Polymers-5B

Turning agri-food waste & biomass into sustainable polymers

POLYMERS-5B is a 48-month project that aims to develop novel alternative biobased polymers synthesized
from bio-renewable monomers (e.g., dicarboxylic acids, diols, diamines, hydroxyacids, aminoacids, aromatic and
phenolic compounds, fatty acids, oils, furans, others), sourced from underexploited, second generation (2G) feedstocks
(e.g., Tomato and Olive wastes) and biomass (e.g., wood pulp and lignin derivatives), obeying a cascading principle. It
will resort to Biocatalysis and Green Chemistry processes to generate novel biobased polymers like polyesters and
polyamides with pendent functional groups (e.g., hydroxy, carboxylic, amine, epoxy, thiol, vinyl, others), polyphenols
and poly-furans, among others, that mimic fossil-based polymers properties (e.g., polyethene terephthalate-PET,
Polyurethanes-PUs, Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene-ABS, Amine and other polymeric resins).  These new polymers
will be blended to provide valuable bio-composites and polymeric materials for the textile, automotive, furniture and
polymeric resin markets. 
Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools will drive the optimization of the developed
technologies towards minimum resource usage, “zero waste” and “zero pollution”, while technological, economic, and
environmental sustainability aspects will be incorporated early in the design phase by adopting Sustainable by Design
(SSbD) approaches. This sustainable strategy will contribute to an increase in the availability of bio-renewable
monomers, biobased polymers and plastic materials synthesized in the EU, that meet the Green Deal targets and
reduce the EU dependency on fossil-based raw materials and derivatives.