Technology for processing biomass waste from forestry for advanced polymer composites – TECHBIKOM INTERREG V-A

Technology for processing biomass waste from forestry for advanced polymer composites –TECHBIKOM INTERREG V-A, 2014-2020 ATCZ287

In January 2022 a new project TECHBIKOM started as a part of Interreg 2014-2020 funding, coordinated by the Brno University of Technology and Wood K plus as a project partner. TECHBIKOM project covers the following objectives:

• Bioactive phenolic compound isolation from waste bark
• Biodegradable polymeric blends development based on Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) with controllable life-time
• Centrifugal spinning technology process development of biodegradable polymers and phenolic bark extracts

Figure1: TECHBIKOM Pert Chart

The main result of one-year TECHBIKOM project will be a new product made by nanotechnology in the form of a fibrous polymeric material containing antibacterial and antiviral components. One innovation is the use of polymers from renewable sources and the incorporation of bioactive components derived from waste bark processing technologies directly into polymer fibers that can be further processed into masks or respirators. The resulting materials are also optimized for antibacterial activity and biodegradation rate. Processes for isolating bioactive components from bark, processing different polymer blends and the resulting application of nanotechnologies to the final product will contribute significantly to OP10 in eco-innovation by increasing the use of waste bark, reducing waste and synergistically using innovative processes in medical devices. TECHBIKOM’s overall objective is fostering cross-border cooperation of communities and institutions in joint regions AT-CZ. Figure 2 shows the latest TECHBIKOM results of the Scanning Electron Microscopy micrograph of prepared PHA-based fibrous material (left) using centrifugal spinning technology (picture right). Recently, the incorporation of phenolic compounds was successfully demonstrated and preliminary results showed that produced fibers show antibacterial performance.

Figure 2: SEM micrographs of prepared fibers based on PHA compounds (right) using centrifugal spinning process (left)