Bioeconomy

Article - 01/02/2016

Phosphorus recycling – valuable materials from sewage plants

Modern agriculture relies on phosphorus in the form of chemical fertilisers to provide plants with vital nutrients. However, huge amounts of this valuable raw material end up in our sewage plants. Two new methods to recover phosphorus from wastewater could potentially contribute to the sustainable use of phosphorus in the not-too-distant future.

Article - 13/07/2015

Recovering phosphorus from sewage sludge

The chemical element phosphorus, which is mainly used as a fertiliser in agriculture, is a key building block for all life forms. Phosphorus cannot be substituted by other elements or produced synthetically. In addition, it is scarce on Earth and the majority of phosphate rock preserves are located in just a handful of countries. A European-wide research project on phosphorus recycling now presents ways of producing the precious raw material from…

Overview

Biobased resources

A major goal of the bioeconomy is to use larger quantities of biobased raw materials to produce energy, transport fuels and feedstock for industrial processes. This requires detailed analyses, simulations, concepts and processes. Major focus needs to be placed on issues relating to crop production, biomass potentials, land surface requirements, conversion technologies, biobased value creation networks and food security. Agriculture, forestry,…

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…

Dossier - 30/09/2014

Industrial biotechnology: a challenging change to the raw material base

Biogenic raw materials have never been as popular as they are now. Efforts to tap renewable carbon resources are already underway, despite the fact that new oil drilling technologies are boosting fossil fuel stockpiles. In the medium term, industry will have to expand its raw materials base, and in the long term it may have to renew it completely. Industrial biotechnology is one of the key technologies in the transition from an economy based on…

Article - 22/09/2014

Heike Frühwirth brings engineering methods into the hype about algae

Heike Frühwirth is not terribly taken by the euphoria surrounding the potential of algae. She knows better as she has become aware of the potential pitfalls from her own personal experience. Frühwirth was born in the Austrian city of Graz where she also studied process engineering. She has been in charge of process engineering under the industrial biotechnology study programme at Biberach University of Applied Sciences since 2012. She specializes…

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 - 09/12/2013

Biological soil remediation: phytoremediation with plants and their associated microbes

Prof. Dr. Andreas Kappler and his team of researchers from the University of Tübingen are exploring how cadmium and other harmful metal compounds can be removed from soil. The principle is based on the ability of bacteria to break up cadmium-containing soil particles the released cadmium is then taken up by the plants and removed as the plants are pruned and disposed of.

Article - 25/11/2013

Award-winning gold recovery with bacteria

A team of students from Heidelberg University that took part in the international iGEM competition in 2013 have developed a method for the recycling of gold from electronic waste by way of biomineralisation assisted with a bacterial peptide. In order to achieve this, the entire peptide synthesis pathway was transferred into E. coli bacteria. The Heidelberg team’s method, which is on a par with classical chemical gold recovery, won them the grand…

Article - 04/11/2013

Bioeconomy as a residue utilisation strategy

A bioeconomy is the introduction of a biobased economy and the promise of sustainably manufactured goods. The head of the Institute of Forest Utilisation at the University of Freiburg Prof. Dr. Gero Becker examines the efficiency and sustainability of the provision of timber and forestry products and focusses on the issue as to how wood residues can be industrially recycled.

Article - 31/05/2013

Research in Biberach – does the bioeconomy have a purple future?

Rhodospirillum rubrum bacteria have long attracted the interest of biotechnologists due to their ability to produce large quantities of pigments. Microbiologist Hartmut Grammel from Biberach University of Applied Sciences and scientists from the Magdeburg-based Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems are studying the bacterias suitability for the fixation of CO2 with the distant objective of producing organic materials with…

Article - 07/01/2013

GlobalFlow GmbH – how smart materials management can help save resources

The two GlobalFlow GmbH managing directors, Nadine Antic and Seda Erkus, only recently completed their energy and resource management and environmental technology studies and immediately set out to establish their own company. GlobalFlow GmbH, which is based in Reutlingen, offers comprehensive services related to the conservation of resources and materials management.

Press release - 16/07/2012

CO2-development: a vision of a carbon dioxid economy

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are largely responsible for the greenhouse effect and thus for climate change. A reduction in CO2 emissions is therefore at the very top of the international political agenda. Trials are running in parallel to explore underground sequestration of CO2 from power stations, thereby removing it from the atmosphere. It would at first sight seem paradoxical to wish to use energy-poor, inert CO2 molecules. Considerable…

Article - 29/05/2012

David Schleheck: exploring the effective degradation of surfactants

David Schleheck biologist at the University of Konstanz focuses on the bacterial degradation of surfactants and LAS in particular. The results of his research are of huge importance for the recycling of grey water in areas including home sewage treatment systems for example.

Article - 05/09/2011

How microalgae bind carbon dioxide and how they are used as sources for material and energy production

In comparison to other plants, algae grow quickly and produce large quantities of biomass. They generate a much greater mass per square metre than other energy plants. In addition, almost all algal biomass can be used as raw material for the pharmaceutical industry, amongst others. Therefore, a technology that is able to effectively produce microalgae on an industrial scale could make a considerable contribution to the energy and material…

Article - 21/03/2011

C.S.P. – linking cultivation and application

A growing number of industrial companies would like to use renewable raw materials for production, out of ecological, economic or technical interest. However, it is not always easy for many of the companies to get into contact with farmers and secure the supply of crops in the quantity and quality they require. Dresden-based C.S.P. Consulting und Service für Pflanzliche Rohstoffe GmbH is now able to use its know-how and that of its partners to…

Article - 07/01/2011

Residual waste – an eternal fire that generates electrical power

Chemical energy is stored in the material used for packaging carpets and so on. Some of this energy can be recycled from discarded products. Every year the Thermische Restabfallbehandlungs- und Energieerzeugungsanlage TREA Breisgau Thermal Residual Waste Treatment and Energy Generation Facility located in the Breisgau industrial estate close to Freiburg converts around 170000 t of residual waste into electricity. Dr. Holger Heinig COO of TREA…

Press release - 20/11/2010

BioNexGen: new membrane technologies for water treatment

All steam ahead for international research cooperation at the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences: The “BioNexGen” project brings together eleven partners from Europe and the MENA countries (Middle East and North Africa) with the objective of developing membranes with new nanostructured functional layers for the treatment of wastewater. The consortium is led by Prof. Dr. Jan Hoinkis, Director of the Institute of Applied Research at the…

Article - 11/06/2010

Recycling of bacterial cell wall constituents

Bacterial cells are focused on growth and proliferation. These processes are initiated by cellular enzymes that break up the cell wall material murein introduce new material and degrade material that is no longer needed. And all this in large amounts about 50 per cent of murein are degraded and newly formed turnover per cell generation. Dr. Christoph Mayer and his team from the University of Constance have shown that the cells carry out effective…

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…

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.

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.

Article - 11/05/2009

Biopolymers to improve drinking water quality

In the long run, biopolymers will find their way into industry and everyday life; they are the polymers of the future. The Institute for Sanitary Engineering, Water Quality and Solid Waste Management at the University of Stuttgart offers applications of biopolymers for the preparation of water as well as a new recycling strategy.