Within the CIRCOPLAST project, VITO’s SPOT team is developing sustainable, bio-based flame retardants as alternatives to conventional brominated flame retardants (BFRs). By replacing problematic additives with renewable solutions, this work supports CIRCOPLAST’s ambition to enable safer recycling and reuse of plastic waste streams that are currently difficult to process.
A central element of VITO’s contribution is the use of depolymerised lignin as a renewable feedstock for flame-retardant additives. Produced via VITO’s LignoValue pilot infrastructure, these lignin-derived bio-aromatics offer a promising route towards halogen-free formulations that combine fire safety performance with improved sustainability.
In CIRCOPLAST, the focus is not only to assess the potential of depolymerised lignin itself, but VITO will also focus on its phosphorylation to create higher-performance flame-retardant additives. This chemical modification is expected to enhance flame-retardant efficiency while preserving the renewable character of the lignin-based building blocks.
Importantly, the flame retardants developed by SPOT will be bromine-free and BPA-free, contributing to safer-by-design material solutions for circular plastics applications.
The developed additives will be evaluated in both PLA and WEEE-relevant plastic materials, linking bio-based additive development to application areas where safer and more circular flame-retardant solutions are urgently needed.
VITO’s contribution highlights three key strengths. First, lignin provides a renewable flame-retardant feedstock, helping reduce reliance on fossil-based and problematic chemistries. Second, the project team is developing halogen-free formulations designed to combine fire safety with improved sustainability. Third, these materials offer strong circularity potential, through integration into recyclability and bio-based material systems.
By incorporating lignin-derived bioaromatics fractions, the developed additives can increase the share of renewable carbon in flame-retardant formulations while maintaining compatibility with polymer matrices. This work is supported by VITO’s PILLAR II and LignoValue pilot facilities, which provide a reliable source of lignin-based bio-aromatics and the infrastructure needed to support application-oriented innovation.
Through this contribution, VITO aims to help accelerate the transition towards safer, more sustainable and more circular plastics, in line with the overall objectives of CIRCOPLAST.
Date of publication: July 2026
