At the moment, the recovery treatments of organic fraction of urban waste are biomethanisation and composting, to get energy and compost. These procedures provide with products with a low added value. Res Urbis (Resources from urban bio-waste) has been set up through a consortium funded by the European program H2020, to undergo a development of an innovative technological sector for the integrated treatment in several urban organic waste (such as municipal solid waste and municipal sewage sludge) aiming to get bio-plastics.

The consortium coordinated by the Sapienza University of Rome, is formed by 21 entities from eight European countries, among which is the University of Barcelona as the only Spanish research center- companies, associations and public administrations, among which is the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona.

The development of innovative technologies such as the one proposed in the project Res Urbis, allows the transformation of this large flow of organic matter into products with a high market value and with positive impacts on the environment, economy and employment.  

Promoting circular economy 
The project, funded three years ago with circa 3 million euros, is part of a program specifically designed to promote circular economy. This program, through research and development, has a dual aim: on the one hand, to reduce the quantity of waste that goes to landfills, and on the other, getting new bio-products (environment-friendly) using the same waste as a renewable alternative to fuel resources. 

According to Joan Mata, professor from the Department of Chemical Engineering of the UB, “the potential of Res Urbis is high if we take into account that more than 300 million Europeans live in urban areas and each individual produces a daily average of 100 gr of organic waste”. The team of the UB, led by Mata, will perform studies to improve the process of PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate), the basic to create bio-plastics, out of the volatile fatty acids resulting from waste decomposition. To do so, it will use samples from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste, managed by the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. 
The project Res Urbis aims to develop these kind of technologies for the integrated treatment of municipal organic waste (waste water treatment plants and organic waste) as a complementary alternative for the traditional systems for water and waste treatments.  

Bioplastics, high value-added material 
The obtained bioplastics allow getting high value-added products in several areas. Regarding packaging, it allows getting biodegradable products such as packaging inlayer film, biodegradable plastic bags and consumer durables such as computer chassis, tablets and phones. Another application is in the field of environmental remediation with the production of controlled carbon release material for the polluted groundwater treatment.

The bioplastic production market is growing and if now two billion tons are produced, growth expectations point out that 2018 is expected to reach the eight million tons. Moreover, current bioplastics are obtained out of specific cultures of cereals and its cost is between 5 and 8 euros per kg. “In our case, raw material would be residual and we would use mixed bacterial strains instead of pure ones like in current processes. This would lower the costs” says Joan Mata.    

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