Press release - 15/07/2011 Optical Analyses: More Efficient Biogas Facilities Siemens is developing optical measuring techniques that will enable more precise control of biogas facilities in order to increase their efficiency. When biomass is fermented to produce methane, acids are created, and if the acid concentration gets too high, the process collapses and the facility has to be cleaned and started up again.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/optical-analyses-more-efficient-biogas-facilities
Article - 18/04/2011 breen biotec develops algal bioreactors Algae can produce and supply a broad range of materials, ranging from fuels such as biodiesel to pharmaceutical substances. In addition, production residues can also be used as animal feedstuff, for example. breen biotec, a Stuttgart-based start-up company, plans to develop innovative reactors and methods for the production of algae using an economically and technologically feasible platform. https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/breen-biotec-develops-algal-bioreactors
Dossier - 04/04/2011 Microalgae as suppliers of energy? In view of dwindling oil reserves and ongoing climate change, microalgae are gaining in importance as suppliers of energy. The major advantage of microalgae is that they can be used to produce CO2-neutral fuels without competing with food production. However, despite intensive efforts, the economic production of biofuels from microalgae is not yet possible. This dossier will present and discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with the…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/dossiers/microalgae-as-suppliers-of-energy
Article - 04/04/2011 Clemens Posten: How can algae produce cheap energy? Microalgae are a real treasure trove. The cosmetics food and chemical industries already use many algal metabolic products and it is envisaged that algae will become an important regenerative source of energy in the future. Prof. Dr. Clemens Postens Bioprocess Engineering team at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT focuses on bioprocess development and is investigating the effect of different diets and the dilution of light on algal product…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/clemens-posten-how-can-algae-produce-cheap-energy
Article - 04/04/2011 The exploitation of microalgae for energy is possible! Timo Enderle (cofactor – a consulting company focusing on algal biotechnology) believes that the efficient cultivation of microalgae can be further optimised and that the use of microalgae for energy will become possible in the not-too-distant future. Enderle spoke with Martin Follmann (BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg) about the prospects for algal biotechnology.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/the-exploitation-of-microalgae-for-energy-is-possible
Press release - 21/03/2011 Crop production - plate or tank? As part of the “University of Hohenheim – strength through communication” thematic year 2011, Dr. Detlef Virchow, Executive Manager of the Food Security Center at the University of Hohenheim, talked to us about the medium-term risks of E10 biofuel in relation to global food safety.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/crop-production-plate-or-tank
Dossier - 07/01/2011 Energy generation from waste We are all very aware of what happens when we dispose of waste whether it is industry waste private household waste or CO2. We also know that cost-effectiveness is still given priority over sustainability. As more and more waste is dumped it is increasingly entering the groundwater soil and atmosphere. The ideal solution would enable us to kill two birds with one stone if we could somehow combine the problems related to increasing environmental…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/dossiers/energy-generation-from-waste
Article - 20/12/2010 Gicon: Using controllable biogas production to create virtual power stations Conventional biogas plants have the disadvantage that the production of energy cannot be controlled in a flexible way. Therefore, Großmann Ingenieur Consult GmbH (GICON) has developed a fast, simple method for controlling biogas production from renewable resources. In addition, the two-stage dry-wet fermentation process with split hydrolysis makes it possible to control the two stages independently. Heribert Krämer, head of the GICON subsidiary…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/gicon-using-controllable-biogas-production-to-create-virtual-power-stations
Press release - 18/10/2010 Direct Fuel The Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg participates in the new EU-funded FP7 collaborative project Direct biological conversion of solar energy to volatile hydrocarbon fuels by engineered cyanobacteria Acronym DirectFuel starting OCT 1 2010 with Prof. Wolfgang Hess Department of Genetics Faculty of Biology as the principal investigator. https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/direct-fuel
Press release - 23/08/2010 University of Stuttgart participates in EU project: Parameters that help advance biogas technologies in Europe There is a binding EU-wide target to source 20 per cent of each country’s energy needs, as stipulated in the Kyoto Protocol, from renewable sources by 2020. The production of biogas is one promising key technology that could lead to this target being reached. But which technologies, measures and conditions are needed to advance biogas technology in Europe? The EU research project SEBE (Sustainable and Innovative European Biogas Environment) is…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/university-of-stuttgart-participates-in-eu-project-parameters-that-help-advance-biogas-technologies
Article - 26/07/2010 University of Hohenheim and AVAT: innovative method for the production of biogas Partners from industry and research have joined forces to develop an innovative method for the production of biogas. In contrast to standard methods, the chemical degradation processes will in future take place in different tanks rather than in just one. The developers hope that the separation of the processes will expedite the degradation processes, improve the quality of the individual degradation products, and enable their broad applications.…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/university-of-hohenheim-and-avat-innovative-method-for-the-production-of-biogas
Article - 10/07/2010 Algae light up industry The potential of Microalgae cannot yet be optimally used on the large scale. The bioprocess engineer Dr. Rosa Rosello and her team at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT are investigating the conditions under which different microalgae species can optimally grow in photobioreactors and lead to high product yields. It is all a question of light and shade.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/algae-light-up-industry
Press release - 25/06/2010 World-first biorefinery pilot project to promote the use of wood The German Minister of Agriculture, Ilse Aigner, has launched the pilot phase of the world’s first lignocellulose biorefinery to be set up by a research consortium at the Leuna chemical location. Speaking in Berlin, Aigner presented the decision of the German government to grant more than 8.5 million euros to a consortium that also includes researchers from Baden-Württemberg as part of the “Renewable Resources” programme of the German Ministry of…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/world-first-biorefinery-pilot-project-to-promote-the-use-of-wood
