Press releases and news 2018

Friday, 9th November 2018 was the last day of InnoTour 2018, a five-day tour leading 16 Australian researchers and innovators to different institutions and companies of the German healthcare research sector. InnoTour was organised by Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft within the initiative InnoHealth Australia. Presenting the large portfolio of applied research and corporate landscape, InnoTour 2018 could contribute to the network between German and Australian actors. Thus, first joint project approaches have been identified – in basic and applied research as well as in the industrial sector. The Australian scientists were also guests at Fraunhofer IGB.

Most detergents, cosmetics, and clothes, to name just a few products, are manufactured using petroleum, making such everyday items anything but eco-friendly. It is now possible to produce the bio-based and CO₂-neutral basic chemicals for such articles with the help of fungi. Fraunhofer research teams are developing fermentation techniques and manufacturing processes to produce them on an industrial scale.

In September, representatives of the state of Baden-Württemberg will visit the USA and Canada to promote transatlantic dialog. The delegation will focus on the topic area “Digitization and Transformation – the Impact on Business and Science”. One focus will be on climate protection. Dr. Markus Wolperdinger, Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, will also speak on this topic.

Rare earths are among the most strategically important raw materials for German industry, as they are crucial parts of many high-tech products. For a more efficient use of these valuable elements, eight Fraunhofer Institutes have developed new solutions in a now completed joint project. These include optimized manufacturing processes, approaches to recycling and the development of new materials that can replace rare earths. The Fraunhofer experts showed that the demand for rare earths can be reduced to up to one fifth of today's value in benchmark electric motors.

The natural substance 3-carene is a component of turpentine oil, a waste stream of the production of cellulose from wood. Up to now, this by-product has been incinerated for the most part. Fraunhofer researchers are using new catalytic processes to convert 3-carene into building blocks for biobased plastics. The new polyamides are not only transparent, but also have a high thermal stability.

Nearly 30 participants – amongst them Dr. K. Vijayakarthikeyan, Commissioner of the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) – met on Thursday, July 26th, in Coimbatore to discuss the topic of water management in their city.

Over the next four years the European UNRAVEL project will demonstrate a sustainable and economically feasible biorefinery for the conversion of second generation biomass into fuels, chemicals and building materials. In their efforts the partnership that comprises research organisations, SMEs and large industry from six European countries are supported by the Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) which funds the UNRAVEL project with 3.6 million Euros.

Using ultrapure lignin from the lignocellulosic biorefinery at the Fraunhofer Center for Chemical-Biotechnological Processes CBP in Leuna, researchers at the Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg (TU HH) have produced lignin-containing aerogels and processed high-porosity insulating boards with excellent insulation properties. The lignin was recovered from beech residual wood at the Fraunhofer CBP using the Organosolv process.

Harmful chemicals are often used in textile processing. That is why the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB is researching harmless biobased alternatives. The Institute is working on utilizing side streams from the animal feed manufacture for the production of chitosan. The biopolymer is supposed to be used as a sizing agent in the processing of yarns or for the functionalization of textiles. Fraunhofer IGB will present its work at the ACHEMA trade fair from June 11 – 15 in Frankfurt am Main.

Industrial facilities are generally located far away from extensive forest regions. Because wood requires efforts to transport, it sees only limited use as a raw material in industry. In the EU-funded SteamBio project, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB have teamed up with various partners to change all that, developing a special steam drying technique that could significantly cut transportation costs. Another bonus is that the technique yields valuable feedstock for the chemical industry. The technique is already in use at a pilot facility in Spain. From June 11-15, visitors to the ACHEMA trade fair in Frankfurt am Main will be able to see a model of the facility for themselves (Hall 9.2, Booth D66).

The BioEcoSIM process for the treatment of liquid manure developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB is being introduced to the market by SUEZ Germany as an operator of large-scale plants. This creates an opportunity for farms to dispose of surplus manure and digestate. Slurry treatment products are phosphate fertilizers, ammonium fertilizers and organic soil improvers. The partners will announce their cooperation for the market launch at IFAT from May 14 – 18 in Munich.

With a real-time mass spectrometer developed by Fraunhofer researchers, it has become possible for the first time to analyze up to 30 components simultaneously from the gas phase and a liquid, including in-situ analysis. This sensitive measurement system is also suitable for the automated monitoring and control of chemical reactions and biotechnological processes. From April 10 to 13, 2018 the team of developers is presenting its new measurement system at the Analytica trade fair in Munich.

Dr. Markus Wolperdinger has taken over the management of the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB as of March 1, 2018. Wolperdinger, who has a doctoral degree in chemistry and many years of industry experience in the field of industrial biotechnology and plant construction, is already very familiar with the Institute through his work on the IGB Board of Trustees. Wolperdinger also played a major role in the establishment of the Fraunhofer Center for Chemical-Biotechnological Processes CBP in Leuna.

Within the scope of the international research project “Camphor-based polymers”, the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB will, in the coming year, research sustainable production processes for biobased monomers. These are suitable as starting materials for plastics that so far have been produced on the basis of crude oil. Camphor, a terpene produced in large quantities in China from by-products of the pulp industry, can be considered as a biobased alternative to fossil raw materials.

At this year’s analytica trade fair in Munich, three Fraunhofer Institutes will be presenting a project from pre-competitive research. Biologists, computer scientists and laser experts have developed a process to analyze and select cells and then examine their protein production. In pharmaceutical research, this will make it possible to develop active ingredients much faster than before.

Can lettuce plants only be supplied with purified wastewater and achieve a high-quality harvest? In the "HypoWave" research project, seedlings were planted in a hydroponic process for the first time and supplied with specially treated irrigation water from a sewage treatment plant. The harvest from the previous cultivation shows first good results for the feasibility. Against the background of the high water consumption in agriculture, the project, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), focuses on water-saving plant production.

On 18th/19th January 2018, the kick-off meeting of the CO2EXIDE project “CO₂-based electrosynthesis of ethylene oxide”, coordinated by Fraunhofer IGB, Straubing branch BioCat, was held in Brussels. The EU-funded project aims at the development of a combined electrochemical-chemical technology for the production of ethylene oxide from atmospheric CO₂ and water using renewable energy.