Wasser 3.0: #detect|remove|reuse - 31/10/2023 How to sustainably remove and recycle microplastics from water 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
Microorganisms degrade biobased turf infill - 17/10/2023 Eco-friendly artificial turf: a sports pitch that’s good for people and the environment There are thousands of artificial turf pitches in Germany. They are extremely practical, but often not at all environmentally friendly. When it rains or the pitch is used, plastic particles from the rubber granules can be released into the envronment, where they remain. Researchers at the University of Stuttgart along with the company TECNARO are now developing an artificial turf with an infill that biodegrades as soon as it leaves the pitch.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/eco-friendly-artificial-turf-sports-pitch-s-good-people-and-environment
Preventing waste from instant meals - 05/10/2023 EDGGY: edible packaging film made from eggshell waste 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
Press release - 27/07/2023 Self-healing plastic becomes biodegradable Konstanz chemists develop mineral plastics with numerous positive properties from sustainable basic building blocks and, together with biologists, demonstrate the material's excellent microbiological degradability.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/Self-healing-plastic-becomes-biodegradable
Press release - 27/07/2023 Materials Research: Biocatalytic Foams of Tremendous Stability and Activity Industrial biocatalysis with enzymes is deemed to be a “game changer” in the development of a sustainable chemical industry. Enzymes can be used to synthesize an impressive range of complex molecules. Researchers of KIT have now developed a new class of materials by producing enzyme foams of tremendous stability and activity. The researchers have already filed a patent application on the process to produce enzyme foams.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/materials-research-biocatalytic-foams-tremendous-stability-and-activity
3D-Thermocell project - 17/05/2023 Paper instead of plastic: sustainable packaging with a good conscience Replacing plastic – for example in packaging – is not that easy but nevertheless urgently needed. In the 3D-Thermocell project, researchers at DHBW Karlsruhe are currently developing new plastic substitute products made of thermoformable paper as a renewable resource, which should be cheap and light and easy to dispose of along with waste paper. The characterisation and application of demonstration models will start soon.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/paper-instead-plastic-sustainable-packaging-good-conscience
Press release - 16/05/2023 Biocomposite at the Venice Architecture Biennale This year's Venice Architecture Biennale sees itself as a "Laboratory of the Future". Bio-composites are not just dreams of the future in architecture. The German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research (DITF) have developed a sustainable material for support profiles and connecting nodes, which will be on display at Palazzo Mora during the Biennale from May 20 to November 26. https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/bioverbundwerkstoff-auf-der-architektur-biennale-venedig
Press release - 03/05/2023 Organic-based coating with innovative functional properties is suitable for packaging and food products Sustainability is a major challenge in the food and packaging industry. Plastic packaging is being replaced by organic-based and biodegradable materials, but it must still fulfill high functional requirements. A team of researchers at the University of Hohenheim has developed a new coating system that is both water-impermeable, heat-resistant, and mechanically durable as well as being suitable for consumption, and biodegradable at the same time.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/organic-based-coating-innovative-functional-properties-suitable-packaging-and-food-products
Press release - 26/04/2023 Simply EGG-genious: Students invent edible packaging from eggshells Ready-made meals are ideal for quickly satisfying hunger. However, the quick snacks produce a lot of environmentally harmful plastic waste. To tackle this problem, the student team EDGGY from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart rolled up its sleeves and developed edible packaging made from eggshells and other plant-based raw materials. And even better: they simply dissolve in the hot water and can be eaten as an additional protein boost. https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/Simply-EGG-genious-Students-invent-edible-packaging-from-eggshells
Press release - 25/04/2023 Jellyfish-like robots could one day clean up the world’s oceans Roboticists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart have developed a jellyfish-inspired underwater robot with which they hope one day to collect waste from the bottom of the ocean. The almost noise-free prototype can trap objects underneath its body without physical contact, thereby enabling safe interactions in delicate environments such as coral reefs. Jellyfish-Bot could become a tool for environmental remediation.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/jellyfish-robots-could-one-day-clean-worlds-oceans
Press release - 21/04/2023 CELLUN - A fiber composite made from biopolymers In collaboration with the project partners CG TEC, Cordenka, ElringKlinger, Fiber Engineering and Technikum Laubholz, the DITF are developing a new fiber composite material (CELLUN) with reinforcing fibers made of cellulose. The matrix of the material is a thermoplastic cellulose derivative. CELLUN made from renewable biopolymers enables the replacement of glass or carbon fibers in the production of industrial molded parts.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/cellun-fiber-composite-made-biopolymers
Press release - 23/02/2023 Protecting the climate during textile production: polyester fibers bind CO2 Start for an EU-wide collaborative project: Under the leadership of the French company Fairbrics SAS, 17 project partners from 7 European countries are coming together. The common goal is to produce end products from polyester in a closed cycle using industrial CO2 emissions and to bring them to market maturity. The DITF produce synthetic fibers from plastics of non-fossil origin.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/protecting-climate-during-textile-production-polyester-fibers-bind-co2
