ECLIPSE

Research on new recycling technologies and recovery of complex plastic waste

The ECLIPSE project aims to explore innovative technological pathways that enhance the recycling and revalorization of complex polymeric waste. This initiative aims to significantly advance the current separation, recycling, purification, and chemical synthesis methods to produce new polymers fit for reuse.

In addition to researching three recycling technologies—thermal, biological, and chemical—the project will investigate complementary solutions to recycling processes. These solutions are designed to achieve circularity in the overall process, ensuring a significant waste reduction directed to landfills. The focus will be on stages such as identification and separation (achieving high purity in waste streams), purification and isolation of valuable chemical units, synthesis of speciality chemicals, and formulation.

Ultimately, the goal is to establish a sustainable, circular, comprehensive system for recycling and revalorizing complex plastic waste. This system should be versatile, tested in the automotive sector, and applicable to all strategic industrial sectors.

The ECLIPSE project will be carried out over 38 months by a consortium comprising eight companies and seven research entities, including the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV). The consortium’s strategy is rooted in a multidisciplinary and multisectoral approach, aiming to implement new circular economy models, promote recycling complex plastic waste, and reduce dependence on petroleum-derived materials.

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ECO2CAL

Eco-calcination of carbonates to zero emissions with microwave and hydrogen technology

The ECO2CAL Project aims the transformation of conventional carbonate calcination processes to improve their sustainability, energy efficiency and achieve zero CO2 emissions.

The result of the project will be the development of a microwave thermal decarbonation and chromophore reduction technology and CO2 capture and storage system to be applied to industrial waste and by-products.

 

The I+D+i project FUSER (INNCAD/2021/42), to be developed in the period 2021-2023, has a global budget of € 330.541,12€ co-financed by the Valencian Agency of Innovation(AVI) under the call Consolidation of the business valor chain in the modality of individual project.

 

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H2MW

Development of a pilot plant for green hydrogen production using microwave technology

The H2MW Project aims to develop a pilot plant for green hydrogen production using microwave technology. This groundbreaking advancement leverages the reduction of Solid-State Ionic Materials (SSIM) by microwaves at significantly lower temperatures compared to conventional methods.

The project’s objective is to design and construct a technological demonstrator that will serve as a foundation for future industrial-scale devices. This meticulous approach will evaluate and consolidate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and develop scalable models, ensuring a robust and successful outcome.

This innovative electrochemical water dissociation process, producing only O₂ as a byproduct, offers a promising pathway for sustainable, carbon-free hydrogen production with low energy costs and high efficiency.

This 2-year project will be a joint effort by the Microwave Division (DIMAS) of the ITACA Institute at UPV, the Energy Conversion and Storage group at the Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIC-ITQ), and the engineering and technology group Sener.

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RHINO

Electrifying chemistry towards net-zero emission industry

The RHINO project aims to establish a new electrified paradigm for the chemical industry that incorporates renewable energy sources and decarbonizes this energy-intensive sector. This paradigm shift has the potential to significantly reduce the industry’s carbon footprint, increase energy efficiency, and enhance the production of high-value chemicals, thereby contributing to a more sustainable and competitive chemical industry. 

The core of RHINO’s strategy is the development of electrochemical reactors that use electric power to drive chemical reactions with high selectivity. The project seeks to overcome current barriers by creating a new class of electrified catalytic reactors through an interdisciplinary approach. This approach combines cutting-edge nanomaterials, interface engineering,a deep understanding of reaction kinetics, microwave engineering, and advanced multi-physics modelling.

RHINO will focus on developing two innovative types of electrically driven reactors:

Electrochemical Membrane Reactor Technology. Two approaches for the electrification of membrane reactions are tackled. On the one hand, Joule electric heating in ceramic membrane reactors will allow exploiting the effect of local heating. On the other hand, electrochemical reactors based on membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) will be developed. 

Microwave-Driven Enhanced Catalysis: This breakthrough technology will employ microwave (MW) electromagnetic irradiation to enhance the catalysis of reduction-oxidation (redox) reactions. MW irradiation allows for processing at lower reaction times and temperatures, improving energy efficiency and selectivity. The concept of “non-equilibrium local heating”—where specific domains are heated to much higher temperatures than the bulk solution—will be explored to enhance chemical reactions. 

The project is led by two Spanish research groups at the forefront of microwave technology (Microwave Division of ITACA Institute -ITACA-DIMAS-) and catalytic materials research (Energy Conversion and Storage group at the Institute of Chemical Technology -CSIC-ITQ-). With a focus on multidisciplinary activities, both partners will collaborate in this 2-year project -from December 2022 to November 2024- to pave the way for a sustainable future in the chemical industry by developing advanced electrified processes that align with sustainable development goals.

 

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RASMIA

Towards sustainable energy processes in chemical industry: development of CO2 capture and utilization assisted by microwave heating

RASMIA project entails the transformation of energy intensive chemical industry through microwave heating, a more efficient way of supplying energy to the processes using renewable electricity and avoiding fossil fuels.

This coordinated project, financed by the Spanish Science and Innovation Ministry (PID2022-138336OB-C21) will focus on the design of new microwave driven processes for CO2 capture and hydrogen generation by Dry Reforming of Methane (DRM). The goal is to contribute to decarbonisation of chemical industry together with process circularity, since the CO2 captured in the microwave adsorption process constitutes the raw material for dry methane reforming.

RASMIA involves researchers from the Institute of Information and Communication Technologies (ITACA) of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), belonging to the Microwave Division (ITACA-DIMAS). The coordination of the project is led by researchers from Universidad de Zaragoza (UNIZAR), Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón, INMA, working in the field of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.

Continuous evaluation of the results throughout the project will direct RASMIA’s efforts towards optimizing resource efficiency, process scalability, and reducing the cost and carbon footprint compared to the state-of-the-art reference processes of amine absorption for CO2 capture and steam reforming for syngas production.

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