The transition towards a circular economy is increasing the demand for biobased materials that can replace fossil-based alternatives in technical applications. At the same time, large volumes of agro-food residues, such as rice straw, wheat straw, rice husk, olive stone, grape pomace or lemon peel, remain underused despite their potential as raw materials for new products.
However, transforming these heterogeneous residues into functional materials requires specific processing technologies capable of ensuring performance, reproducibility and compatibility with industrial applications. This is particularly relevant in sectors such as construction, transport, textiles, footwear, cosmetics and nutraceuticals, where companies are seeking more sustainable materials without compromising technical requirements.
To address this need, AGROMATTER brings together five complementary technology centres to develop circular economy solutions based on agro-food residues, including nonwoven fabrics, thermoset composites, polymer-particle composites and cosmetic products for technical and commercial applications.
AGROMATTER develops several biobased solutions aimed at transforming agro-food residues into functional materials and products for industrial applications.
Nonwoven fabrics: this line uses wet-laid processing to produce fibre-based materials from rice straw and wheat straw, with potential applications in construction and industrial sectors.
Thermoset composites: this line applies resin transfer moulding to incorporate residues such as rice straw, wheat straw, broccoli by-products and dehydrated lemon into composite materials for construction, industrial and transport applications.
Polymer-particle composites: this line combines glue-blending and thermocompression moulding to process rice straw, rice husk, wheat straw, river cane and olive stone into biobased composite materials for construction, industrial and footwear applications.
Cosmetic products: this line uses agro-food by-products such as grape pomace, lemon peel, rice husk and olive stone to develop liquid and solid cosmetic formulations through hot emulsion, cold mixing and pressing techniques.
The technology has been validated on a laboratory scale.
Benefits:
- Agro-food waste valorisation.
- Lower use of fossil-based materials.
- Biobased materials for multiple sectors.
- Adaptable processing technologies.
- Integration into industrial value chains.
- Support for circular economy strategies.
The represented institution is looking for industrial partners interested in implementing the developed biobased solutions through pilots, demonstrators or future commercial exploitation.
Institution: AITEX
TRL: 4-5
Protection Status: Know-how
Contact: Begoña Iborra | biborra@viromii.com