Bioeconomy Science Center
Research and cooperation for a sustainable bioeconomy
Bioeconomy Science Center
Research and cooperation for a sustainable bioeconomy

BioSC Lectures and Science Nights in Autumn 2019

Dr. Christiane S. Farinas from the Brazilian agricultural research institute Embrapa, Prof. Wout Boerjan from the University of Ghent and Dr. Jochen Förster from the Carlsberg company were BioSC guest speakers in September and October. The BioSC was represented at the science nights of HHU Düsseldorf and RWTH Aachen University with lectures by Prof. Markus Pauly and Prof. Andreas Jupke.

Photos: Forschungszentrum Jülich

 

The 22nd BioSC Lecture „Integrated use of biomass as a platform to obtain biofuels, nanocellulose and biofertilizers“ took place on 11 September at Forschungszentrum Jülich. Dr. Christiane S. Farinas from the Brazilian agricultural research institute Embrapa first presented cost-effective optimizations of the enzymatic digestion of lignocellulose-containing biomass, where two known problems, the adsorption and inhibition of enzymes, are considerably reduced by the addition of soy proteins from press cakes and ash from sugar cane bagasse. In addition, she presented a process for the integrated recovery of sugars and nanocellulose from eucalyptus. In recent years, nanocellulose has increasingly been used as a material, for example for screens or solar panels. Finally, she presented the use of a nanocomposite consisting of starch, ground phosphate rock and Aspergillus niger for fertilization. The phosphate is solubilized by A.niger and released continuously over a longer period of time. The nanocomposite can also be loaded with other nutrients and, in initial experiments with ryegrass, produced plant growth comparable to that of chemical fertilizers.

The 23rd BioSC Lecture „From lager to wild yeast for beer production“ was held on 27 September as part of the Jülich Biotech Day. Dr. Jochen Förster from Carlsberg (Copenhagen) presented historical and current yeast breeding programmes from Carlsberg as well as current sustainability projects to reduce emissions and water consumption in beer production.

The 24th BioSC Lecture „Genetic engineering of poplar trees for the biorefinery“ on 17 October was also held at Forschungszentrum Jülich. Prof. Wout Boerjan from the University of Ghent presented work on the elucidation and targeted alteration of the biosynthetic pathway of lignin on Arabidopsis and poplars. The down-regulation of certain enzymes leads to a lower lignin content and a considerably higher sugar yield. However, field trials have shown that the plants are smaller because their water-conducting vessels are no longer stable enough and collapse. By using a promoter that is only active in the vessels, the lignin content of the vessels can be specifically normalised and the plants return to their normal size. Prof. Boerjan also presented results on changes in lignin composition, which also lead to an improved sugar yield in biomass digestion.

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. 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.