Room: Poster Area
Date: Friday, 22 May 2026
Time: 11:30 - 12:45 CEST
Session code IDV.3
Industrial session
From Agri-Food Residues to High-Performance Sustainable Polymers: The POLYMERS-5B Pathway Toward Circular Bioplastics
Short Introductive summary
The POLYMERS-5B project aims to transform under-utilised agri-food residues and wood-pulp derivatives into bio-renewable monomers for synthesising novel biobased and biodegradable polymers. By combining Biocatalysis, Green Chemistry, and Artificial Intelligence, the project contributes to replacing fossil-based plastics with sustainable alternatives for industrial applications. The work focuses on the design, synthesis, and validation of high-performance bio-polymers through: (1) extraction and characterisation of renewable monomers from second-generation feedstocks; (2) AI-assisted polymer informatics to simulate structure–property relationships and guide polymer design; (3) chemo-enzymatic synthesis of polyesters, polyamides, and poly-furans under mild, solvent-free or aqueous mini-emulsion conditions; (4) formulation of bio-composites tailored to industrial prototypes; and (5) SSbD and LCA to ensure environmental and socio-economic viability. In parallel, the consortium applies the NSB Go To Market Matrix Framework to monitor technology and business readiness levels, aligning technical progress with market and adoption readiness from the early stages of project implementation.
Presenter
Riccardo VAROTTO
NSBproject, ITALY
Presenter's biography
Senior Project Manager with twenty years of experience in the design and management of international initiatives, supporting the innovation processes of companies in the framework of European Research & Development Circular Economy and Bioeconomy projects, such as POLYMERS-5B and GREEN-LOOP.
Biographies and Short introductive summaries are supplied directly by presenters and are published here unedited
Co-authors:
R. Varotto, NSBproject, Mantova, ITALY
A. Jester, NSBproject, Mantova, ITALY
Session reference: IDV.3.35