Research • Educate • Connect
Towards a sustainable bioeconomy
Research • Educate • Connect
Towards a sustainable bioeconomy
Photo: Fotolia

Focus Topic Area "Integrated Biorefineries for Sustainable Processes and Products"

The development of biorefinery concepts and systems in which the provision of biomass and its conversion into products are integrated represent a key element for the transformation from an oil-based economy to a bioeconomy. Different bio-based raw materials must be utilized for the process: plants specifically cultivated for energy or material use, which may have been improved for later use by breeding, aquatic plants, waste materials or side streams from agriculture, the food industry and forestry, as well as residual materials from the paper industry. For energy or material use, perennial plants might be preferred if these can provide appropriate yields on otherwise unused poor soils that are unsuitable for agricultural production of food. 

A biorefinery must not only be able to process a broader and more variable range of feedstocks than conventional oil refineries. Rather, completely new processes and procedures must be developed. In established petrochemical processes, the feedstocks are transformed in organic solvents, often at high temperatures, whereas the components of biomass require conversion processes at low temperatures in electrolytic solvents. Bio-technological processes for the production of platform chemicals require large quantities of auxiliaries and water. In order to allow up-scaling to production scale, methods are needed for recycling of solvents, catalysts and process water within a biorefinery. For residual material from the processed biomass, such as minerals or organic residues, opportunities must be created for recycling into material cycles, such as agricultural fertilizer.

Project examples

Photo: iStock

AP3 - Advanced Pulping for Perennial Plants: A holistic and sustainable integrated lignocellulose biorefinery concept
April 2017 - December 2020

Photo: iStock

HyImPAct - Hybrid processes for Important Precursor and Active pharmaceutical ingredient
January 2018 - September 2021

Photo: iStock

Bio² - Integration of next generation biosurfactant production into biorefinery processes
May 2017 - December 2020

Photo: iStock

BEProMod - Incremental multi-scale and multi-disciplinary Modeling of Processes in Bioeconomy
July 2014 - June 2017

Photo: G. Noga, Universität Bonn

InducTomE - Induction of secondary metabolites in tomato by-products for extraction and economic evaluation of the model process
November 2015 - December 2017

Photo: Kira Müntjes, Institut für Mikrobiologie, HHU Düsseldorf

PectiLyse - Activation of intrinsic enzymes for degradation of plant biomass side-streams
November 2015 - October 2017

Photo: Raj et al. 2014

BIOExpresSPro - Research and technology platform for the identfication, production, secretion and optimization of enzymes
January 2014 - December 2016

UstiLyse
01/14 – 12/14

 

  

Improving plant biomass conversion by Ustilago maydis for sustainable production of platform chemicals

 

  

Microbiology (HHU)
Microbiology (RWTH)

 

EnZIP
01/14 – 12/15

 

  

Enzymatic cell wall modification in plants to improve biomass utilization

 

  

Molecular Biotechnology, Botany and Molecular Genetics (RWTH)
Biochemistry II (HHU)
Plant Sciences (FZJ)

 

GLUFACT
01/14 – 12/16

 

  

Gluconobacter-Factory: strains and processes for stereoselective oxidative conversion of renewable carbon sources to industrial products

 

  

Systemic Microbiology (FZJ)
Molecular Enzyme Technology (HHU)
Botany and Molecular Genetics (RWTH)

 

BIOExpresSPro
01/14 – 12/16

 

  

Research and technology platform for the identification, production, secretion and optimization of enzymes

 

  

Molecular Enzyme Technology (HHU)
Systems Biotechnology, Systemic Microbiology (FZJ)
Botany and Molecular Genetics, Biotechnology (RWTH)

 

OrCaCel
07/14 – 09/16

 

  

OrganoCat plant & pulping combinations for the full valorization of lignocellulose from perennial plants from marginal land

 

  

Botany and Molecular Genetics, Technical Chemistry and Petrochemistry (RWTH)
Plant Sciences (FZJ)

 

BEProMod
07/14 – 06/17

 

  

Incremental multi-scale and multi-disciplinary modeling of processes in Bioeconomy

 

  

Systems Biotechnology (FZJ)
Process Systems Engineering, Software and Tools for Computational Engineering (RWTH)

 

BioBreak
11/14 – 12/16

 

  

Enzymes for biomass breakdown

 

  

Molecular Enzyme Technology, Biochemistry I (HHU)
Enzyme Process Technology , Biochemical Engineering (RWTH)

 

MoniCon
04/15 – 03/16

 

  

Establishing online methodology to monitor growth of single species in fungal consortia

 

  

Biochemical Engineering (RWTH)
Microbiology (HHU)

 

PectiLyse
11/15 – 10/17

 

  

Activation of intrinsic enzymes for degradation
of plant biomass side-streams

 

  

Microbiology (HHU)
Microbiology, Biochemical Engineering (RWTH)

 

InducTomE
11/15 – 12/17

 

  

Induction of secondary metabolites in tomato by-products for extraction and economic evaluation of the model process

 

  

Botany and Molecular Genetics, Fluid Process Engineering (RWTH)
Plant Sciences (FZJ)
Horticultural Sciences, Technology and Innovation Management (U Bonn)

