Page 52 - Plastics News November 2022

PRESS RELEASE

Bio-Sep launches new joint industry project to fuel the green revolution

Bio-Sep has begun an exciting joint in- the properties and performance of commercial applications. This will in
dustry project which aims to develop the products, both as part of biobased turn contribute to achieving the UK’s
renewable, biosourced alternatives composites and as a cement admix- net zero and Clean Growth targets.”
for existing petrochemically derived ture. Tim Young, Head of Sustainability at
platform chemicals, ultimately helping Dr Andrew West, Chief Chemist at the National Composites Centre, said:
to meet the worldwide demand for Bio-Sep, explained: “This interdisci- “Being part of the Bio-Sep project will
clean technologies and contributing to plinary R&D project will allow us to enable us to assess the suitability of a
net-zero carbon goals. The new ven- develop and demonstrate potential highly innovative, low-carbon, com-
ture is in collaboration with the Inno- applications for our non-sulphonated posite material. The NCC team looks
vation Centre for Applied Sustainable lignin and biorefinery process. We are forward to assessing the feasibility of
Technologies (iCAST), which includes very much looking forward to work- the material for use in industrial appli-
prestigious institutions such as the ing with our valuable partners within cations using our design, manufactur-
University of Bath and the National iCAST, and benefiting from their glob- ing and quality assessment expertise
Composites Centre (NCC). al expertise and extensive knowledge alongside our customer network, to
Bio-Sep specialises in the conversion in bio-based materials chemistry and help the material’s route to market.
of non-food, lignocellulosic biomass composites manufacture.” We are delighted to support Bio-Sep
generated by agriculture and forestry Professor Matthew Davidson, iCAST with its exciting sustainability offering
into high-value biochemicals, using its Director, added: “We are delighted to for the composites marketplace, and
unique, low energy biorefinery pro- be working with Bio-Sep to acceler- to be part of the consortium of part-
cess. It produces a novel, non-sulpho- ate innovation in this important area. ners, pooling expertise and knowl-
nated lignin with enhanced reactivity It is exactly the sort of collaboration edge in this growing specialist area.”
and low molecular weight. This new that iCAST was designed to under- Early results of the project are en-
product and exclusive separation take, and one of the first of around couraging, suggesting that in the near
process have great potential for the 50 joint industry projects that we plan future, composites and construction
large-scale manufacture of sustain- to deliver in the next two years. By industries could make use of a low-
able biochemical substitutes that can bringing together iCAST’s expertise carbon, renewable material, further
be used in multiple commercial ap- in materials and manufacturing, and displacing petrochemicals and im-
plications, such as the composites and innovative companies such as Bio- proving their operational sustainabil-
construction industries. The joint in- Sep, we aim to accelerate the deploy- ity.
dustry project aims to extensively test ment of sustainable technologies into

52 PLASTICS NEWS November 2022