ABOUT

“A collaborative project to move forward in the valorization of municipal biowaste into high value products”

Fabio Sagnelli (Novamont)

“Make the most out of waste”

Yolanda Segura (URJC)

IN SHORT

The aim of the BBI Project DEEP PURPLE is to recover valuable resources from mixed urban waste streams, namely wastewater, sewage sludge and the organic fraction of the municipal solid waste (OFMSW). The DEEP PURPLE concept relies in a versatile, integrated and flexible Multi-Platform Biorefinery, based on the metabolism of Purple Phototrophic Bacteria (PPB) to extract and recover high added-value compounds for the bio-based industry such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), ectoine and cellulose in 2 demo sites (ES, CZ).

“Golden innovative and promising solutions to revolutionize the paradigm of waste management from the challenge to the opportunity”

Victor Monsalvo, AQUALIA

CHALLENGE

Currently 75% of the up to 138 million tons of urban biowaste are incinerated and landfilled in the EU with huge ecological and economical costs.

OPPORTUNITY

Waste holds a great potential as a source of renewable energy and recycled materials. Wastewater contains valuable components such as cellulose and nutrients that can be used as feedstock for many breakthrough applications.

Synopsis of Project DEEP PURPLE

OPPORTUNITY

Waste holds a great potential as a source of renewable energy and recycled materials. Wastewater contains valuable components such as cellulose and nutrients that can be used as feedstock for many breakthrough applications.

CHALLENGE

Currently 75% of the up to 138 million tons of urban biowaste are incinerated and landfilled in the EU with huge ecological and economical costs.

MAIN OBJECTIVES

Optimise

efficient processing for integrated energy positive Photobiorefineries

The DEEP PURPLE concept is dedicated to optimizing the innovative combination of valorization technologies and novel solutions like Purple Phototrophic Bacteria (PPB)-based wastewater treatment or biogas bioconversion. In the innovative, versatile, integrated and flexible DEEP PURPLE Multi-Platform Biorefineries (one in Spain and one in the Czech Republic) mixed waste streams (organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW), wastewater and sewage sludge) will be used as feedstock in optimized biogas-, biomass- and cellulose-platforms to extract and recover high-value compounds like cellulose, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and ectoine for further use in the bio-based industries. The energy-positive DEEP PURPLE process has a huge potential in green house gas savings and supplementing primary resources with recovered resources from urban bio-waste to provide a secure and sustainable supply of biomass feedstock for different industrial sectors.

Recover valuable resources

from sewage sludge, biowaste & wastewater

In the versatile, integrated and flexible DEEP PURPLE Multi-Platform Biorefineries (one in Spain and one in the Czech Republic) valuable compounds will be extracted from mixed waste streams (organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW), wastewater and sewage sludge) in biogas-, biomass- and cellulose-platforms. The extracted high-value compounds like cellulose, sugar blocks and ectoine will be further used by our industry partners.

Develop innovative bio-based products

using derived compounds for specific market applications

The extracted high-value compounds (cellulose, sugar-blocks fertilizer and ectoine) extracted in DEEP PURPLE, will serve as feedstock for bio-based products with applications in a wide range of industrial sectors. Our industry partners Novamont, Natureblast, All-RG, Itene, Activatec and RNB Cosmetics will use those compounds to produce encapsuled fertilizers, self-repairing construction materials, biodegradable bioplastics and cosmetic products.

Raise awareness

for a beneficial use of wastewater and municipal solid waste

The extracted high-value compounds (cellulose, sugar-blocks fertilizer and ectoine) extracted in DEEP PURPLE, will serve as feedstock for bio-based products with applications in a wide range of industrial sectors. Our industry partners Novamont, Natureblast, All-RG, Itene, Activatec and RNB Cosmetics will use those compounds to produce encapsuled fertilizers, self-repairing construction materials, biodegradable bioplastics and cosmetic products.

create & accelerate the market uptake

of bio-based products and applications

Environmental impacts associated with the value chains will be evaluated and periodically updated along the project. CAPex and OPex studies will be performed to ascertain the economic feasibility of the DEEP PURPLE process compared to the state-of-the-art biowaste treatment technologies. Designs for the market launch of the Flexible Biorefinery Model and derived bio-based products and definition of corresponding Business Models will be developed.

TECHNICAL OBJECTIVES

  • Valorise the organic fraction of the municipal solid waste (OFMSW), wastewater (WW) and sewage sludge (SS)
    into a sustainable biomass for marketable bio-based products
  • Create biomass feedstock for the bio-based industry
  • Bio-cosmetics, fertilizers, bio-packaging, self-repairing construction materials
  • Implementation of multiplatform concept (biomass, cellulose and biogas)
  • Innovative combination of optimized recovery technologies & novel solutions
  • First PPB Photobiorefinery in the EU, the biggest worldwide
  • Implemented in 2 demo sites (Spain and Czech Republic)
  • Reduction of 60% of landfilled OFMSW
  • Recovery of 71% WWTP solids
  • Bio-products for commercialization (440 t/y)
  • Reduction of 20% of GHG emissions (420 t CO²-eq per year)

The DEEP PURPLE CONCEPT

“An opportunity to improve at demo level biotechnological processes to transform waste into valuable products”

Pedro Garcia, University of Valladolid

To meet the aim, DEEP PURPLE proposes an integrated treatment of urban bio waste in a novel Multi-Platform concept as a key option to implement a synergic treatment of relevant waste streams of urban origin (mixed waste streams, separately collected organic waste, wastewater and the organic fraction of sewage sludge). The beneficial use of bio-waste came from an innovative combination of optimized valorization technologies and novel solutions like Purple Phototrophic Bacteria (PPB)-based wastewater treatment or biogas bioconversion. These processes will be used to recover resources from urban bio-waste to provide a secure and sustainable supply of biomass feedstock to be further transformed into high added-value products for different industrial sectors.
The concept will be implemented and validated in two demo sites (Spain and Czchec Republic)

Who is DEEP PURPLE?

“Deep Purple is an exciting project that brings together people working in different areas to demonstrate innovative biorefinery platforms in the waste and wastewater sector”

Evina Katsou (Brunel University)

The DEEP PURPLE consortium consists of 14 partners from 6 EU-Countries (FR, ESP, AT, DK, IT, UK).

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