BioNat Project aims to increase knowledge in obtaining different bioproducts from woody species, trees and shrubs, currently underused.The project assesses the key aspects in the value chain including a selection of the of the most adequate species for different European countries. BioNat is based on the following concepts: mixed cultivation of selected woody species in marginal lands using the coppice management method and to obtain of a cascade of products within the biorefinery conception. The cultivation tests will be executed in different locations: Germany, Romania and Spain; and the biorefinery processes will be studied in research laboratories located in Portugal, Germany, Italy and Spain. The BioNat project emphasizes: 1) the need to achieve a higher level of knowledge about bioindustry oriented mixed crops and 2) their sustainable management with the aim of generating the appropriate raw materials to produce the target bioproducts. In BioNat 8 bioproducts will be produced including essential oils, extracts, woodpaper, particleboard, bioplastics, biochar, active carbon and absorbents. BioNat will develop through a close partnership among TOLSA, CIEMAT, RE-CORD and ENVIR a new class of absorbent not coming from the mining sector, but from the forest sector. New materials developed by BioNat partnership will became new products that TOLSA could launch to the market. RECORD will evaluate new forest based feedstock to produce biochar as final product and to produce novel biochar based adsorbents for cat litter production (TOLSA, CIEMAT). In biochar production, the choice of feedstock significantly impacts the characteristics of the biochar product and its uses. New product and new characteristics will be developed through specific pyrolysis process. Biochar will be a product by-itself and a by-product for active carbon and absorbent for pet production. Absorbents for pets will be developed by the joint collaboration of TOLSA, CIEMAT, AIMPLAS, RE-CORD, ENVIR, IDOASIS and IPB-CIMO. Different pellets formulation (biomass, biomass + biochar, biomass + active carbon, biomass + bactericidal compound) will be produced by CIEMAT and absorbent capacity of the resulting pellets will be tested by TOLSA.
Founded by European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement N.xxx