Press release - 23/02/2023 New tailwind for renewable carbon plastics in EU policy? 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.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/new-tailwind-renewable-carbon-plastics-eu-policy
Press release - 20/12/2022 Strong and biodegradable A polyester plastic of great mechanical stability, which is also easily recyclable and even compostable: Stefan Mecking, chemist at the University of Konstanz, and his research group present a new material.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/strong-and-biodegradable
Press release - 30/11/2022 Proposed new packaging rules acknowledge environmental and climate benefits of compostable plastic packaging European Bioplastics (EUBP) begrüßt die von der Europäischen Kommission verabschiedeten Entwürfe für neue Verpackungs- und Biokunststoffvorschriften. „Wir begrüßen das erste umfassende politische Rahmenwerk der Kommission für innovative Biokunststoffe, das deren Potenzial für einen positiven Beitrag zur Umwelt anerkennt.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/proposed-new-packaging-rules-acknowledge-environmental-and-climate-benefits-compostable-plastic-packaging
Press release - 29/11/2022 Proteins from Pastures: Success for initial feed trials 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…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/proteine-aus-gruenland-schnitt-erste-fuetterungsversuche-verlaufen-erfolgreich
Press release - 29/11/2022 Prototype funding for two Konstanz projects Chemical building blocks from plastic waste; Reducing the risk of falls using virtual orientation aids: Konstanz chemists Manuel Häußler and Lukas Odenwald as well as sport scientist Lorenz Assländer receive Baden-Württemberg prototype funding for their transfer projects "Waste2DCA" and "Augmented Balance".https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/doppelter-erfolg-der-prototypenfoerderung
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…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/valuable-materials-all-kinds-produced-automatically-living-cells
Press release - 02/11/2022 Blind spots in the monitoring of plastic waste Whether in drinking water, food or even in the air: plastic is a global problem - and the full extent of this pollution may go beyond of what we know yet. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), together with partners from the Netherlands and Australia, have reviewed conventional assumptions for the transport of plastic in rivers.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/blind-spots-monitoring-plastic-waste
Press release - 10/10/2022 Recyclable food packaging: quality control for nanocoatings Across the EU, more than 300 billion items of packaging are not recycled every year because they consist of a mixture of different materials. Monomaterial packaging on the other hand is easy to recycle. However, it needs to be coated with ultra-thin barrier layers to protect delicate products just as well as compound materials do. https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/recyclingfaehige-lebensmittelverpackungen-qualitaetskontrolle-von-nanobeschichtungen
Project BW2Pro - 29/08/2022 Biowaste to Products: biorefinery transforms biowaste into new products In 2020, Germany’s population collected over 5 million tonnes of biowaste. Most of this was composted, and some was fermented into biogas. Scientists in Baden-Württemberg think there's room for more. Within the project ‘Biowaste to Products’ (BW2Pro) they want to transform biowaste into new products in a biorefinery. The idea is to produce biodegradable plant pots, mulch material, fertilisers, enzymes and biobased plastics in addition to…https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/biowaste-products-biorefinery-transforms-biowaste-new-products
Mini-factories for producing bioplastics - 05/05/2022 Bacteria produce bioplastics: resource-saving and very environmentally friendly Using living cells as mini-factories to produce plastic from nothing more than water, sunlight and carbon dioxide; plastic that is also 100 percent degradable – it sounds far-fetched but it actually works: researchers at the University of Tübingen have genetically engineered cyanobacteria so that they fill their cells to the brim with polyhydroxybutyrate. The researchers are now turning the idea into reality with the development of pilot plants.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/bacteria-produce-bioplastics-resource-saving-and-very-environmentally-friendly
Press release - 18/03/2022 Less fossil oil in CO2-reducing plastics The "carbonauten minus CO2 factory 1" will start production of 4,000 t of CO2-reducing plastic granules annually at favorable prices in summer 2022.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/weniger-erdoel-co2-senkenden-kunststoffen
Press release - 02/03/2022 Biorefinery project KoalAplan is extracting raw materials from wastewater The Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector is funding the KoalAplan project, which extends the functional scope of a wastewater treatment plant. The project, based in the Stuttgart district of Büsnau, aims at recovering raw materials from wastewater and is therefore making a positive contribution to climate neutrality, as the products obtained replace fossil raw materials and energy-intensive processes.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/biorefinery-project-koalaplan-extracting-raw-materials-wastewater
Natural fibers in use - 15/02/2022 Sustainable reinforcement of e-bike battery cases Ansmann AG from Assamstadt provides mobile energy solutions with a focus on sustainability. The BioBattery project, which was awarded the Baden-Württemberg Bioeconomy Innovation Prize, saw Ansmann AG working with the Fraunhofer LBF in Darmstadt to develop a natural fibre reinforced plastic composite for use in e-bike battery cases.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/sustainable-reinforcement-e-bike-battery-cases