Prof. Ralf Pude | University of Bonn | Campus Klein-Altendorf - Renewable Resources

Research topics and profile (related to bioeconomy)

The INRES research group for ‘Renewable Resources’ (Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bonn) on campus Klein-Altendorf focuses on research projects and applied experimental work with future-oriented questions of the cultivation and product development of renewable raw materials as well as medicinal and spice plants. Close linkages between interdisciplinary research areas and rapid knowledge exchange from research to applied consulting represent the strengths of the professorship.

The professorship deals with topics as

• sustainable production systems and material utilization (potential) of plant biomass such as miscanthus, cup-plant, sida, Jerusalem artichoke, sunflower or short rotation coppice (cottonwood, willow, paulownia, ...) and medicinal plants.
• product development from renewable raw materials (e.g. turf substitute, insulation, construction materials, packaging materials, Meckenheimer Apfelminze, ...).
• energetic utilization of perennial energy crops (biomass-based heating system, pellets, briquettes).
• coupled material and energetic utilization of renewable resources (cascade utilization).
• genotype-location-interactions in material and energetic utilization in perennial biomass plants and medicinal plants
• investigation of new or marginally used residual biomass (e.g. clearing wood from fruit tree plantations, horticultural nursery hay) for material and energetic utilization.
• incultivation of (wild) medicinal plants, optimization of cultivation and evaluation of their potential for utilization.

Contributions to BioSC

The INRES professorship ‘Renewable Resources’ can grow biomass and medicinal plants on campus Klein-Altendorf under practical conditions and make them available for the Core Groups - even in large quantities. Miscanthus and cup-plant, in particular, are available with numerous various origins and genotypes grown under the same conditions.

The professorship (in cooperation with Core Groups of BioSC) is able to conduct field experiments and greenhouse experiments with perennial biomass plants and medicinal plants.

Within the research group, morphological and cultivation parameters of perennial biomass plants are compared. Material and energetic properties (e.g. ash contents, energy values, …) are investigated.

The infrastructure for the biomass processing (such as crushing, sieving equipment, particle determination) and for compaction (pelleting, briquetting) is available on the campus.

BioSC projects

• SPREAD – Silphium perfoliatum – Resource Evaluation and Development, cooperation with Prof. Westhoff (University of Düsseldorf) and Prof. Spieß (RWTH University Aachen).
• MisQual - Genotype and environment as driving factors for quality of lignocelluloses from Miscanthus as raw material for industry (Integrative project, SEED fund), cooperation with Prof. Schirawski (RWTH University Aachen), Prof. Usadel (RWTH University Aachen) and Prof. Schulze (University Bonn-Rhein-Sieg).
• MisCas – Cascade Utilization of Miscanthus to increase resource efficiency (White Paper), cooperation with Prof. Finger (University of Bonn).

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