Academy allocates 7.5 million euros for research on sustainable production

The main aim of the Research Programme on Sustainable Production and Products is to strengthen basic research in process engineering and chemistry with a view to supporting future industrial research and development. Important advances and breakthroughs are expected among other fields in the recycling of raw materials, waste reduction and new product and production innovations.

One of the projects funded under the programme’s umbrella is a joint research venture between the University of Oulu and the Lappeenranta University of Technology, which is aimed at facilitating the use of biomass from agriculture in the production of paper, green chemicals and bioenergy. Ultimately the goal is to create a model of an eco-efficient biorefinery, which would comprise the self-sufficient production of energy and process chemicals, the integrated production of paper and paper chemicals from lignocellulose and the re-use of biomass in high value added products. Furthermore, the project is aimed at minimising the biorefinery’s freshwater use. In charge of this project is Professor Juha Tanskanen from the University of Oulu.

Another joint venture is a project in which researchers from the University of Oulu and Helsinki University of Technology will be working to develop new kinds of eco-efficiency indicators for industrial ecology. The aim here is to gain a better understanding of the variation resulting from the time and scale limitations of the indicators. The research project will offer a comprehensive, comparative and systems-level analysis of the eco-efficiency of the case industrial eco-systems. The project is conducted under the direction of Professor Kari Heiskanen from Helsinki University of Technology.

The projects funded under the Research Programme on Sustainable Production and Products (KETJU) are listed at www.aka.fi/ketju