EU FP7 Project CoPIRIDE – towards new production and factory concepts for a sustainable and competitive European chemical industry

This issue of Green Processing and Synthesis is mainly dedicated to the results of the large-scale integrated EU FP7 project CoPIRIDE which just ended on 31.08.2013 after 4 years project run time. The project title CoPIRIDE standing for “Combining Process Intensification-driven Manufacture of Microstructured Reactors and Process Design Regarding to Industrial Dimensions and Environment” gives already a first condensed circumscription of the main project contents. The ultimate ambition of CoPIRIDE with a budget of €16.9 million has been to develop a new modular production and factory concept for the chemical industry using adaptable plants with flexible output for intensified processes under consideration of ecological sustainability and economic viability. All main efforts within CoPIRIDE have been grouped around specific chemical processes as concrete application background. The main chemical processes have been thereby defined and supervised by industrial partners in the project. Finally in all cases piloting activities have been done for demonstrating central project results also above the level of the improvement of the chemical process itself: – biomass gasification in view of decentralized ammonia production (industry partner: ITI Energy Ltd.) – biodiesel production (Chemtex Italia srl) – synthesis of a special polymer in a two-step process, the polymerization itself followed by a hydrogenation reaction (Evonik Industries AG) – epoxidation of soybean oil (Mythen S.p.A.)