In the East of England the University of East Anglia\u2019s Adapt Low Carbon Group is conducting research into a process which could lead to waste from paper milling, known as paper crumb, being turned into bioplastic.<\/p>\n
The research is being conducted in partnership with Kings Lynn, Norfolk based waste services brokerage firm, Network Waste, which has a client that produces up to 7,000 tonnes of damp paper crumb waste per year at its mill that is currently spread to land.<\/p>\n
However, according to Network Waste this is an energy intensive process which in the first instance requires removal of large amounts of water. As such it asked the university\u2019s Adapt Group to investigate whether a more sustainable commercial use could be found for paper crumb.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking with Adapt allows us to tap into cutting edge academic research,\u201d explained Network Waste national account manager, Stuart Towler.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to find out if there was some other use for the paper crumb rather than spreading it on the land,\u201d he continued. \u201cSimilar waste is being produced by other paper milling operations and, as far as we are aware, little else is being done with it in the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the company, one of the possibilities that could be explored is the conversion of paper crumb into intermediates, which, among other things, can be used in the manufacturing process of bioplastic.<\/p>\n
Paper crumb is composed of very complex sugars and research is focused on their effective recovery and ways to turn them into a valuable commodity. Such sustainably obtained feedstocks are said to be of interest to the chemical industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are investigating if the paper waste can be used as a source of substrates to be applied in the bio-based production of chemicals, which in turn would contribute to lowering the carbon footprint of the chemical industry,\u201d said Dr Agnieszka Krzyzaniak, Adapt Group business innovation manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the possibilities that we are currently exploring is to turn paper waste into feedstock to be applied in the bio-based production of molecules which are the building blocks for bioplastics,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking to use this bio-processed material in the chemical industry is a fine example of adding extra value to the paper waste. We believe that the sugars found in the paper waste can help to replace traditional processes based on fossil fuels,\u201d added Krzyzaniak.<\/p>\n
But bioplastics are not the only option being investigated. According to the researchers the paper waste could also be used in the construction industry to be blended with concrete.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is something which we see as a quick win because there are already companies doing this,\u201d said Krzyzaniak.<\/p>\n
Network Waste added that while the partnership is in its infancy both sides are optimistic that it could make a significant impact on recycling in the paper industry.<\/p>\n
In addition to this project, the company said that is strengthening its links with the university by working with Adapt on research into evaluating vehicles movements in the waste management industry and by doing so improving the carbon disposal cycle.<\/p>\n
The brokerage added that it is also working towards setting up an informal partnership to consider providing a fully comprehensive environmental service. This would include carbon reporting (Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and the life cycle assessment) and waste management (compliance, waste reduction and waste strategy) for customers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the East of England the University of East Anglia\u2019s Adapt Low Carbon Group is conducting research into a process which could lead to waste from paper milling, known as paper crumb, being turned into bioplastic. The research is being conducted in partnership with Kings Lynn, Norfolk based waste services brokerage firm, Network Waste, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","nova_meta_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[],"supplier":[7802,7801,7799],"class_list":["post-22052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","supplier-adapt","supplier-network-waste","supplier-university-east-anglia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22052\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22052"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=22052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}