Bioeconomy

Upcycling of lignin - 26/10/2021

Bioeconomic model project: vanillin from process industry residues

Extracting vanillin from lignin dissolved in black liquor and developing it into a process that can be scaled up for industry is a bioeconomic approach that researchers at Biberach University of Applied Sciences and Ulm University are pursuing in a five-year project.

Article - 13/09/2017

Flexible biogas plant operation – new concepts for stabilising bioenergy provision

The lack of flexibility with regard to peak demand for electricity – both for consumers and producers – is a well-known problem as far as the production of electricity from renewable resources is concerned. Biogas plants present a particular challenge due to the complex and relatively slow microbial processes involved. A research project called FLEXIZUCKER at the Universities of Ulm and Göttingen aims to make biogas production more flexible and…

Article - 25/04/2016

The aluminium trees of Sulawesi

Trees of the genus Symplocos in the Indonesian mountain rainforest store so much aluminium in their leaves that it can be used for dyeing textiles. A research project at the University of Ulm aims to preserve the traditional dyeing methods of Indonesian weavers, protect these rare trees and increase our knowledge of aluminium-accumulating plants.

Article - 24/06/2013

Researchers turn Swabian Alb into open-air laboratory

The Schwäbische Alb or Swabian Alb in southern Germany is one of three locations in Germany where, since 2008, huge numbers of scientists have been exploring the relationship between species diversity, land use and their role for ecosystems processes. The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding these huge open-air laboratories, also known as biodiversity exploratories, from 2006 to 2017.

Article - 16/05/2012

Ecologists can drive forward biogas research too

The biologist Prof. Dr. Marian Kazda from Ulm has worked on biogas research for many years. However, he occupies a particular niche in that he approaches the topic from the point of view of a problem-oriented ecologist. The 55-year-old is head of the Institute of Systematic Botany and Ecology at the University of Ulm and his specific field of research is plant ecology. It was his work on wetlands that first got him interested in biogas research.

Article - 19/03/2012

Goal: online glucose sensor for bioreactors

Microorganisms and sensitive cells that are grown in bioreactors need a well-regulated environment and a food supply in order to do what they are supposed to do: grow and produce biomass and metabolites. Many fermenters are equipped with sensors that continuously measure critical bioprocess parameters, including temperature, pH value and oxygen. Online glucose and ethanol sensors are not yet used in regulated bioreactors, even though they would…

Article - 02/05/2011

Learning from corals’ virtuoso handling of light

There are research projects where the development of a hypothesis is as exciting as the final results. A project at the Ulm-based institute ILM that is being funded under the Molecular Bionics programme is one of such projects. This immediately becomes clear when Raimund Hibst ILM director and project coordinator refers to it as a risky and ambitious project. If everything goes according to plan the ILM will be able to improve photovoltaic plants…

Article - 09/12/2010

‘Sniffer dogs’ working for the agrochemical industry

As a chemistry student in the 1980s, Thomas Class focused on the investigation of environmental toxins such as dioxin and PCB under the supervision of Professor Karlheinz Ballschmiter. Back then, everybody was talking about the “environment”. The public as well as students and professors at the University of Ulm were all fascinated by the subject. Ulm University institutes were renamed to reflect this interest in the environment. While some of…

Article - 31/07/2010

Tanja Weil: solutions involving biohybrid materials

Tanja Weil travelled across half the globe in order to be able to start her new position as the head of the Institute of Organic Chemistry III Macromolecular Chemistry and Organic Materials at the University of Ulm on 1 May 2010. Prior to her current position the 36-year-old chemist was associate professor at the renowned National University of Singapore and is now trying to bridge her discipline with the disciplines of biology medicine and the…

Article - 28/10/2009

Worn down and financially exhausted, but more popular than ever

When academic toxicologists in a German state join forces, it is virtually headline news. This is because the discipline is on the red list. Only in Baden-Württemberg does the number of toxicologists at university institutes justify the joining of forces. The ironic thing about this is that the competence of the rare species ”toxicologicus” is in greater demand than ever.

Dossier - 15/07/2008

Science communication: why science is becoming more and more public

Science needs publicity. Publicly funded research has to account for its projects internally as well as externally. In the past accounting for projects was a matter dealt with in courtly or academic circles today the forum is research journals. This internal communication seldom reaches the public however external communication seeks out the wider lay audience - for many reasons.