Article - 07/06/2010 Biomass has great potential if used properly Up until now biotechnology has mainly been focused on the production of enzymes basic chemical and pharmaceutical substances as well as other biobased materials. From now on efforts will be made to exploit the potential of biotechnology at the beginning of value creation chains by improving the access to regenerative resources. Apart from its potential for use as food and animal feed there are two more concepts that focus on the utilisation of…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/biomass-has-great-potential-if-used-properly
Press release - 17/05/2010 Bioliq® pilot plant at KIT close to completion The completion of the bioliq® pilot plant on the northern campus of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is now a certainty. Following the commitment by the German and Baden-Württemberg governments to provide 11 million euros in financing, the KIT has now also signed contracts with companies that will work with KIT in the implementation of the two final processing stages. These two stages involve the production of second-generation…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/bioliq-pilot-plant-at-kit-close-to-completion
Article - 10/05/2010 Europe’s largest bioethanol facility Mannheim-based CropEnergies AG operates Europes largest bioethanol facility located in the town of Zeitz. The company is also erecting a large-scale facility for liquefying purifying and recycling biogenic carbon dioxide at the same site. The new plant will have an annual capacity of 100000 t of food-grade liquefied CO2.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/europe-s-largest-bioethanol-facility
Article - 03/05/2010 Energy produced from poplars and other plants – how efficiently can this be done? Renewable energies do not come out of nowhere. The sustainable cultivation of firewood requires land for plantation. The main criticism of the use of land for the production of renewable energies is that the production of renewable resources is in strong opposition to the production of human food. The forestry scientist Janine Fischbach and her colleagues at the University of Freiburg are investigating ways to avoid a plate petrol tank dilemma. https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/energy-produced-from-poplars-and-other-plants-how-efficiently-can-this-be-done
Article - 03/05/2010 In order to innovate, we must come down from the ivory tower At talks given at the recent Biotechnology Days in Berlin representatives of a number of different BMBF-funded clusters showed that numerous strategies to enable the industrial production of biopolymers and biomaterials from resources other than oil are now available.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/in-order-to-innovate-we-must-come-down-from-the-ivory-tower
Dossier - 03/05/2010 Biorefinery concepts are close to implementation Coal crude oil whats next? The preparations for switching from crude oil to other resources for the production of fuels and petrochemical products are underway. Crude oil and also gas reserves are in irrevocable decline. Pessimists believe that peak oil production has already been reached and optimists believe that this peak will be reached in 2020. Crude oil is not only our most important source of energy production but it is also an important…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/dossiers/biorefinery-concepts-are-close-to-implementation
Press release - 30/04/2010 MYKOTOWN to focus in future on renewable energies and sustainably produced fuels In the future the Swiss company MYKOTOWN GREENTECH AG will focus on sustainably produced fuels and regenerative energies. The company is thus continuing its journey towards the production of biological and ecological plants using mycorrhizal fungi as well as tapping new fields of business.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/mykotown-to-focus-in-future-on-renewable-energies-and-sustainably-produced-fuels
Press release - 25/03/2010 Pure biogas in three steps: University of Hohenheim develops new type of biogas plant Higher methane level, shorter process times, more flexible products: researchers from the University of Hohenheim are planning to establish a three-tier pilot plant over the next three years that is able to produce all this. In the long term, this will contribute to a reduction in the energy required to produce biogas relative to the energy currently required to produce natural gas and it will also enable biogas to be supplied via existing gas…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/pure-biogas-in-three-steps-university-of-hohenheim-develops-new-type-of-biogas-plant
Press release - 21/01/2010 Driving cars with biogas produced from biological waste The ETAMAX research project brings together partners from research, the energy sector and industry and is aimed at using a combined, modular process to produce biogas from low-lignocellulosic waste such as supermarket waste and micro-algal biomass, at the same time as closing all substance cycles. The regenerative biomethane will be used to fuel a small fleet of gas-driven vehicles. https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/driving-cars-with-biogas-produced-from-biological-waste
Press release - 10/12/2009 Hydrogen from microalgae Hydrogen (H2) produced from water has great potential to be an environmentally friendly energy carrier of the future. However, the future application of hydrogen and other CO2-neutral sustainable fuels also requires the development of production methods that can contribute to the energy supply of tomorrow. Some unicellular green algae and cyanobacteria use light to break up water into hydrogen and oxygen. In cooperation with eight partners, KIT…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/hydrogen-from-microalgae
Press release - 18/11/2009 Further expansion of the KIT’s bioliq® pilot plant The bioliq® process developed at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) enables the production of fully synthetic diesel and petrol from straw and other residues that accumulate in agriculture and forestry. Following the first and second expansion stages, the KIT is now able to move on to the next two stages, involving gas purification and fuel synthesis at the pilot plant. The German and Baden-Württemberg governments are providing a total…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/further-expansion-of-the-kit-s-bioliq-pilot-plant
Press release - 13/11/2009 Second-generation biofuels The Distillery for Research and Training at the University of Hohenheim has been reopened after the completion of renovation work costing around 1.2 million euros. The distillery is now equipped with a computer-operated process-control system and modern sensors, all state-of-the-art technology for the fermentation processes at Hohenheim. The new distillery pilot plant has a fermentation room for work with genetically modified organisms.…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/second-generation-biofuels