In the Netherlands, ESKA, a manufacturer of recycled solid board and a member of RDM Group, has teamed up with Paques Biomaterials to create the world’s first full-scale biomass plant. This innovative facility will convert paper process water into biodegradable biopolymers.

Source: BioFuelsDigest

The paper industry is increasingly using starch, mainly derived from potatoes, to enhance the strength of its products. This starch dissolves in the process water, creating both challenges and opportunities for recycling efforts.

This collaboration will utilize the organic material from the process water produced at ESKA’s Hoogezand facility. The material will undergo fermentation and aeration in biological reactors, resulting in a specific biomass that will be dried into a powder. Paques Biomaterials will then use this powder as a feedstock to manufacture the biopolymer polyhydroxyalkanoate.

The plant is expected to generate approximately 2,000 tons of PHA each year.