Project title
Upcycling PHAs to innovative materials for fully sustainable food packaging
About
Conventional fossil-carbon plastics represent a significant environmental challenge due to their large carbon footprint and poor biodegradability in natural environments. A substantial portion of plastic production is dedicated to food packaging, contributing heavily to global plastic pollution. PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate), a biopolymer naturally produced by bacteria, presents a promising alternative as it is fully biodegradable, renewable, and has a low carbon footprint. However, despite its environmental benefits, PHA currently faces significant barriers to widespread adoption: it is expensive, compostable but not recyclable, and hard to process and therefore has to be blended with other less environmentally friendly polymers to form plastics.
The SATISPHACTION project will address these issues by developing innovative recycling processes for PHA, with computational assistance. Moreover, the consortium will develop new formulations with increased PHA content, no harmful additives, and thermostable enzymes for accelerated self-degradation. We will demonstrate the viability of these advances through three specific food packaging use cases. We will demonstrate the complete biodegradation of these plastics in natural soils, and fresh and marine water environments, and determine their complete lifecycle impacts.
The SATISPHACTION project will address these issues by developing innovative recycling processes for PHA, with computational assistance. Moreover, the consortium will develop new formulations with increased PHA content, no harmful additives, and thermostable enzymes for accelerated self-degradation. We will demonstrate the viability of these advances through three specific food packaging use cases. We will demonstrate the complete biodegradation of these plastics in natural soils, and fresh and marine water environments, and determine their complete lifecycle impacts.
- Acronym: SATISPHACTION
- Investigators:
- Investigator: Mariana Matos
- R&D Unit: UCIBIO - Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas
- Co-managing organisations:
- Co-managing organisation: AINIA
- Collaborative partners:
- Collaborative partner: NOVA ID FCT - ASSOCIACAO PARA A INOVACAO E DESENVOLVIMENTO DA FCT (NOVA ID)
- Collaborative partner: KING'S COLLEGE LONDON (KCL)
- Collaborative partner: FUNDACION I+D AUTOMOCION Y MECATRONICA (NAITEC)
- Collaborative partner: NATUREPLAST (NATUREPLAST)
- Collaborative partner: POLYKEY POLYMERS SL (POLYKEY)
- Collaborative partner: NORMEC OWS (OWS NV)
- Collaborative partner: ASSOCIACIO CLUSTER DEL PACKAGING (PACKAGING CLUST)
- Collaborative partner: AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS (CSIC)
- Actual start date: 2025-10-01
- Actual end date: 2029-09-30
- Award date: 2025-09-18
- Total awarded amount: 3.735.886,83€
- Awarded amount: 375.897,50€
- Total awarded amount in awarded currency: 375.897,50€
- Co-financers:
- Document:
- Document:
- Document:
- Additional info: Project number: 101223094 Call: HORIZON-EIC-2024-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01