Validation of an industrial process to manufacture isosorbide bis(methyl carbonate) at pilot level

This Work Package considers the overall management, communication and coordination between the different partners, as well as the monitoring of the scientific and technical progress of the entire project, by means of the supervision of the achieved milestones, the management of the risks and establishment of contingency plans, gender equity, and other nontechnical aspects. It also provides outputs for knowledge management and other RTD innovation related activities, such as Intellectual Property Rights and dissemination.

Task

1. Project coordination and quality assurance
2. Communication, reporting and monitoring

The objective of this WP is to develop an Isosorbide bis(methyl carbonate) (IBMC) manufacturing process at lab scale moving from the current TRL 3 to 4, obtaining the needed data to scale-up the process till TRL5 in WP3.

Task

1. Reaction improvement
2. Separation and purification procedure
3. Pre-up-scaling
4. Process design and integration
5. Process simulation and preliminary up-scaling

The objective is to validate an IBMC manufacturing process at pilot plant (TRL5).

And to obtain data for detailed LCA and cost analysis including bill-of-materials and energy consumption.

Tasks

1. Intermediate scaling-up
2. Pilot plant design
3. Pilot plant starting
4. Pilot plant operation
5. Plant up-scaling simulation to industrial scale

Wp4 is devoted to develop potential formulations (at TRL 3) from IBMC-derived polymers as a proof-of principle of polyurethanes  coatings with competitive performance vs. market requirements.

The objectives are:

• To develop polyurethane dispersions (PUDs) with oligocarbonates-diols from IBMC for PU coatings.
• To develop non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPUs) for PU coatings.

To develop waterborne PU coatings and NIPUs coatings as a proof-of-principle demonstration for derived IBMC functional oligocarbonates in future greener market applications

Tasks

1. Waterborne polyurethane dispersions (PUDs) for coatings.
2. IBMC based NIPUs for coatings.
3. Coatings formulation and testing of properties

The objectives of this WP are:

• To develop Poly(carbonate-ester)-diol adhesives from IBMC and commercial polyester-diols as a proof of principle demonstration o for IBMC in future greener market applications.
• To develop NIPUs dispersions useful as adhesives from IBMC and commercial polyamines as a proof of principle demonstration o for IBMC in future greener market applications.

Tasks

1.  Adhesives based on IBMC and commercial polyester/polyether polyols.
2. NIPUs-based adhesives
3. Adhesives formulation and testing of propertiesnary up-scaling

The objectives of WP6 are:

• To manufacture a proof of concept laboratory prototype of a new bio-functional (antithrombotic-antimicrobial) catheter based on an IBMC-derived NIPU, such catheter should exhibit general functional static and dynamic characteristics comparable with those of commercially available catheters.
• To obtain 1 thermoplastic IBMC-based biofuncionalized NIPU
• To confirm the biocompatibility and biofunctionality of final prototype

Tasks

1. Synthesis of bio-functionalized thermoplastic IBMC-based NIPUs.
2. Processing of bio-functional IBMC-based NIPU into a catheter
3. Assessment of Biocompatibility and biofunctionality of the final prototype

This WP will validate the VIPRISCAR technology and its technical performance, economic feasibility, and to ensure the future deployment at industrial level. It will demonstrate the sustainability and business potential of the novel IBMC-based products in respect to the state-of-the-art and existing technologies.

WP7 will also identify barriers, limitations, regulatory/legislation aspects, and product safety issues, including the REACH regulation, which could affect the market entrance and exploitation of VIPRISCAR products and to define the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of the VIPRISCAR technology.

Tasks

1. Technical evaluation of VIPRISCAR concepts
2. Economic validation: Life cycle cost analysis (LCC) and economic feasibility
3. Environmental feasibility study including life cycle assessment (LCA)
4. Health and safety study (HSS)
5. Definition of European and local legal and non-legal limitations, barriers and standards

The objectives of this Work Package are:

• To ensure exploitation of results, including handling of Intellectual Property Rigths (IPR) issues.
• To ensure efficient management of project data.
• To define the business models and plans, including the relevant market analyses.
• To ensure widespread dissemination of VIPRISCAR results to public, academia and industry.
• To communicate with all stakeholders on VIPRISCAR project specific issues and results.

Tasks

1. Market intelligence and competitive analysis
2. Business models and financial impacts
3. Exploitation Plan
4. IPR and Exploitation Risk Management
5. Development of the Project communication and dissemination strategy