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Biogas and wood as components of the energy transition - 10/02/2020
Decentralised, controllable and stable - renewable energy is an important component in the transition to a bioeconomy without fossil fuels. BIOPRO spoke to PD Dr. Andreas Lemmer from the State Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Bioenergy at the University of Hohenheim and Prof. Dr. Stefan Pelz, scientific director of the Institute for Applied Research and professorat the University of Applied Forest Sciences Rottenburg.
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/New-perspectives-for-bioenergy
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Preventing waste from instant meals - 05/10/2023
Many instant meals such as ramen soups have both a protective outer packaging and individual ingredients in small plastic sachets. To prevent this environmentally harmful waste, five students at the University of Hohenheim have developed a sustainable film based on eggshells and plant proteins that dissolves in hot water and is edible.
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/edggy-edible-packaging-film-made-eggshell-waste
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Plastics from the field - 12/08/2021
Huge amounts of waste are produced both during food production and by consumers. The Conversion Technologies of Biobased Resources group at the University of Hohenheim’s Institute of Agricultural Engineering has developed a process to convert this biomass into hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), the highly potent basic chemical that is used to produce plastics.
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/great-potential-biological-residues
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Phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge - 21/10/2020
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.
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/bacteria-help-recycle-phosphorus
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Alpha-Protein GmbH - 27/07/2021
Mealworms instead of fish meal and soybean meal - this is what the sustainable future of feed production looks like as Alpha-Protein GmbH see it. The company has built a highly efficient automated production plant in which residual materials from local food production are used to breed mealworms.
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/insect-farming-sustainability
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Dossier - 25/03/2013
Processes that previously required pipetting analysis and production to be carried out manually are increasingly now controlled by automated systems. However this has not necessarily involved a complete reinvention of the wheel instead automation systems used in the plant construction and mechanical engineering sectors are being adapted and optimised for application in the life sciences.
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/dossiers/biotechnology-goes-automated
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Qualitative soil fertiliser - 10/07/2020
Recycled material instead of waste: wood ash is good for soil and plants - if the quality is right. The German Federal Quality Association for Food Ash ensures reliable wood ash standards with its certifications. The RAL-Dünger label for fertilisers provides the necessary certification for natural wood ashes to be used in the circular economy.
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/how-natural-cycles-can-be-closed-wood-ash
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Press release - 26/01/2021
The University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Polish partner of the BalticBiomass4Value project, published a report which maps biomass value chains for improved sustainable energy use in the Baltic Sea Region countries. The research focuses on the 9 Baltic Sea Region (BSR) countries: Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, and Norway.
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/report-mapping-biomass-value-chains-improved-sustainable-energy-use-baltic-sea-region-countries-published
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Press release - 06/04/2022
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.
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/high-tech-bruecke-mit-flachs-gebaut
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Press release - 06/10/2022
Basic chemicals, which are needed as raw materials for a wide range of products such as medicines and detergents, can currently only be produced with an enormously high input of energy and raw materials. In many cases, fossil fuels and raw materials are still used. The extraction of chemical substances alone requires high temperatures, expensive catalysts made of precious metals and, in some cases, environmentally harmful starting materials.
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/neue-elektrolyseverfahren-fuer-eine-nachhaltige-chemische-produktion
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Dossier - 23/07/2012
Extremophilic bacteria love it hot, sour or salty, toxic substances like heavy metals also do them good and even give them energy. As molecular and systems biology techniques get better and better, industry is also becoming increasingly interested in these exotic organisms. What potential does knowing the biochemistry of extremophilic bacteria have for the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and sanitary articles industries?
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/dossiers/extremophilic-bacteria
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Sustainable binder alternative - 18/12/2023
Plastic is all around us; and unfortunately, it is not going away any time soon. The search for more sustainable solutions is fully underway. However, binders that degrade only with difficulty or not at all are still used to bond natural materials such as wood and straw - not yet truly environmentally friendly. Fraunhofer researchers are working on an insect-inspired wood binder that makes bonded wood products both resistant and biodegradable.
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/copied-insects-new-biological-wood-binder-under-development
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Press release - 03/05/2021
The amount of plastic waste increases every year. Some of this waste is due to plastic packaging used to protect food. As part of the “BioActiveMaterials” project, researchers at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft have developed an eco-friendly coating for paper packaging. With this, not only is plastic saved, but the coating of plant-based proteins and waxes also extends the shelf life of the food.
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/bioactive-paper-coatings-replace-plastic-packaging-foods
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Filament winding technology for sustainable construction - 06/04/2022
One of the greatest challenges in the construction industry is the transition to more environmentally friendly and resource-saving buildings. Researchers at the University of Stuttgart are combining state-of-the-art robotic filament winding technologies with ancient local crops to produce stable and sustainable lightweight structures from flax fibres.
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/robotic-building-natural-fibres
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Article - 02/04/2019
For many decades, glyphosate has been a common component of agricultural pesticides worldwide, although it is a controversial herbicide that may be harmful. The good news is that a more sustainable alternative is now in sight: researchers from the University of Tübingen have discovered a sugar molecule called 7-deoxy-sedoheptulose (7dSh) which inhibits the growth of plants and microorganisms, but appears to be completely harmless to human cells.
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/simple-sugar-could-soon-compete-with-glyphosate
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Wasser 3.0: #detect|remove|reuse - 31/10/2023
We all pollute our water with things we use in our everyday lives. In the process, microplastics and micropollutants accumulate in sometimes significant quantities and are difficult to remove. This has increasingly devastating consequences for our health and the environment. Wasser 3.0, a non-profit start-up from Karlsruhe, has declared war on this problem by developing a customisable process to detect, remove and even recycle these pollutants.
https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/how-sustainably-remove-and-recycle-microplastics-water
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