Background The chemical and petrochemical sector is responsible for more than 30% of total industrial energy use worldwide (including feedstocks), and is by far the greatest industrial energy user. The phosphate industry is no exception. There is growing demand for phosphates, and especially polyphosphoric acid, from several sectors (pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, petrochemicals, road construction (asphalt), textiles, water treatment, fertilisers and others). In 2009, worldwide phosphate production reached more than 50 kilotonnes (kT), with an annual growth rate of 4.2%. More than 60% (31.91 kT) of this production is currently achieved via a thermal process (by applying heat), which has a major environmental impact and is very energy consuming. Objectives The project will establish a pilot process for the production of highly purified polyphosphoric acid (85% P2O5) using an innovative wet process, which is less polluting and more energy-efficient but more complex than the thermal process, meaning it is not widely used. The wet process consists of transforming phosphate rock into a first intermediate product, the "raw acid” (60% P2O5), which is then made into "purified acid" (63% P2O5), which can be finally converted into the purified polyphosphoric acid (85% P2O5). The project addresses this last step in the production process. A pilot-scale facility will be built at the beneficiary’s premises, composed of a flame chamber (the first sub-system and also the main innovative element), a second critical sub-system (the mass and energy recuperator), and finally the gas treatment equipment. This new patented process should substantially reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and should also reduce waste.