BioGlue (EN)

During the wastewater treatment process, sludge is produced. We convert substances from this sludge into glue. The sewage sludge is no longer expensive waste, but a raw material.

In short:

  • During the wastewater treatment process, sludge is produced, a waste product.
  • From sewage sludge, EPS (extracellular polymeric substances) can be extracted. The extracted EPS consist mainly of polysaccharides and proteins, a potential raw material for adhesives.
  • We are investigating whether the EPS extracted from sludge could be an alternative protein source for glues.
  • This is how you give waste a second life.

Contact

maarten.bartels@kdg.be

+32 3 502 22 27

  • Funding: PWO
  • Duration of research: 1 January 2021 - 31 December 2024
  • Research centre Sustainable Industries
  • Partners:
    • Watercircle
    • Aaqua
    • VLAKWA
    • Group on The Beeck
    • Verbeken technics
    • Klaasen & Co
    • UAntwerpen research group BioWAVE
    • Aquafin
    • Henkel
    • Cre@aqua

During the wastewater treatment process, sludge is produced. At regular intervals, some sludge has to be removed. This removed sludge is called sludge sl udge. Sludge is considered a waste product. Companies that have wastewater treatment plants will have to pay to have their sludge removed. If this sluice sludge can be valorised through the extraction of EPS, companies can reduce the cost of removing the sluice sludge. The sludge will no longer be seen as a waste product, but as a raw material.

EPS (extracellular polymeric substances) can be extracted from sluice sludge. The extracted EPS consist mainly of polysaccharides and proteins. Protein-rich raw materials (e.g. press cake from deder) are already currently used in some glues (e.g. paper and wood glues). It is being investigated whether EPS extracted from sludge could be an alternative protein source for glues.

Water-soluble

Most adhesives currently commercially available contain an organic solvent as solvent. Organic solvents are toxic to humans and the environment. EPS are water-soluble, if used in an adhesive formulation , the adhesive no longer needs to contain organic solvents.

This research aims to produce an adhesive formulation containing EPS extracted from sluice sludge. This formulation should have at least the same efficiency as adhesives currently commercially available.

Pilot scale

EPS-based adhesive formulations are created and tested at lab scale. If the tests are positive, we will switch to pilot-scale production. After each test, there will be feedback to the creation of the formulation. In parallel, we will look at which types of sludge (from which sector) are most favourable and how the purification process can be adjusted to make the composition of the EPS more favourable for use in glue.

At the end of the project, an adhesive formulation will be available and a report will be produced stating which types of sludge are favourable for EPS extraction and what adjustments can be made during the purification process to improve the EPS composition.

Want to know more, collaborate or have a press question?

You can collaborate with our research centre Sustainable Industries on topics such as:

  • Greening chemical processes and reusing waste streams.
  • AI-based tools developed in-house, to optimise your processes and products.
  • Developing alternative propulsion systems, alternative fuel systems, and emission measurements of internal combustion engines.
  • Vehicle data analyses using simulations and reverse engineering on CAN bus systems.

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