The INNOBITE project transformed agricultural and urban waste, like wheat straw and recycled paper, into high-performance biocomposites for sustainable construction.
Project Goals
Funded by the EU’s FP7 program with €3.2 million, it extracted silica, lignin, and cellulose from wheat straw via integrated biorefinery processes, plus microfibrillated cellulose from paper pulp. These became biodegradable matrices and reinforcements mimicking wood’s properties without compromising strength.
Key Achievements
Innovations included novel silica extraction at industrial scale and low-energy biocomposites exceeding 95% bio-based content for panels and building elements. Coordinated by Tecnalia (Spain) with partners like VTT (Finland) and EMPA (Switzerland), it targeted green construction markets while cutting resource use and emissions.
