Eco-designed Fibres and Films from Biobased Polyamides and Polyesters for Sustainable Development

Accumulation of plastic material in the environment has a negative impact on wildlife and humans. As most plastics are non-biodegradable and recycling is limited, if not impossible. This issue is addressed by a novel research project called EFFECTIVE, this project connects 12 companies and research institutes that have come together to redesign two of the most widely used materials today: polyamides and polyesters. This aims to develop routes to produce polyamides and polyesters from sustainable renewable feedstock for the obtaining of fibres and films which can be brought into the market. Such materials will be tested to ensure its applicability into different markets, i.e. construction, automotive, primary and secondary packaging and textile and with the potential of being applied into many other markets (fishing, engineering plastics, agriculture, hygiene and personal care). Following a circular economy approach, the sustainability of the value chains will be further enhanced by the demonstration of an improved end-of-life of the developed eco-designed biobased solutions through the application of monomer regeneration. Biobased polyamides 6 will be firstly hidrolized to 6-ACA then converted into caprolactam which is purified so it can be used for the synthesis of nylon. Mechanical recycling will be applied to nylons obtained from 2 different monomers as they are not suitable for polymerization towards the regeneration of original building blocks. Polyesters based polymers and films will be tested in different environments to determine their biodegradation and compostability. Composting will be proceed by anaerobic digestion tests to ascertain energetic recoverability. The project intends to represent a key milestone towards the future industrialization of biobased fibres and films production in Europe foreseeing the mobilization of relevant investments by involved industry partners and fostering the adoption of multi-stakeholders collaboration models to demonstrate effective ways to develop new cases of biobased economy joining environmental sustainability.