HORIZON-JU-CBE-2026-RIA-02: SSbD bio-based polymers from alternative sources

Bondalti Water offers an industrial integration and validation partner role for developing Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) bio-based polymers derived from alternative sources (non-primary biomass), with a focus on: (i) robust pretreatment/fractionation, (ii) isolation/purification with low water and energy footprint, and (iii) realistic end-of-life (EoL) and environmental performance verification under water and wastewater-relevant conditions.

What we can contribute (work packages / tasks)

• Alternative feedstock access & variability management: industrial datasets and operational constraints for alternative feedstock streams relevant to circular systems (e.g., wastewater and industrial bio-based residues), including variability and contaminants management. (Primary agricultural/forestry biomass excluded.)

• Pretreatment/fractionation integration (when relevant): engineering of robust, scalable pretreatment/fractionation to enable efficient polymer synthesis/extraction and downstream processing.

• Isolation & purification packages: design and optimisation of isolation/purification steps aligned with application requirements, including minimisation of solvent/water use and full effluent/residue management.

• Functionalisation support (as needed): integration support for functionalisation steps to reach targeted polymer properties required by selected sectors.

• Application validation: contribution to pilot-scale validation plans and performance KPIs for at least two market sectors, helping demonstrate technical performance and market-relevant specifications (TRL ≥4 for application testing).

• End-of-life testing in water-centric conditions: support testing of EoL options (recycling, biodegradation, re-use and/or re-manufacturing) and practical verification protocols—particularly relevant where biodegradation or leakage pathways intersect with wastewater systems.

• SSbD task implementation support: contribution of operational and environmental data needed to apply the Commission’s SSbD framework to the targeted polymers.

• Digital monitoring and modelling: data pipelines and modelling to quantify yield/selectivity, stability, process robustness, and sustainability KPIs throughout scale-up learning cycles.

Keywords / tags

SSbD; bio-based polymers; alternative feedstocks (non-primary biomass); pretreatment/fractionation; extraction/synthesis; isolation & purification; functionalisation; circular-by-design applications; end-of-life testing (recycling/biodegradation/re-use); wastewater-relevant validation; TRL 5 process; TRL 4 application/EoL; digital monitoring; scale-up robustness