The sustainable value-chain: wastewater to advanced biobased materials
Themes: Materials, Chemistry, bio- & process technology
Early lab scale demonstration
A TRL is a measure to indicate the matureness of a developing technology. When an innovative idea is discovered it is often not directly suitable for application. Usually such novel idea is subjected to further experimentation, testing and prototyping before it can be implemented. The image below shows how to read TRL’s to categorise the innovative ideas.
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Why?
Sludge from Nereda® wastewater treatment systems contains 20-30 % alginate like-exopolymers (ALE) and forms an alternative to alginate derived from seaweed. Its negative value and much wider availability allows the exploration and development of an impressive range of new applications.
How?
Advanced separation methods to extract ALE from the granular sludge are being investigated. ALE-based functional biomaterials provide a wide range of applications like sorbents, non-flammable materials, and coatings.
When?
The separation methods are primarily at lab scale proof-of-principle, ready for larger scale application. Research efforts focus on characterisation of the material to enable optimal processing and production of designer nanomaterials.
Prof. dr. ir. Mark van Loosdrecht