Bioeconomy

Article - 01/06/2015

Cyanobacteria: real all-rounders – biofuel producers and climate savers

Prof. Dr. Annegret Wilde and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hess from the Institute of Biology III at the University of Freiburg have been using the versatile cyanobacteria for quite some time. The two researchers are part of the project "Cyanosys - Systems biology of cyanobacterial biofuel production", which aims to use cyanobacteria for the large-scale production of biofuels from sunlight and carbon dioxide.

Article - 18/05/2015

IneraTec: greenhouse gases for the production of synthetic fuels

The founders of the company IneraTec are developing a chemical reactor that can produce synthetic fuels from a broad range of different gas sources. What is completely new is the size of the reactor: it is no bigger than a desk. The IneraTec founders have found a way to design a compact reactor that fits into a container and only needs be connected to a gas source. At present, the reactor is set up to use methane as a source gas, but it has the…

Article - 26/01/2015

JatroSolutions: Jatropha oil for biofuel and more

Jatropha is an extremely hardy and frugal plant species native to tropical and subtropical areas where it grows on wasteland. Jatropha seeds contain large quantities of oil that can be processed into a variety of products such as biofuels, animal feed, cosmetics and organic fertiliser. However, few Jatropha species have been properly domesticated, and the yields of the plants that grow in the wild are too small to be economically viable. Jatropha…

Article - 01/12/2014

wusoa GmbH: What shall we do with manure? Liquid manure for decentralized small-scale biogas plants.

Biogas has become an alternative and sustainable energy resource. In 2013, the 7,850 biogas plants in Germany – including 858 in Baden-Württemberg – produced enough biogas to cover around seven percent of Germany’s total electricity needs. Martin Falger, managing director of wusoa GmbH in Stuttgart, explained in an interview with Sanja Fessl (BIOPRO) why he believes that small-scale biogas plants have a promising future. They expand the biogas…

Article - 03/11/2014

Modern biogas plant in a picturesque landscape

Biogas plants have become well-known sights throughout Germany and are usually built according to standardised concepts. The biogas plant that is currently being constructed in the village of Zermatt below the Matterhorn presented the GICON Großmann Ingenieur Consult GmbH planners with a particular challenge. The geographical and climatic conditions of the area and seasonal waste variations due to seasonally fluctuating tourist numbers required…

Dossier - 30/09/2014

Industrial biotechnology: a challenging change to the raw material base

Biogenic raw materials have never been as popular as they are now. Efforts to tap renewable carbon resources are already underway, despite the fact that new oil drilling technologies are boosting fossil fuel stockpiles. In the medium term, industry will have to expand its raw materials base, and in the long term it may have to renew it completely. Industrial biotechnology is one of the key technologies in the transition from an economy based on…

Article - 22/09/2014

Heike Frühwirth brings engineering methods into the hype about algae

Heike Frühwirth is not terribly taken by the euphoria surrounding the potential of algae. She knows better as she has become aware of the potential pitfalls from her own personal experience. Frühwirth was born in the Austrian city of Graz where she also studied process engineering. She has been in charge of process engineering under the industrial biotechnology study programme at Biberach University of Applied Sciences since 2012. She specializes…

Press release - 03/12/2013

Bioeconomy in Baden-Württemberg – status report

BIOPROs Bioeconomy Baden-Württembergs path towards a sustainable future status report provides insights into the world of bioeconomy and also information about the measures that the Baden-Württemberg government is taking to support the transition from a fossil-fuel economy to one based on biological resources. The bilingual English and German report can be downloaded from the BIOPRO website.

Article - 28/10/2013

University of Hohenheim – a strong commitment to the bioeconomy

The bioeconomy is not only a major social challenge. It is also a complex thematic area that covers many scientific fields. The University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart has just published a strategy paper with the bioeconomy as a core topic of its research activities. Heike Laue talked with the universitys rector Prof. Dr. Stephan Dabbert about the paper.

Article - 16/09/2013

Biomass conversion – KIT method takes a pragmatic path

“We can do in ten minutes what nature took millions of years to complete,” said Henning Bockhorn from the Engler-Bunte Institute at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) referring to a method which his team developed for the energy supplier Energie Baden-Württemberg (EnBW). The patented method enables biomass to be converted into a material similar to brown coal. The method is known as “biomass steam processing” (BSP) and is currently being…

Article - 21/05/2013

Green coal from plants – CO2 neutral and infinite

It is just a matter of time before coal and oil will run out. However, there are, it would seem, ways to counteract this situation. Plants can be turned into fossil energy carriers, with the added advantage that the combustion of plants on average only releases as much CO2 as the plants have previously absorbed from the atmosphere. Professor Andrea Kruse from the University of Hohenheim is developing methods for using whole green plants for the…

Article - 14/01/2013

Novel bioreactor and sponges that thin out light

Microalgae are veritable treasure troves. The cosmetics food and chemical industries already use algal metabolic products for various applications. In future the green unicellular organisms might also be grown on a large scale in photobioreactors installed on fallow land where they will be used as regenerative sources of energy. Mark Fresewinkel from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT is involved in a cooperative project aimed at…

Article - 29/10/2012

Hydrocarbons 3.0 – European Union decides to focus on bioeconomy

Industry is being greened. The EU has put in place schemes to boost the bioeconomy Germany Finland Norway Denmark and the Netherlands are working hard on bioeconomy strategies. Even regional stakeholders are developing concepts aimed at supporting the bioeconomy. Things are moving in the right direction.

