Consortium

Project Coordinator

DECHEMA Gesellschaft für Chemische Technik und Biotechnologie e.V. (Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology), (DEC)

is the expert network for chemical engineering and biotechnology in Germany. This non-profit professional society represents these fields in science, industry, politics and society. Around 100 subject divisions and working parties offer a forum for knowledge exchange among experts, based on trust. DEC will involve its Biotechnology Section and ProcessNet, the joint platform for chemical engineering, which are the forums where scientists, engineers, students, companies and institutions meet for knowledge exchange and discussion.<br/. In BioSPRINT, DEC will lead WP8 'Project Coordination' acting as the project coordinator, assuming responsibility for the Coordination and Management of the project, including the planning, monitoring, assessment, reporting, evaluation and continuous assessment of all Work Packages (WPs), their associated tasks, and the overall execution of the implementation plan. DEC will also coordinate the External Advisory Board (EAB) steering the commercial and scientific direction of the project.

AEP Polymers SRL (AEP)

is an innovation-based company, focused on applied R&D in the field of biobased building blocks, polymers and formulations for industrial applications. AEP has long-standing expertise in fibre-reinforced composites, epoxy resins, polyurethanes (rigid and flexible PU foams, compact PU), lastomers, adhesives and a wide variety of functionalized building blocks. AEP has extensive synthetic expertise, having developed biobased polyols, amines and other functionalized materials from a wide variety of biobased oils both within funded R&D projects and industrial cooperations.
In BioSPRINT, AEP will focus on the conversion of the monomers previously obtained from hemicellulose (furfural, 5-HMF0) into novolac and resole-type resins for application in wood boards, as well as into Mannich-base, novolac-type, polyester and polyether-polyester polyols for rigid polyurethane foams. The optimization of the synthetic protocols and their successive upscaling will be carried out based on the feedbacks from application-oriented formulation and testing work.

DYNAMIC & SECURITY COMPUTATIONS SL (ADSC)

is a mechanical engineering and service consultancy company specializing in process engineering and applications related to fluid mechanics, heat transfer, bulk materials using Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) tools such as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), FEA, and Discrete Elements Modelization (DEM).
In BioSPRINT, ADSC’s strong knowledge and experience of CFD will be leveraged in order to perform tasks of basic engineering, analysis, optimization and scale-up of process eengineering. ADSC will mostly perform tasks of process systems engineering (PSE), and analysis, optimization and scale-up of process engineering using advanced modelling tools such as CAE (CFD, FEA, DEM, etc). Different CAE scenarios will be performed so that other partners in the consortium will evaluate the CFD vs Experiment comparison. CFD is a software tool, used to simulate the behaviour of the fluid-flows, heat transfer, chemical reaction and other related physical phenomena.

eBOS Technologies Ltd (eBOS)

is an innovative and client-focused Information Technology (IT) SME software house with head offices in Cyprus and branch offices in Ireland and in the UK. eBOS is dedicated in providing comprehensive and cost-effective technologically-advanced e-business software solutions to enterprise customers worldwide. eBOS is heavily investing in beyond the state-of-the-art technologies, thereby accelerating future digital innovation. eBOS Research & Development (R&D) division is focused on future-oriented research in a broad area of activities and domains.
In BioSPRINT, eBOS will involve two of departments, the Research and Development department (R&D) coordinating the involvement of eBOS in research projects implemented in collaboration with international partners, and the Creativity department providing a range of professional services including Website design. The R&D department will provide expertise mainly in the areas of Interactive dashboards, Data Visualisation & Data analytics, Quality Assurance and Risk Assessment, as well as Open-standards APIs development, application integration and interoperability.

The FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V. (FhG)

is the leading organisation for applied research in Europe. It develops and optimizes processes, products and technologies in the business fields of chemistry and process industry, as well as environment and energy. It develops and optimizes processes, products and technologies in the business fields of health, chemistry and process industry, as well as environment and energy.
In BioSPRINT, FhG role focuses on the production and provision of sample quantities of hemicellulose from the Organosolv process directly from the pilot plants of Fraunhofer Center, on the implementation and scaling of chemical and biotechnological conversion of hemicellulose-containing material streams to furan derivatives and on the purification of hemicellulose streams to isolate C5 and C6 sugars; separation and purification of furan derivatives, phenols from reaction mixtures, process development and scale up, process simulation.

IFEU - INSTITUT FUR ENERGIE UND UMWELTFORSCHUNG HEIDELBERG gGmbH

is one of the most important ecological research institutes in Germany. Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg - (IFEU) conducts research and provides a worldwide consultancy service in relation to all major environmental and sustainability issues. As an independent body for environmental research and consulting, IFEU has an extensive track record in areas such as waste management and packaging materials, transport & mobility, renewable energies and energy efficiency as well as food and bio-based systems.
In BioSPRINT, IFEU will lead WP6 ‘Integrated Lifecycle Sustainability Assessment’ to assess the sustainability impacts of the BioSPRINT processes and products, including environmental and techno-economic benefits and risks. This will be done based on process data obtained from the previous work packages, but also includes theoretical assumptions so as to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with the targeted BioSPRINT products in comparison to all selected reference products.

IRIS TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, SOCIEDAD LIMITADA (IRIS)

is an advanced engineering company established in Barcelona in 2007 with a mission of bringing process optimisation solutions to manufacturing. IRIS focuses on Key Enabling Technologies for Digital Transformation: making Industry smarter, more sustainable and efficient in Industry 4.0. IRIS specialises in the manufacture and integration of Process Analytical Technology (PAT)-based real-time quality monitoring solutions for the process industries and IoT systems for smart manufacturing, predominantly targeted at the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. In particular, IRIS product line comprises proprietary state-of-the-art infrared analyzers for at-line and in-line process monitoring.
In BioSPRINT, IRIS role in the project will be focused on the development of monitoring and control strategies for bio-based processes by applying IRIS background on PAT solutions, on the support to IT developments in particular related to Machine Learning, and on the application of ultrasounds technology as possible pre-treatment stage.

