, which is a platform chemical produced from biomass, was used as a starting material for plastics. In parallel, the possibilities of producing citric acid from wood sugars, which are becoming available thanks to the development work of Graanul Invest, were also studied. During the project, the environmental impact of the new technological platform was analyzed and compared with the environmental impact of existing plastics of fossil origin.

The project lasted from 01.09.2020 - 31.03.2024. The project budget is 710504 euros, which is divided between three partners:
University of Tartu - 288,982.75 euros (www.ut.ee);
Norwegian University of Science and Technology NTNU - 238,347.50 euros (https://www.ntnu.edu/);
Vilnius University - 183173.75 euros (https://www.vu.lt/en/).

Within the project, researchers managed to develop different types of plastics that are easy to process, transparent, mechanically strong and retain their shape and strength even at temperatures above 100°C.
Such plastics are in high demand in many fields, such as the automotive industry, construction, surface coating materials and temperature-resistant packaging - these are sectors currently dominated by plastics of fossil origin, and the development of materials with the corresponding properties from bio-based sources has proven difficult.

In the research work, material development was combined with environmental impact assessment in all development stages. This allowed us to direct development towards products and processes that have a lower negative impact on the environment in order to promote a significant reduction in the overall environmental footprint of the chemical and materials industry.
The developed materials were developed keeping in mind the principles of the circular economy, i.e. in addition to the use of renewable carbon as a raw material, the design of the plastics also took into account their easy recyclability.

Project publications

The project was funded by the European Economic Area (EEA) and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism (grant no. EMP426). The purpose of the financial mechanisms is to reduce social and economic inequality in the European Union and the European Economic Area and to strengthen bilateral relations between Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein and the beneficiary countries.

The general objectives of the EEA and Norwegian grants are:
• reduce economic and social inequality in the European Economic Area;
• strengthen bilateral relations between donor and recipient countries;
• Estonia's share of EEA grants is 28,830,500 euros and Norway's share is 32,006,500 euros, as a rule, with a subsidy rate of 85%.

Estonia's main interest in using subsidies is primarily in areas that would increase our competitiveness: innovation, social inclusion, ICT, SMEs, labor market competitiveness, low CO2 economy (renewable energy, energy and resource efficiency). More information about the EEA and the Norwegian financial mechanism can be found here: https://eeagrants.org/

Additional information: Lauri Vares, associate professor of organic chemistry (lauri.vares@ut.ee), Institute of Technology, University of Tartu