Bioeconomy

Phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge - 21/10/2020

Bacteria help to recycle phosphorus

Biotechnology for the bioeconomy: in something known as the P-bac process, sulphur bacteria extract phosphorus from sewage sludge ash. Phosphorus is one of the key building blocks of life and an essential nutrient for plant growth. When there is not enough phosphorus in the soil, farmers apply it via organic or mineral fertilisers.

In collaboration with researchers from the University of Tübingen scientists from the Tübingen-based biotechnology company Novis GmbH have now evaluated a biological leaching method that can be used to recycle valuable resources from incineration slag using bacteria. Funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment Climate Protection and the Energy Sector the experts from Tübingen are studying the possibility of using this method in…

Most developed countries are “throwaway societies”, i.e. societies where people simply throw away defective articles and purchase new ones. However, our resources are finite. This is not only true for oil but also for many other raw materials such as precious metals or rare earths. Scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart are working with researchers from other Fraunhofer institutes…

Dossier - 16/12/2013

Microbial raw material recycling

While the use of biotechnological methods for the purification of water, soil and air has already been state of the art for quite a few years, the use of microorganisms for the recovery of metal and mineral raw materials from industrial and agricultural waste has also started to attract the interest of scientists. This dossier addresses this topic, explains what geobiotechnology and urban mining are all about and presents some of the activities…

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.…