KEMIJSKI INSTITUT, the National Institute of Chemistry (NIC)

is a leading Slovenian research institution in the field of chemistry and related scientific disciplines. Basic and applied research are oriented towards fields which are of long-term importance to both Slovenia and the world: materials research, life sciences, biotechnology, chemical engineering, structural and theoretical chemistry, analytical chemistry and environmental protection; through which the institute is in line with the needs of the domestic and foreign pharmaceutical, chemical, automotive and nanobiotechnological industries.
In BioSPRINT, NIC’s role is focused firstly on process intensification, in particular of catalytic conversion, downstream purification and polymerisation reactions, in view of achieving intensified and integrated final processes, as well as the intensification of these unit operations. Secondly on the strategic planning, delivery and evaluation of an impact Training, Education and Capacity-Building Programme (TECBP) aiming at maximising the potential for BioSPRINT’s results to be leveraged by actors beyond the consortium.

MATURUS OPTIMI BV (MAT)

is an engineering and strategic consultancy focusing on process design, energy efficiency, sustainability and techno-economic feasibility of new and existing industrial processes serving a variety of research, technology, engineering and manufacturing organisations across different industrial sectors, such as Chemicals, Oil & Gas, Mining, Renewables, Biotech, Biobased, Pharmaceuticals, and Life Science. MAT applies extensive expert knowledge along with industry standards and inhouse developed tools to support process development and scale up activities and to deliver cost-effective plant designs.
In BioSPRINT, MAT will be responsible for leading techno-economic and socio-economic assessment studies. The goal is to analyze and evaluate, early on, technological feasibility and economic viability of the BioSPRINT solutions for the existing and new biorefineries. MAT identifies limitations, risks and opportunities related to the implementation of the new technology, allowing the project to better focus the research and optimize the process design at the early phase of the project.

OULUN YLIOPISTO (UOULU)

is a multidisciplinary university located in the north of Finland. The participating unit is the Environmental and Chemical Engineering Research Unit (ECE) from the Faculty of Technology. The knowhow on heterogeneous catalysis is long-lasting both in environmental and process catalysis, which helps to understand the needs set to the up-stream purification and separation processes and supports also our modeling group in their studies. UOULU has strong experience on utilization of design of experiments and machine learning algorithms, such as automatic variable selection methods, artificial neural networks (ANN) and genetic algorithms (GA) with a wide application field.
In BioSPRINT, UOULU will lead WP1 ‘Intensification of Upstream Purification’ aiming to perform the analysis of feedstocks establishing technical composition pecifications, and analytical comparisons; obtain a stream free of solids suitable to be fed to membranes systems; establish a hybrid membrane purification system for the removal of inorganic and organic impurities and concentration of hemicelluloses etc.

PREFERE RESINS GERMANY GMBH (PFR)

is part of the Prefere Resins Group, the leading European manufacturer of high quality phenolic, specialty urea and melamine resins. In the Erkner site, mainly resoles and novolacs are produced. Product development is a key focus area for PFR, generating new innovative products and applications as well as customised existing products to meet customer’s needs. High emphasis is placed on sustainability, emission reduction and alternative products. PFR develop resins, additives, and solutions to enable and support customers with their products and innovation processes. experienced specialists make sure that these products are at the forefront of technology and constantly adapted to the changing needs of the industries.
In BioSPRINT, PFR will be in charge of the development and testing of novolac-and resol-type resins and applications. Moreover, thy will support AEP on the development and testing of bio-based polyols, and applications. PFR will also support UNEW in the process intensification of bio-based polymer production.

UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE (UNEW)

is a Higher Education Institution in the United Kingdom. UNEW will involve its Process Intensification Group. The Process Intensification Group is part of the School Engineering in the Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering (SAgE). The PI group is part of the discipline area of Chemical Engineering. In particular, the PI Group counts the membership of:Prof Adam Harvey, Professor of Process Intensification; Prof David Reay, Senior Research Associate;
In BioSPRINT, UNEW will also play a major role in development of continuous and intensified methods of upstream purification, catalytic conversion, downstream purification and polymerization. UNEW will contribute with inputs to process simulation, LCA, economical assessment, dissemination and exploitation activities. Most importantly, UNEW will undertake Technical Management for the project, ensuring technical work is appropriately coordinated across all WPs and directly contributes to the realisation of the project’s impact.

UPM-Kymmene Oyj (UPM)

is a global leader of the bio-based forest industry. Through the renewing of the bio and forest industries, UPM is building a sustainable future across six business areas: UPM Biorefining, UPM Energy, UPM Raflatac, UPM Specialty Papers, UPM Communication Papers and UPM Plywood. UPM’s products are made of renewable raw materials and are recyclable. UPM’s extensive knowledge and know-how of sustainably sourced renewable wood biomass is the starting point of their business. UPM sees versatile wood-based biochemicals as the next natural step in the evolution of wood usage. UPM provides Glycols and Lignin products.
In BioSPRINT, UPM is interested to support the development within the project by providing knowhow in the field of lignocellulosic based sugar production and techno-economic evaluation of biorefinery processes. Furthermore, UPM will provide samples obtained from UPMs pilot operations as industrial relevant feedstock available.