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HICCUPS – Highly Innovative technology demonstration for bio-based CO2 Capture and Utilization for production of bulk plastics applications

From September 2023 to August 2027 the HICCUPS project will propose a resource-efficient solution to convert biogenic CO2 emissions from wastewater treatment plants into bio-based polymers for the packaging industry. The aim of the project is to develop an efficient process to electrochemically convert CO2 emissions from water treatment sludge into monomers and polymerise them to produce the bio-based polymer, polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), for the food packaging industry.

PLGA is a polymer with excellent water and gas barrier properties that is fully biodegradable and can be entirely produced from renewable resources, making it a promising candidate to replace fossil-based polyethylene. To demonstrate the potential of PLGA, packaging materials will be produced using PLGA film coated paper and moulded plastic, including coated paper for food packaging.