Overview
Wood is facing potential shortages in meeting the growing demand by 2030. This is attributed to its escalating utilisation in energy generation, building materials, and chemicals. Simultaneously, the volume of wood waste from construction and demolition (C&D), industrial processes, and urban sources is increasing, with substantial amounts found in coatings, paints, plastics, and preservatives. Processes, including chemical recycling, are being explored to recycle this wood, however these face significant challenges due to the presence of additives, pollutants and contaminating materials. Additionally, the unpredictable availability of these waste streams, the intricacies of sorting and cleaning procedures, and gaps in existing regulations for the utilisation of upcycled wood materials further complicate matters.
W2W proposes a comprehensive framework for multi-dimensional cascade valorisation of wood from C&D and furniture waste, consisting of four core components/pillars: 1) Advanced Separation and Sorting Technologies; 2) Upcycling Processes and Technologies; 3) Digital Tools for Improving Circular Flows of Secondary Materials; and 4) Supportive Framework in Policy, Market, and Skills. W2W will demonstrate efficient and sustainable value chains, using technologies and tools that allow the selection of optimal cascade paths for further uses of wood materials.
Objectives
Create and validate a comprehensive framework for the Wood-to-Wood (W2W) process, focusing on stakeholder interactions, wood characterisation, classification, valorisation, management technologies, data sharing principles, and impact assessment methods.
Enhance the capabilities of wood sorting mechanisms to better align with environmental and technical valorisation parameters, improving the efficiency of wood separation processes.
Develop sustainable and innovative technologies for upcycling waste materials, utilising cascade refinement, chemical and bioremediation processes, as well as energy, gas, and ashes valorisation.
Innovate approaches and digital tools to integrate life cycle thinking and advanced sustainability assessments throughout the cascade process, ensuring a holistic and environmentally conscious approach.
Validate W2W technologies and solutions in three distinct Use Cases, representing diverse value chains and demonstrating the applicability and effectiveness of the developed processes.
Boost competitiveness and sustainability in industries through skills development, collaborative training, capacity building, standards and certification, policy advocacy, and circular business models.
eBOS Role in the Project
In W2W, eBOS’ technical role includes creating the Integrated Circular Wood Upcycling Platform. This will have a user-friendly interface and include features like visualisation, control functions, AI-based optimisation, and decision-making capabilities. It will allow to model, simulate, and assess various aspects of wood use. The platform will allow: i) Processing and analysis of data from various stages of the wood lifecycle for identifying patterns and trends that can be used to optimise cascading use strategies and minimise environmental impacts; ii) Predictive modelling of the environmental impacts of different wood waste cascading scenarios; iii) Integration with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to analyse the spatial distribution of wood waste sources, transportation routes, and processing facilities; and iv) Real-time monitoring of wood waste cascade strategies and adaptive management.
Apart from the technical tasks, eBOS will lead the “GDPR, Gender Balance, Legal, and Ethical Issues Management”. The main goal will be to establish and oversee ethical guidelines procedures, following the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity and Data Protection rules. These guidelines will cover responsible research practices, how to select participants, and consent forms.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
