The university's activities for Sustainable Development and Goal 12 presented in the reports for 2021-2022 and 2020-2021 "Lodz University of Technology on the path of sustainable development".
Guided by the principles of sustainable development, the team from the Institute of Food Technology and Analysis has developed a technology for obtaining packaging from plant waste, and not from raw materials originally intended primarily for consumption, so as not to take away from future generations the production and nutritional raw material.
The developed technology assumes the use of up to 65-90% of various plant production waste in the production of packaging and disposable dishes. The manufacturing methods used and the developed recipes assume the use of only natural raw materials, without the use of chemical compounds. The introduction of these solutions allowed us to design an innovative edible packaging
made from vegetable and waste raw material. The method has been filed for patent protection.
Currently, there is a huge problem associated with the disposal of polymer waste, and above all disposable packaging for food, cosmetics and other articles. Most often, such packaging cannot be reworked due to the fact that they have admixtures of various polymers in their composition.
A rational solution seems to be the production of biodegradable materials, produced from plant polymers, which for several years has been the main goal of the Faculty of Chemistry, TUL. The introduction of this solution to the market will be beneficial for people and the environment, because green packaging, based on plant raw materials, will solve the problem of disposal of packaging materials.
The agri-food industry generates large amounts of waste biomass. Scientists from the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences are developing technologies that will allow to manage bio-waste in an effective and multidirectional way.
The research is carried out in the BIOSTRATEG project financed by the National Centre for Research and Development. As part of the project, an experimental pulp dryer was carried out, using waste heat from the sugar factory. The results of this research were commercialised after the end of the project, which is already bringing measurable economic and environmental effects.
The developed technologies received 5 gold medals at international exhibitions of inventions and the "Łódź Eureka" statuette awarded by the Council for Higher Education and Science at the President of the City of Lodz for outstanding scientific achievements.
In the era of the growing amount of plastic waste from industry, proper packaging management is extremely important. Biodegradable packaging is gaining an increasing share of the global market.
An innovative solution of scientists from the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences is a film with properties that extend the shelf life of food, and at the same time fully biodegradable and compostable. This solution may in the future become an important element of the packaging market in the context of pro-ecological changes.
For their idea in 2020, the team of scientists received a nomination in the prestigious Polish Intelligent Development 2020 competition in the Scientists of the Future category and a distinction in the "I have an idea for a startup" 2020 edition organized by the City of Lodz. The title of the awarded project is "Biodegradable packaging for food packaging with shelf life properties –
Biofoil with Chicory/ Naturefoil".
The Institute of Natural Products and Cosmetics of Lodz University of Technology conducts research on new ingredients
of cosmetic masses obtained from vegetable oils after the ozonolysis process.
It is on the basis of such experimental substances that the cosmetics of the future will be created, thanks to which the industry
will give up the addition of preservatives, such as parabens or formaldehyde derivatives. The final product is ozone-free and
environmentally friendly.
Scientists from the Institute of Marketing and Sustainable Development implement the project: "Sustainability and Procurement
in International, European and National Systems – SAPIENS Network", funded under the EU's Horizon 2020 programme Marie Curie Skłodowska.
The project is the world's largest interdisciplinary doctoral program, combining the issues of sustainable development and public procurement. In order to implement the principles of sustainable development in the practice of public procurement, economists, lawyers and engineers have joined forces.
Scientists from the Institute of Turbomachinery, the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering and the Institute of General and Ecological Chemistry are working on a prototype of a device for the safe processing of aerosol containers. The research
is carried out as part of the ECO-AEROSOL project obtained from NCBiR by CSD-ECO.
Industrial Biotechnology students as part of the PBL project at IFE, developed a material that is vegan leather.
Apleather is very strong and durable, and above all it is fully biodegradable and does not contain substances harmful to the environment. In addition, the material can be easily dyed, which makes it attractive for the production of consumer goods.
In the 4th edition of the nationwide Stena Circular Economy Award – Leader of the Circular Economy in the category "Proposals for the implementation of circular economy", an idea submitted by students of Lodz University of Technology was distinguished.
Students of Management and Production Engineering were awarded for the project "Reusable courier packaging". Its aim is to minimise waste production by introducing reusable packaging from "green" polymers.
A team of researchers from the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences at TUL has developed an innovative technology for obtaining durable biodegradable foil based on starch. Although this foil base material has many advantages (including being compostable), at the same time it easily absorbs water and can be weakened during use. Additionally, it is subject to aging, making it more susceptible to tearing. Researchers from TUL have managed to largely overcome these drawbacks by introducing an additive to the starch foil, which is an organic acid found in many grains. This leads to a reduction in water absorption, gas permeability and susceptibility to rupture of the foil made from such modified starch. Chicory root extract was added to the starch foil to give it antibacterial properties.
In the form of thin foil, this material can be used to produce pouches, sachets, tray wrappers for packaging food or cosmetics that are mainly solid. Trays or disposable dishes can also be extruded from the designed material. The final stage of technological works is being carried out at the machinery park of the Institute of New Chemical Syntheses in Puławy, where further technological trials are planned. Researchers from TUL are one step away from offering finished foil on a roll, which will enable a transition to industrial use of the material. The technology has been filed for a patent.
As part of a PBL project at the IFE, students majoring in Industrial Biotechnology have developed a material that is vegan leather. The project using apple waste may appeal to all environmental enthusiasts. Appleather is very strong, durable and, most importantly, fully biodegradable. It also contains no environmentally harmful substances. In addition, the material can be easily dyed, which makes it attractive for the production of consumer goods. Producing eco-leather from fruit doesn't generate much cost either, so the students' idea seems really innovative, but at this stage it still needs a few improvements. The material is not waterproof, which limits the possibilities of its application, but the team intends to continue the work and thus improve the invention. In October 2021, the TUL students talked about their invention in the program Dzień dobry TV.
