The project ran between August 2021 and October 2023.

Why is this important/Goals:

The purpose was to enable a circular and resource-efficient cellulose economy in Sweden, with the goal to extract cellulose from residual streams (egagricultural waste, used textiles and recycledcardboard) for increased value. The project had three unique objectives: A) to increase the industrialinterest and market relevance in cellulose-richresidual streams, B) to increase the potential for these streams in resource-efficient processes for cellulose material production, and C) to network and increase knowledge in resource-efficient processesfor bioindustrial applications.

Methods we use:

The project was designed for a postdoc and was based on 7 smaller work packages to achieve the purpose and goals. The main focus was to develop and optimize the extraction of cellulose from selected cellulose-rich residues to validate the most resource-efficient extraction processes, based on material properties, material yield, and chemical and energy demand. The research was aimed to be of applied character and involve both industry and academia and is arranged holding a development phase (year 1) and an implementation phase (year 2).

Expected results and scientific impact:

The conclusions from this project were intended to point at various opportunities (incl. relevance of scaling up processes and market potential for outgoing cellulose material) to extract cellulose from waste streams to support strategic decisions on the choice of raw material, both for the companies involved and for other stakeholders in the cellulose industry where wood-based cellulose is traditionally the main raw material. The proposed activities in this postdoc project were intended to help to enable circular material flows that lead to a stronger circular economy.