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Green Projects Awards reward research on Green Detergents

The research on green detergents, developed in the thesis of Nuno Faria, PhD of MIT Portugal Program (MPP), Frederico Ferreira, Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico and MPP, and César Fonseca, Researcher responsible for the FCT project "TAKE-OFF" at the Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia (LNEG), was distinguished with the Jerónimo Martins/Green Project Awards, in the Research and Development category, an award that results from a Call evaluated by Quercus, the Portuguese Environment Agency and GCI, to reward sustainable development.

Over 90% of the detergents marketed today are chemically synthesized from non-renewable resources, not being in most cases biodegradable and therefore having significant environmental impact, particularly in water contamination. Even the biodetergents available on the market are produced from vegetable oils, competing directly with food production. This new technology develops the manufacture of green detergents from renewable resources, using biomass as raw material, thereby reducing the environmental impact and lowering production costs. It uses less intensive product purification processes and the resulting residues are biodegradable and non-toxic.

The process includes some of the operations used in the production of biofuels, specifically in second generation bioethanol (2G or lignocellulosic). The preparation of raw materials and enzymes is the same but with a different yeast, which instead of producing ethanol produces a glycolipid with biodetergent properties. At this moment the production takes place in the laboratory and takes 10 days, including the preparation of raw materials, bioconversion using yeasts cultivated in a bioreactor, and recovery and purification of the product obtained for subsequent application.

Green detergents are a sustainable alternative that can be used at home and in companies, as well as in other applications for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, with a very low environmental impact. The research has already given rise to an international patent, and the team is expecting the product to be commercialized soon, having initiated contact with national and international companies to develop the technology on an industrial scale. Other applications of this technology are also expected to be developed, with a view to a pipeline of environmentally friendly products.

This research is part of the objectives of the second phase of the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) - Portugal partnership, one of the four partnerships with American universities funded by the FCT. Renewed in November 2012 for another 5 years, the second phase of these partnerships foresees a greater emphasis on joint research projects between universities/research centers and companies, aimed at solving concrete problems and in which students and researchers participate. It is based on a shift of focus from post-graduate training and the creation of critical mass to a strengthening of innovation and entrepreneurship.

(From news from the MIT-Portugal Program)