Cosmetics obtained on the basis of natural raw materials, devoid of any synthetic "enhancers" are in great demand today. At the Institute of Natural Resources and Cosmetics of TUL, research is being conducted on new components of cosmetic masses obtained from vegetable oils after ozonolysis. The starting point for the research work is olive oil and rapeseed oil, among others. Each of these biomaterials is a reservoir of potentially valuable chemical compounds. Treatment which consists in introducing ozone into the vegetable oil allows to further expand the range of these compounds. After treatment, an oil-based cosmetic product has a more pleasant scent, is noticeably less allergenic, and provides better hydration when spread on the body. Ozonated vegetable oil shows anti-aging, regenerative and antibacterial properties. The final product prepared on its basis is ozone-free and environmentally friendly.
The work carried out at the Institute confirms that ozonated vegetable oil can be successfully incorporated into the composition of a cosmetic mass, and its sensory and functional contribution will favour the overall characteristics of the finished preparation. It is on the basis of such experimental substances that cosmetics of the future will be created, thanks to which the industry will stop using preservatives such as parabens or formaldehyde derivatives. The problem of searching for promising ingredients for the production of cosmetic masses is being systematically developed within the framework of the Institute's work. The use of ozone is one of a variety of tools available to scientists. In 2021, progress in this field was expanded to include an entirely new area of research that entails using natural modification processes involving microorganisms.
Researchers from the Institute of Marketing and Sustainable Development are implementing the project: "Sustainability and Procurement in International, European and National Systems - SAPIENS Network," funded under the EU's Horizon 2020 Marie Curie Skłodowska program. The project constitutes the world's largest interdisciplinary doctoral program combining aspects of sustainable development and procurement. The project represents the world's largest interdisciplinary doctoral program combining sustainability and procurement issues. Economists, lawyers and engineers have joined forces to implement sustainable development principles in public procurement practice. In 2022, the Faculty of Organization and Management hosted the so-called Advance Training Course (ATC) on sustainable supply chain issues. Nearly 70 participants from around the world attended the event both onsite and online. The first day was dedicated to tools allowing for more sustainable supply chain management, such as standards, life cycle analyses and eco-labelling. The role of the product itself and product design was also discussed. The second day was dedicated to social issues such as human rights in supply chain management. More information about the project.
Researchers from the Faculty of Materials Technology and Textile Design are working on an innovative product in the form of biodegradable foil that contains a printed-on sensor of temperature change from negative to positive in an irreversible way. The use of this type of product in frozen food packaging will make it possible to objectively determine whether a thawing and refreezing step occurred after freezing in further transportation processes or during storage. In addition, the research is intended to develop biodegradable foil that can be used on products subjected to deep-freezing. The main product of the project will be innovative packaging that actively and intelligently monitors the quality of frozen food. Thus, the innovation will also directly and indirectly influence and be incorporated into supply cycle management, storage, optimization of distribution chains, storage and reduction of food losses (at each stage of the production-transport-store-consumer chain).
Today, the textile and apparel industry is the second largest industry that burdens the environment - right after the fuel industry. The GreenTEX (Sustainable Design and Process in Textiles for Higher Education) project responds to the related needs of modern education and the labour market by addressing the area of sustainable textiles. As part of the project, innovative solutions and courses of action will be developed, so that in the future the textile and apparel industry will become less carcinogenic, and the user will be able to obtain a safe high-quality product. The materials prepared will not only include specific solutions but will also demonstrate a whole range of possibilities of sustainable actions that can be used in education and business. TUL is working on the project in cooperation with universities from the Czech Republic (Technická Univerzita in Liberec), Portugal (Universidade De Aveiro), Croatia (Sveuciliste in Zagreb) and Lithuania (Kauno Technologijos Universitetas).
Relevant regulations have been adopted at TUL, obliging all TUL organizational units to observe certain principles of waste management, and in particular the hierarchy of actions applicable to waste management, consisting in: preventing waste generation; minimizing the amount of waste produced; ensuring recovery of waste compliant with environmental protection principles; ensuring environmentally compliant disposal of waste whose generation could not be prevented or which could not be recovered; selective collection of waste at the place of its generation, and its classification in accordance with the waste catalogue binding under the regulations.
The University conducts selective waste collection in accordance with the law and out of concern for the planet. In each building, in publicly accessible areas, there are points equipped with containers for selective collection of waste: paper, glass, metals and plastics, bio, and leftover after segregation. Waste is transferred to pergolas located on the Campuses, where waste is placed in appropriate marked containers. In addition, caps for charity and batteries are also collected at some locations. A "Manual for Handling Hazardous Waste, Including Chemical Waste at TUL" has also been developed. It contains provisions on, among other things, detailed handling of chemical waste, a description of the organizational structure of a hazardous waste collection and storage system, the principles of operation of a chemical waste collection and elimination system, etc. Individual organizational units of TUL have their own plenipotentiaries for hazardous waste management.
Every year, millions of tons of rubber waste, including tires, end their lives and become a huge environmental challenge. Disposing of end-of-life tires is an environmental and economic problem due to their volume and durability. A team of scientists from the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences and the Centre for Papermaking and Printing at TUL has developed a method to partially recycle a used tire and create biodegradable packaging that is completely impervious to air. The team has not stopped at further improving the functionality of the composite and is working on reducing its hydrophilicity. The researchers are also testing ways to combine bacterial cellulose with plant cellulose.