On 17th October 2012, the Commission published a proposal to limit global land conversion for biofuel production, and raise the climate benefits of biofuels used in the EU. Through changes of the current legislation the Commission wants to promote biofuels that help achieving substantial emission cuts, do not directly compete with food and are more sustainable at the same time.

Article - 30/07/2012

Hydrogen technology – a future market segment worth billions

The importance of hydrogen as an energy carrier is expected to increase considerably over the next twenty years and play a key role in the worlds energy supply by 2050. An industrial sector offering technology infrastructure and services related to the use of hydrogen will evolve alongside this growth. The Biotechnology Forum in Freiburg on 19th September will focus on the potential future role of biotechnologically produced hydrogen.

Article - 18/06/2012

Bioenergy villages: biogas sets the tone

In 2011 Baden-Württemberg was home to around 37 bioenergy villages and several others are under construction or in the planning phase. Bioenergy villages produce all of their electricity and energy for heating locally from renewable resources such as maize and wood electricity is mainly generated from biogas.

Article - 14/05/2012

What bacteria can teach us about efficient methane production

Professor Bernhard Schink from the University of Konstanz has been focused on different aspects of the interaction of fermenting bacteria and methanogenic archaea for more than 25 years. Archaea have the unique ability to produce methane at the threshold of viability. The biologists research group is seeking to obtain insights into how prokaryotes such as those found in Lake Constance sediments are able to survive under anaerobic conditions.…

Article - 14/05/2012

Making money with waste – biogas

At a time when energy crops are competing with food crops for agricultural land, the company n-bio GmbH is doing something positive by turning what is considered waste into bioenergy. This not only reduces waste disposal costs, but also protects the environment. The technically highly sophisticated waste fermentation plants manufactured by n-bio GmbH automatically remove packaging residues and are also able to cope with pralines. The company’s…

Press release - 14/02/2012

Fuel from market waste

Mushy tomatoes, brown bananas and overripe cherries – to date, waste from wholesale markets has ended up on the compost heap at best. In future it will be put to better use: Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart have developed a new facility that ferments this waste to make methane, which can be used to power vehicles.

Alternative engines and fuels for cars of the future still lack technical maturity and are not yet competitive. In the short to medium term, the only way to replace fossil fuel will be other fossil fuels – compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquid petroleum gas (LPG). Biodiesel and ethanol are and will remain for the foreseeable future the only renewable resource alternatives to fossil fuel. As is the case for any other technology, the development…

Press release - 20/12/2011

Biotech as a driving force for environmental technology, renewable energy and sustainability

As a classical cross-sectional technology biotechnology has huge potential to develop sustainable innovations in these areas. BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH is planning to focus more and more on tapping this potential to make it useable in the areas of environmental protection and regenerative energy as well as in the cleantech sector.

Dossier - 28/11/2011

Which biomass is the best source of alternative energy?

We talk about bioenergy, but what do we actually mean? The term bioenergy refers to renewable energy produced from material of biological origin. But is the term really exact? Does it create false expectations? “Bio” is often associated with something that is ecological, environmentally friendly and clean. Perhaps “energy from biomass” would be more appropriate? It’s a bulkier term than bioenergy, but also much more neutral.

Article - 05/09/2011

How microalgae bind carbon dioxide and how they are used as sources for material and energy production

In comparison to other plants, algae grow quickly and produce large quantities of biomass. They generate a much greater mass per square metre than other energy plants. In addition, almost all algal biomass can be used as raw material for the pharmaceutical industry, amongst others. Therefore, a technology that is able to effectively produce microalgae on an industrial scale could make a considerable contribution to the energy and material…

Press release - 01/08/2011

Water purification unit generates its own energy

A new biological water purification facility developed by Siemens generates enough methane gas to power its own operations. It also produces much less sludge than conventional systems.

Press release - 25/07/2011

Lufthansa using biofuels on scheduled flights

An Airbus A321 will be flying between Hamburg and Frankfurt to test biofuel on scheduled flights over the course of six months. On this service, one engine will be using a fuel blend containing 50 percent biosynthetic kerosene. The key objective of this project is to conduct a long-term test during which the impact of biofuels on the maintenance and efficiency of jet engines can be investigated.