The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland hosted the second Rehap consortium meeting, where partners came together to discuss the overall progress of the project, looking closely at results and developments from specific studies such as the life-cycle analysis (LCA), and lay strategies for future activities and actions.
Partners from D’Appolonia (DAPP) commenced by presenting information on key performance parameters for the sustainability, energy and techno-economical evaluation project, identifying the key partners for each production chain, the data required, and pending plans for partners to deliver price information and possible by/ co-products for benchmark analysis.
Mr. Axel Tuma from the University of Augsburg, Germany, presented partners with data gathered from the first deliverable on agroforestry and displayed interesting results on where biomass reso
urces are available in Europe. Click here: Raw material potential for biopolymers in Europe.
Partners Cartif, explained their study on quality standards and protocols of agricultural materials – in particular wheat, maize and barley - in order to determine critical strictures and prevent issues such as the over reaping of materials, and to set regulations that ensure the final product meets set standards and purpose. A biomass database has been created to keep track of the results from biomasses treated within the project.
Further discussions followed on the optimisation of biomass waste streams, with several partners presenting materials they will be testing for the development of final products. For example, a smaller sample is needed of wheat straw lignin cake for further characterisation and content testing, and increased testing of spruce bark is needed for improved tannin yield.
In light of these technical 
developments, Mr. Hendrik Waegeman explained the upscaling capacities and equipment’s available at BBEPP for future processing.
Finally, Insight Publishers Ltd. presented updates on the project communication and dissemination and the work done so far in raising the profile of Rehap and the development of the Rehap website.
The meeting ended with partners presenting a number of actions to be completed over the next six months, to be reviewed in October 2017.
