The project

LIFE BIOPOL is a project co-financed by European Union as part of the LIFE 2014-2020 program.

The project involves five public and private members: CODYECO, chemical company responsible for project coordination, DERCOSA and INPELSA tanneries, University Ca’ Foscari of Venice and ILSA a biotechnology company specializing in plant-nutrition products.

The LIFE BIOPOL main target is the synthesis of a new class of biopolymers that represent an innovative, eco-fiendly and suitable alternative to traditional products based on petrochemicals, currently used in leather making process.

Biopolymers are produced using as raw material some industrial by products like animal and vegetable biomasses from Bio-Refineries.

1. To design and build up an Industrial Prototype Plant able to produce green chemicals
2. To produce Bio-Polymers using as raw materials some industrial by-products from agro-chemical and leather industries,
3. To enhance re-using of biomasses and by-products otherwise disposed in landfill or incinerated,
4. To prove that the new green chemicals have same or better quality performances than petrochemical agents through the application in leather making process,

The most important expected results of the project are the following:

1. Sensible increasing of biomasses re-use, around 80-90% in comparison to the current practice,
2. Reduction of 70-90% of the hazardous substances normally found in conventional chemicals used in leather making process.
3. Discharged leather-process effluents content reduction of :

• 20-30% of COD,
• 50-60% of Inorganic salts,
• 90% of Cr (III) salts.

1. Reactivity enhancement of 30-40% of the new biopolymers compared to the current leather application technology
2. Reduction of 20% of the water used in the leather process compared to the current leather application technology
3. Reduction of 70-80% of the Product Environmental Footprint of the new Biopolymers related to the current tanning, retanning and fatliquoring agents.