Bioeconomy

Diatoms as a biorefinery - 05/05/2023

Microalgae: sustainable chemical production in a mini factory

Renewable raw materials that can be used as alternatives to fossil resources already exist. However, to turn them into everyday products, plant oils and other renewable raw materials not only have to be extracted, but often have to undergo complex chemical processing. Researchers at the University of Konstanz have now converted microalgae cells into tiny refineries to produce and upgrade raw materials, creating a supply of sustainable chemicals.

At the Fraunhofer Center for Chemical-Biotechnological Processes CBP in Leuna, Germany, representatives from politics, research and industry opened a novel pilot plant for the mild processing of rapeseed to increase the added-value potential of rape as a raw material.

In February, the Estonian-based startup New Standard Oil successfully commissioned their first industrial-scale prototype for drying and torrefaction of biogenic feedstock operating with superheated steam at atmospheric pressure.

The Tech4Biowaste database will be showcased online by its developers on 30 March 2023

nova-Institute’s take on the recently published EU proposal for a Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation as well as the new policy framework for biobased, biodegradable and compostable plastics.

Think Tank FYI: Agriculture 5.0 - 16/02/2023

Agriculture 5.0: fighting the climate crisis with agrophotovoltaics and biochar

Climate protection, agriculture and biodiversity are closely intertwined. Agriculture 5.0 provides positive guidance, as the Offenburg University of Applied Sciences has demonstrated: agrophotovoltaics (or agrivoltaics), which is currently in vogue in Germany, can be used to generate solar power on high-yield fields. Biomass strips and biochar remove CO2 from the atmosphere. All this improves soil quality and promotes biodiversity.

Around 7 million euros to promote more sustainable use of the world's limited phosphate supply: The German-Chinese Research Training Group AMAIZE-P can continue its research on phosphorus as one of the most important nutrient elements for plants. The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved a second funding period of another 4.5 years.

Project FuTuReS - 12/12/2022

Microalgae - high-quality products for domestic agriculture?

Algae are aquatic organisms that flourish in a huge variety of species. But that's not all: they are also small green mini-factories that can produce all kinds of valuable materials. All they need is water, light, CO2 and a few nutrients that can be recycled from biogas or sewage treatment plants. Researchers have now determined the optimal framework conditions and practicability of process methods for agricultural algae cultivation.

Find companies that already offer fossil carbon free products, made from biomass, CO2 and recycling

With insects to the circular economy - 30/11/2022

InBiRa: Insect biorefinery turns food leftovers into new products

Insect larvae can convert food leftovers and waste into secondary raw materials for technical products and cosmetics. Researchers are looking to establish an insect biorefinery for this purpose at the Fraunhofer IGB in Stuttgart. The InBiRa project is financed with a total of 3.8 million euros in EU and Baden-Württemberg state funding.

A tasty dish for chickens: Researchers from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart were able to feed the animals the first 50 kilos of protein extract that were obtained from pasture. Yet the plants found in fields and meadows offer much more than a new source of protein for pigs and poultry: They could also constitute an alternative to soy for human nutrition. They also form a basis for organic-based plastics and paper, energy, and…

Festo’s high-tech bioreactor - 10/11/2022

Valuable materials of all kinds - produced automatically in living cells

In future, algae could be used to produce practically everything that still requires petroleum, including plastics, fuels, medicines and food. Algae are also climate savers par excellence, because they bind ten times more CO2 than terrestrial plants. Festo, a company based in Esslingen, Germany, has developed a high-tech bioreactor that can be used to automatically cultivate the small green biofactories - and that do so a hundred times more…

Carbon sequestration - 28/07/2022

Carbon farming - climate protection on agricultural land?

Agriculture plays a key role in helping to achieve European climate targets. Central to this goal are measures that are collectively referred to as carbon farming and are often used for offsetting greenhouse gas emissions. Two Baden-Württemberg companies - CarboCert and Carbonfuture - are active in addressing the challenges and potentials of carbon farming.

Paludiculture as a beacon of hope for the climate - 28/06/2022

Peatlands as CO2 reservoirs: simultaneous renaturation and use

Peatlands store more carbon dioxide than any other ecosystem in the world. However, when drained, they become a climate-damaging source of CO2. The management of wet peatlands reveals exciting solutions, with market potential in the areas of local heating, insulation, packaging and even peat substitution.

Renaturalised peatlands as carbon dioxide stores - 14/06/2022

Peatlands as a climate protection factor - binding CO2 instead of releasing it

All intact peatlands on our planet store twice the amount of CO2 as all forests. Peatlands are indispensable for preventing and mitigating the effects of climate change. The only problem is that 95 percent of Germany's peatlands have been drained, and thus release around 7 percent of Germany’s total CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Rewetting is therefore imperative for the climate, the environment and biodiversity – and economically…

The University of Stuttgart is contributing to innovations for climate protection as part of the EU project "Smart Circular Bridge". An old material is being rediscovered: flax has been with us for thousands of years in the form of clothing, sacks, and robust ship's ropes. Now the plant fibres are experiencing a renaissance and could become the building material of the future.

European collaborative project led by the University of Hohenheim shows: Combining bioethanol production with carbon storage can effectively reduce CO2.

The annual highlight of the industry is the International Conference on Cellulose Fibres in Cologne (www.cellulose-fibres.eu), where the latest innovations were showcased last week: new cellulose fibre technologies for various feedstocks and a wide range of hygiene and textile products as well as alternatives to plastics and carbon fibre for lightweight constructions.

The HUEHOCO GROUP Holding GmbH & Co. KG, a family-owned company from Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, has acquired a 5 percent stake in carbonauten GmbH. The start-up is in negotiations with further interested parties from Germany and Japan. With the international metal strip refiner HUEHOCO Group, which has sites on 4 continents, the "minus CO2 factory" has acquired its first industrial partner.

Plant residues - 14/12/2021

Straw pulp: agricultural residues become sanitary paper products

Straw cannot yet be spun into gold, but in Mannheim, Germany, it is being turned into something else of great value: Essity is the first and only company in Europe to produce toilet paper and kitchen rolls from wheat straw in a new pulp mill. From next year, these sustainable sanitary paper products will be found on supermarket shelves.

Further utilisation of plant residues - 25/11/2021

Novel fibre composite made from hop fermentation residues

Biogas plants produce energy-rich gas by fermenting biomass. This process generates both liquid and solid fibrous and particulate fermentation residues. Researchers at the German Institutes of Textile and Fibre Research (DITF) have now managed to create a resistant and water-repellent fibre composite material from solid hop residues that can be used as a veneer to coat wood panels.