PULP2VALUE – new €11,5 Mio BBI JU grant for demonstration project aims for better use of sugarbeet pulp

Recently, the seven project partners launched the new Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) demonstration project entitled ‘PULP2VALUE’ in Roosendaal, The Netherlands

Led by agro-industrial cooperative Royal Cosun, this 4-year project aims to demonstrate an integrated and cost-effective cascading biorefinery system to refine sugarbeet pulp and isolate high value products for a great variety of end products including detergents, paints, coatings and composites but also for applications in the personal care, oil and gas industry. The website is now available at www.pulp2value.eu.

Sugarbeet pulp is a major residual stream from the sugarbeet industry. It accounts for approx. 13 million tonnes annually in Europe and is currently valorised as low value feed and/or green gas “The aim is to extract much more value from sugarbeet pulp, between 20 and 50 times more.”, explains Gerald van Engelen, project coordinator.

To enhance the value of sugarbeet pulp, the project focuses on the demonstration and optimization of a cascaded refinery system, valorising all components of the sugarbeet pulp side stream as functional additives to be used as a variety of value added non-food as well as food applications. The sugarbeet pulp raw material will be fractionated and converted into its three constituents cellulose microfibers, arabinose and galacturonic acid by using available pilot scale technologies. It will then be demonstrated that these products or derivates thereof can be used in high value added applications as functional additives.

PULP2VALUE explicitly builds on research that has already been carried out, and aims to integrate, further implement and scale up these achievements. A transdisciplinary, cross sectoral technology approach will be implemented and demonstrated to integrate the different parts of these process into a functioning demonstration chain that meet the requirements for their production in terms of costs and environmental impact. The PULP2VALUE project will spur rural development in sugarbeet growing areas by connecting them in new cross-sectorial value chains with various industries, including the chemical and food industry.

Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking grant

The project is one of the two European demonstration projects that are being funded by the European Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU). The BBI JU is a public-private partnership, part of the EU’s plan to move its economy to a post-petroleum era. It is expected to help make the EU’s economy more resource-efficient and sustainable, while supporting growth and employment. €3.7 billion will fund the BBI JU between 2014 and 2024 with €975 million coming from the European Commission and €2.7 billion from its private partner, the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC). PULP2VALUE has a total budget of €11.5 million with €6.6 million coming from the BBI JU.

Project partners

The PULP2VALUE project comprises seven partners and is managed by the agro-industrial cooperative Royal Cosun from the Netherlands. Two partners are knowledge institutes from Wageningen University & Research centre, that is Food & Biobased Research, and the Division of Human Nutrition of Wageningen University. Three SMEs also joined the consortium: Orineo bvba and Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant from Belgium and nova-Institut GmbH from Germany. As a second large enterprise next to Royal Cosun, Refresco Gerber UK Limited from United Kingdom is part of the consortium.

PULP2VALUE consortium at the kick-off meeting in Roosendaal.
PULP2VALUE consortium at the kick-off meeting in Roosendaal.

Image download in higher resolution: http://pulp2value.eu/media/2015/11/15-09-30-PULP2VALUE-consortium-kick-off-Roosendaal.JPG

For more information visit the new project website www.pulp2value.eu

This project has received funding from the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 669105.
For more information, contact the project coordinator, Gerald van Engelen, Royal Cosun via gerald.van.engelen@cosun.com or by telephone: +31 (0)76 530 33 33, or for dissemination Martha Barth, nova-Institute, via martha.barth@nova-institut.de or +49 (0) 2233 48 14 40.

Responsible under press legislation (V.i.S.d.P.):

Dipl.-Phys. Michael Carus (Managing Director),
nova-Institute GmbH, Chemiepark Knapsack,
Industriestrasse 300, 50354 Huerth (Germany)
Internet: www.nova-institute.eu and www.bio-based.eu
Email: contact@nova-institut.de
Phone: +49 (0) 22 33-48 14 40

Source

nova-Institut GmbH, press release, 2015-11-16.

Supplier

Bio Base Europe (BBEU)
Bio-based Industries (BBI) Joint Undertaking
Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC)
European Commission
nova-Institut GmbH
Orineo BVBA
Refresco Gerber UK Limited
Royal Cosun
Wageningen University

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