Night of Science at the RWTH Aachen University

This year' s RWTH Science Night „Fünf vor zwölf“ took place on 8 November. Prof. Andreas Jupke gave a lecture on „Bioeconomy - Sustainable Use of Biological Resources“ for the BioSC. He explained the differences in the processing of crude oil and biomass and discussed the conditions under which the use of renewable raw materials can be sustainable. At the BioSC information stand, the research topics of the BioSC were presented and bioeconomy products that are already available on the market today were shown. The BioSC`s information offerings at the science nights were well attended and met with broad interest.

Night of Science at the HHU Düsseldorf

Lectures for the general public where also offered. At the 3rd Night of Science at the HHU Düsseldorf on 13 September, Prof. Markus Pauly gave a lecture for the BioSC on „Bioeconomy - A solution to mitigate climate change?“ After an introduction to the topic of climate change and fossil fuels, he spoke about the advantages, limitations and potential sustainability of the use of plant biomass.

Open Day at the Forschungszentrum Jülich

On 7 July 2019, the Open Day took place at Forschungszentrum Jülich with around 23,000 visitors. There was great interest in the BioSC exhibition "Products of the Bioeconomy", which presented a variety of bio-based products that are already produced today. The Bioeconomy Trail, which covered the entire site, also attracted numerous visitors.

The Bioeconomy Trail, which the Jülich BioSC Core Groups had designed, illustrated the concept of a sustainable circular economy. While IBG-3 (Agrosphere) showed concepts for an environment- and resource-saving use of soil and water, IBG-2 (Plant Sciences) addressed sustainable plant production. The institutes IBG-1 (biotechnology), IMET (enzyme technology) and IBOC (bioorganic chemistry) provided information on the basics of the biotechnological production of materials and chemicals from biomass. At the Department of Environmental Services, the wastewater treatment plant of the Research Centre could be visited, where methods for the recovery of nutrients from wastewater are being established in cooperation with the IBG-2.

The BioSC exhibition "Products of the Bioeconomy" presented a variety of biobased products which are already produced today and most of which are also available. In addition to well-known examples such as detergents with biosurfactants, these included a laptop case made of pressed hemp, a functional T-shirt made of wood fibres and shoes made of pineapple leaf fibres. Colourful balls of corn granulate, which after moistening could be used like dough, met with great approval among the children and turned into numerous small works of art. Products made from the raw material grass were also shown. The exhibition featured paper and packaging materials with a grass fibre content of around two thirds, as well as terrace planks made of a plastic that is made from ensiled and ground grass. Prototypes of composite materials made from plant fibres and bioplastics, such as the interior trim for a car door, showed impressive possibilities for the future. The diverse product range showed that bioeconomics is possible and already present in everyday life and brought the topic closer to a broad public.