 

SPREAD
11/15 – 10/18

 

  

Silphium Perfoliatum – resource evaluation
and development

 

  

Developmental and Molecular Biology of Plants (HHU)
Renewable Resources (U Bonn)
Enzyme Process Technology (RWTH)

 

MetEvo
01/16 – 12/16

 

  

Metabolic evolution of microorganisms for the efficient utilization of carbon sources

 

  

Biochemical Engineering (RWTH)
Systemic Microbiology (FZJ)

 

AquaPro
04/16 – 03/17

 

  

Using invasive alien aquatic plant biomass for bioenergy production

 

  

Biochemistry of Plants (HHU)
Biochemical Engineering (RWTH)

 

BioDeg
12/16 – 12/17

 

  

Boosting plant biomass degradation by combined use of lignin- and cellulose-degrading enzymes

 

  

Biochemistry II (HHU)
Botany and Molecular Genetics (RWTH)

 

AP3
04/17 – 12/20

 

  

Advanced pulping for perennial plants: a holistic and sustainable integrated lignocellulose biorefinery concept

 

  

Plant Sciences (FZJ)
Botany and Molecular Genetics, Technical Chemistry and Petrochemistry, Fluid Process Engineering, Process Systems Engineering, Technology and Innovation Management (RWTH)
Developmental and Molecular Biology of Plants,
Plant Cell Biology and Biotechnology (HHU)

 

Bio2
05/17 – 12/20

 

  

Integration of next generation biosurfactant production into biorefinery processes

 

  

Bioprocess Engineering , Microbiology, Fluid Process Engineering, Chemical Process Engineering (RWTH)
Microbiology, Molecular Enzyme Technology (HHU)
Systems Analysis and Technology Evaluation (FZJ)

 

HyImPAct
01/18 – 09/21

 

  

Hybrid processes for important precursor
and active pharmaceutical ingredient

 

  

Systems Biotechnology (FZJ)
Bioorganic Chemistry (HHU)
Fluid Process Engineering, Operations Management (RWTH)

 

XyloSens
10/18 – 03/21

 

  

Development of a xylose sensor toolbox for microbial process monitoring and control

 

  

Systems Biotechnology (FZJ)
Physical Biology (HHU)
Biochemical Engineering (RWTH)

 

iBiomass
11/18 – 12/19

 

  

Improve maize biomass for processing applying OrganoCat technology

 

  

Microbiology, Plant Cell Biology and Biotechnology (HHU)


Technical Chemistry and Petrochemistry (RWTH)

Lignin2Value
09/19 – 02/21

 

  

Valorization of lignin from agricultural residues for integrated biorefinery

 

  

Biochemistry II (HHU)
Plant Sciences, Systems Biotechnology (FZJ)

 

DesignR
08/20 – 10/21

 

  

Tailoring Biosurfactants – Production of Designer Rhamnolipids

 

  

Biochemical Engineering (RWTH)
Molecular Enzyme Technology (HHU)
Fluid Process Engineering (RWTH)

 

LIFT
07/20 – 6/21

 

  

Lignin fractionation and separation to produce different technical lignins

 

  

Plant Sciences (FZJ)
Fluid Process Engineering (RWTH)

 

SurfIn
06/22 – 05/25

  

Surface Active Biomolecules for the Chemical Industry

 

  

Molecular Enzyme Technology (HHU)
Applied Microbiology, Biochemical Engineering and Fluid Process Engineering (RWTH)
Technology and Innovation Management (U Bonn)

BioPlasticycle
06/22 – 05/25

  

Transitioning bioplastics to the circular economy

 

  

Systems Biotechnology, Synthetic Microbiology and Agrosphere (FZJ)
Bioinorganic Chemistry and Operations Management (RWTH)
Macromolecular Chemistry (HHU)

NextVegOil
06/22 – 05/25

  

Production of a sustainable and tailor-made microbial palm oil substitute from agricutural residues

 

  

Plant Cell and Biotechnology and Microbiology (HHU)
Biochemical Engineering (RWTH)
Technology and Innovation Management (U Bonn)

MK-ScaLoop
07/22 – 06/25

  

Towards an industrial-scale process for a biotechnological production of methyl ketones in a novel multiphase loop reactor

  

Fluid Process Engineering and Applied Microbiology (RWTH)
Systems Analysis and Technology Evaluation (FZJ)

LignoTex
07/22 – 06/25

  

Integrated Biorefinery for Sustainable Production and Processing of Lignin for Textile Application

 

  

Plant Sciences (FZJ)
Textile Technology and Engineering, Fluid Process Engineering, NGP2 and Bioinorganic Chemistry (RWTH)
Agricultural and Food Market Research (U Bonn)

ToxPot
01/22 – 12/23

  

Evaluation of the potential of utilizing potato-side streams for extraction of alkaloids

  

Bioinformatics (FZJ)
Bioorganic Chemistry (HHU)
Molecular Phytomedicine (U Bonn)

PREDIG
02/22 – 09/23

  

Modelling software to predict the enzymatic digestion of biomass

  

Computational Cell Biology (HHU)
Plant Sciences (FZJ)