Project ECLIPSE
Research project on plastic recycling
The project called ECLIPSE is fully aligned with the objectives of the circular economy and will help to make possible the utilisation of secondary raw materials from the recycling of complex polymeric waste, thereby reducing the use of natural resources and the pollution generated by discharges.
The Science and Innovation Mission programme, for which The Centre for Development of Industrial Tecgnology ( CDIT) is responsible, constitutes part of the State Plan for R+D+I approved in 2021 and whose objective is to drive projects led by companies developing relevant research to find solutions to the principal transversal and strategic challenges faced by Spanish society.
The consortium to carry out the research is in turn composed of seven other companies which cover all the value chain of plastics recycling ( ACTECO, PICVISA, REPSOL, CELLMAT TECHNOLOGIES, GRUPO COPO, SYNTHESIA and SEAT) and the coordination of the project office will be the responsibility of the CETIM Technology Centre.
Approved by CDIT for Missions Science and Innovation
111 projects have been presented in answer to this public call, of which 24 of those put forward by large and medium-sized companies have been approved and 13 by SMEs.
The centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDIT) has approved the inclusion of a research project focused on the recycling of plastics led by Técnicas Reunidas in the second call for proposals of its Science and Innovations Missions programme.
The project, denominated ECLIPSE and titled “Research of New tecnologies for Recycling and Valorisation of Complex Plastic Waste ” was the third best rated.
Principal objective of the ECLIPSE project
Likewise, apart from the study and research of three recycling technologies ( thermal, biological and chemical), complementary solutions to the recycling processes will also be studied in order to achieve circularity of the global process and ensure a drastic reduction of the waste generated which goes to waste sites: stages of identification and separation ( high purity in waste streams obtained ), purification and isolation of chemical units of interest,synthesis of speciality chemicals and formulation.
In short, the objective is to achieve a sustainable, circular and integral system of recycling and revalorisation of complex plastic waste , one which is versatile, tested in the automotive sector and transferable to all strategic industrial sectors.
Ecodesign
The influence of the ecodesign of products in the reduction of waste generated by industry will be taken into account by looking to decrease the quantity of waste generated in the automotive sector by means of the optimization of ecodesigns of final products using recycled materials.
This objective is particularly relevant nowadays as the mechanical recycling of plastics, which is the most established technology thanks to to its economic viability and simplicity, presents important limitations for the recycling of complex plastics.
Consequently, the ECLIPSE project may represent an important step forward towards solving the environmental problems arising from plastic waste.
The project is fully integrated into the strategies of the circular economy as its development will permit the use of secondary raw materials from the recycling of complex poymeric waste , thus reducing the use of natural resources, pollution and spills,whilst providing greater efficiency in recycling processes.
Without doubt, it will contribute to the fight against climate change, through the reduction of emissions and carbon footprint, driven by the UN Sustainable Deveopment Goals ( SDGs ) and the Green Pact of the EU.
Raw Material: Complex plastics
Until now, countless tons of automotive scrap have been discarded in the EU, disposed of mainly in waste sites where the opportunity to recycle a large quantity of potential resources is lost.
None of the technologies developed until now has given an integral solution to marketable products of the same quality ( closeloop ).
Due to this, the automotive sector is emerging as the ideal scenario for research and maturation of the ECLIPSE circular technologies which can then be transferred to strategic industrial sectors where plastics either form a part of or dominate their ecosystem and give rise to the generation of complex polymeric waste of difficult recyclability.
The Science and Innovations Mission programme
The Science and Innovations Mission programme of the CDIT is a part of the State Plan for R+D+I approved in 2021 and whose objective is to drive projects led by companies which develop relevant research capable of finding solutions to the main transversal strategic challenges in Spanish society , by improving the knowledge base and technology which Spanish companies draw on to compete and by stimulating public-private cooperation.
The programme is fully aligned with the initiative Spain 2050, prepared by the Spanish Government, which defines the necessary proposals to deal with the principal challenges and problems which Spain must confront in the next 30 years.
The missions chosen in this second call of the programme focus on relevant aspects of two of the nine challenges stated in the initiative Spain 2050, among which we can highlight ” Being more productive for better growth ” and ” Becoming a carbon neutral society, sustainable and resilient to climate change “.
The project ECLIPSE has been subsidised by the Centre for the Deveopment of Industrial Technology ( CDIT ) within the framework of the 2021 call for proposals of the Science and Innovation Mission programme (Plan for Recovery, Transformation and Resilience ) and enjoys the support of the Ministry of Science and Innovation. The aid granted to the project has the financing of the European Union via the Next Generation Fund.
