CIDETEC will participate in the European BioPhenom project to develop safe and sustainable materials

The new bio-based materials will replace the current SVHCs with high risks for human health and the environment.

The BioPhenom project, in which CIDETEC Surface Engineering is involved, aims to provide a solution to the widespread use of hazardous petrochemicals. Many of these products are Substances of Very High Hazard (SVHC), as they are harmful to the environment and human health. Current industrial activities use SVHCs to formulate and improve the functionality of thermoplastic and thermoset materials and wood, while SVHCs are toxic and non-biodegradable. There is therefore an urgent need to find safer and more sustainable alternatives for these products.

In this sense, the European Green Pact and its zero pollution targets set out to incorporate bio-based, safe and sustainable solutions from the design stage to accelerate the transition to the circular economy and reduce waste. The BioPhenom project, using advanced technology and processes such as fast pyrolysis and liquid extraction, aims to study biophenols isolated from industrial biomass side streams to create bio-flame retardants (bio-IFRs) and thus replace SVHCs with safe, sustainable and recyclable materials. This will allow the use of wood products, thermoset carbon fibre composites and thermoplastic composite materials for different applications without having to use harmful products in their manufacture.

The BioPhenom project will run for four years with a budget of ¤3.6 million. It will bring together a dynamic consortium of 12 partners from 10 countries across Europe, including 5 RTOs (VTT, NIBIO, LIST, CIDETEC, CNR), 1 university (UoB) and 6 SMEs (NT, INVENT, SP, EwC, CRCF, TALOS).