PROMOFER project will address the valorisation of two kinds of feedstock (lignocellulosic biomass and food industry waste) through the improvement of the fermentation processes and downstream purification solving identified bottlenecks at both upstream and downstream steps and producing high-value applications. There will be produced 3 SSbD, circular bio-based products 1, 2) polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) to be used in geotextile nets applications (agriculture sector) and coated paper packaging applications (packaging sectors); 3) 2,3-Butanediol (2,3-BDO) to produce bio-based PU for the technical textile applications in the fashion industry sector. The integration of these waste streams as biorefinery feedstocks will allow reducing the volumes of landfilled waste, improving competitiveness, resource efficiency and opening new opportunities for the bioplastics production with added advantages of environmental performances and social acceptance. PROMOFER will work towards achieving an optimal cascading use of bio-based feedstock, aiming for ‘zero waste’ and ‘zero-pollution’ operations.

The PROMOFER project has improved the efficiency of fermentation processes for producing two major biobased compounds: Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), a flexible, biodegradable polymer with enhanced thermal and mechanical properties compared to PHB, and 2,3-butanediol (BDO), a high-demand chemical used in various industrial applications such as inks, perfumes, and softeners. The 2,3-BDO obtained through fermentation has been successfully used as a precursor for the production of biobased polyurethanes (PUs). PROMOFER has demonstrated advanced fermentation technologies enabling the large-scale implementation of sustainable industrial biobased systems for PHBV and 2,3-BDO production.