Waste2Value

The goal of the research project is to produce a bio-based alternative to ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA), which serves as a starting material for products such as EVA foam. EVA is used in packaging materials, shoe soles, mats, and toys.

To this end, the project primarily uses byproducts and residues produced in Rhineland-Palatinate. One starting material is molasses, which is a byproduct of sugar production. Grape pomace is also used as a resource. About 25% of the weight of the harvested grapes remains as solid residue. Since microorganisms cannot directly utilize the complex carbohydrates in untreated pomace, a targeted mechanochemical-enzymatic pretreatment is required. Under the direction of our colleague Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kathrin Ochsenreither at Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences, enzymes are used in combination with a temperature-controlled vibrating mill to break down the polysaccharide structures and release fermentable sugars.

Ethanol and acetic acid are produced through fermentation of the sugars derived from pomace and molasses.

The cooperation partners at the University of Jena, led by Prof. Dr. Hatice Mutlu, process the building blocks—bioethanol and bioacetic acid—into bio-EVA in a two-step process (the second step being polymerization).

At Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences, under the direction of Prof. Dr. Jens Schuster, the material properties of bio-EVA are being tested in comparison to conventional EVA.

The bio-EVA produced is intended to replace conventional petroleum-based plastics.