Grassification
Grassification
Priority Axis
Resource Efficient EconomySpecific objective
Circular Economy
Lead partner
Ghent UniversityContact
Begindatum
01/03/2018Einddatum
30/11/2021Project budget
4 421 518 €ERDF amount
2 522 975 €ERDF rate
57%Over
Common challenge
Roadside grass clippings are a problem fraction throughout the 2 Seas Programme area due to their high volume, subject to high processing costs. The industrial sector, however, is interested in the possibility of using roadside grass clippings as an alternative resource (as opposed to fossil sources or dedicated agricultural produce).
The common challenges for applying roadside grass clippings as a renewable feedstock in industrial processes are currently threefold:
- the supply chains are not yet optimal, resulting in higher costs
- a highly variable and heterogeneous supply
- an unsupportive institutional framework leading to legal and political challenges
The opportunities to be addressed by the Grassification project can thus be situated at different levels of the roadside grass clippings value chain, hindering altogether the use of grass clippings by the industry as a renewable resource (and thus hampering the pursuit of a biobased and circular economy).
Overall objective
Main outputs
Cross border approach
Main Achievements
The Grassification project aims at valorizing roadside grass clippings. In a transborder cooperation between Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK, 13 partners want to transition towards the use of roadside grass clippings as a renewable resource for biobased products.
The whole value chain for grass clippings valorization is being assessed, starting from the optimization of the input material to the obtaining of final products up to the techno-economical assessment of the entire process and the development of policy recommendations. A public procurement model has been developed and is being validated with the collaboration of Belgian and British partners to increase the quantity and quality of grass clippings available. A new mowing head was developed for reducing the sand content in the grass clippings, thus increasing their potential for further processing.
For the bulk processing of grass clippings, a 700 T cell was constructed in the landfill of Vanheede for biogas production; two batches have been successfully conducted. The partners are now investigating possible uses of the digested fibers for producing biomaterials. The high-quality undigested grass fibers were also tested for the production of building materials and bio-composites, and several prototypes, including a cardholder, a picnic set, naturepath planks and building structures, have been produced.
The liquid fraction obtained from the pressing of grass clippings was tested for the production of biogas, fertilizers, and protein (insects and microalgae). Biogas production was successful. The use of the liquid fraction as fertilizer proved to be challenging and new tests are planned for 2021 to better assess this application. Finally, the liquid fraction proved to be a good nutrient source for microalgae and this application will be further investigated in a spin-off national project in Flanders.
All of these potential pathways have been inserted in a product flow diagram, which forms the base for a techno-economic assessment of the main value-chains. The set-up of the supply chain optimization model has been done and, thanks to the transnational character of the project, the collection of data across the three regions is being conducted and a policy roadmap is being made. Based on all these results, the Grassification project will reinforce institutional framework conditions, necessary to make the shift towards recycling and preventing the loss of valuable material.