Biowaste to Products (BW2Pro)

© Reinhardt/ifeu

As part of the ERDF funding programme ‘Bioeconomy Bio-Ab-Cycling’, the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector is funding the construction of modular biorefineries. These test on a pilot scale how high-quality raw materials can be recovered from waste and wastewater using a sustainable bioeconomy. The ‘Biowaste to products (BW2Pro)’ project is testing and demonstrating the most holistic material utilisation of biowaste possible. For this purpose, an existing biowaste recycling plant of the Rems-Murr waste management company is being expanded into a decentralised biorefinery with the possibility of extracting secondary raw materials and end products.

ifeu Heidelberg is responsible for the ecological assessment of BW2Pro. The various utilisation options, including the BW2Pro solution approach, are evaluated from an ecological perspective using life cycle assessments. This takes place over the entire duration of the project and ensures the successive optimisation of the technical and system solutions developed in the project from an overall ecological perspective. The aim is always to provide prompt feedback to the partners on the environmental impact of the respective developments and important adjustments in this regard. In addition, an ecological assessment of the conventional production of the substituted products is carried out, against which the results of the recycling options are measured. The existing disposal routes are also ecologically assessed and compared with the results of the recycling options in order to provide evidence of their ecological benefits. The existing and future utilisation options for biowaste masses and the various options for alignment with the production targets of a biorefinery are assessed and evaluated.

Project consortium and tasks

The project runs from October 2021 to March 2024 and is funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector, co-financed by the European Union. The overall project coordination is carried out by the Institute of Sanitary Engineering, Water Quality and Waste Management (ISWA) at the University of Stuttgart.