From plants to pilot plant - Holistic process development in a sustainable bioeconomy

The change from a petroleum based to a more sustainable and bio-based economy necessitates the development of novel concepts to maintain for example the supply of raw materials and energy. Biorefinery concepts for the valorization of lignocellulosic biomass to value-added compounds are promising alternatives to secure economic prosperity combined with ecological and social responsibility. To develop a biorefinery process fulfilling these requirements, a holistic process development is necessary, which considers the whole process chain from plants to production plant.

The BioSC international summer school aims to interdisciplinary train talented young researchers, raise their awareness, and create a deeper understanding of a sustainable bioeconomy. The program will cover the whole process starting with sustainable plant biomass production followed by examples for fermentation concepts and downstream processing. In addition, substrate analytics and economic evaluation will be taken into account. Besides keynote presentations, the program will be designed interactively, including exercises and case studies on the different topics covered to give hands-on practice in this highly innovative field of future bio-based process development.

The following topics will be covered:

Sustainable plant biomass production
Building up the refinery
Determining lignocellulose
Sustainability assessment and business models
Case studies

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The 3rd International Bioeconomy Congress Baden-Württemberg 2020 will be an inter- and transdisciplinary meeting for experts and stakeholders dedicated to systemic approaches of a sustainable bioeconomy. This year's congress comes with the title “The contribution of Bioeconomy to the Green Deal” and will discuss how innovative products, processes, principles and regional circles can contribute to mitigation of climate change, reducing pollution, supporting resource efficiency and other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This conference aims to open the current circular economy debates more towards critical engagement with the socio-political realities that circular economy efforts face and the multi-faceted effects of implementation. Ultimately, the conference seeks to provide policy and practice with the critical insights needed to achieve socio-ecologically sustainable outcomes.

What contribution can biotechnology, chemical process engineering and process technology make to environmental and climate protection? This question will be the focus of the 10th ProcessNet Annual Conference and the 34th DECHEMA Annual Conference on Biotechnologies.

At the European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology & the Bioeconomy (EFIB), delegates are provided with an update on the status and outlook of biobased industries. EFIB is proud to foster engagement between policy makers, a broad range of stakeholders connected with the existing biobased value chain and seeks to reach out to, and include, new interlocutors.

If you are interested in participation, please complete the application form before May 14, 2020.

The specific objectives of the seminar are:

1. Raise awareness on the importance of soil health, and various EU initiatives undertaken to maintain and improve it.
2. Promote and build upon the results and outcomes of past EIP-AGRI networking activities such as Focus Groups on soil-related issues and relevant workshops.
3. Share experiences and good practices to maintain soil health, identified by relevant projects, research activities and farmers.
4. Identify synergies between different types of projects working on soil health and encourage further cooperation among participants through networking.
5. Discuss challenges and solutions for soil health, identify what is needed to make these solutions operational for farmers, foresters and other land managers, and widely used/adopted.
6. Identify research needs and non-research actions to contribute to the agenda of Horizon Europe’s mission area Soil health and food.

The International Conference “Digital Technologies for Sustainable Crop Production” (DIGICROP) will take place on November 10, 2020 for the first time and in a remote fashion. The scientific event addresses an interdisciplinary audience working at the intersection of engineering, robotics, computer science, crop sciences, agricultural sciences, phenotyping, and economics.

The 5th International BioSC Symposium takes place prior to the 3rd Global Bioeconomy Summit in Berlin.

The MECP-conference series brings together biologists, chemists and engineers from academia and industry to share their knowledge and break new ground in the field of multi-step enzyme catalysis. MECP2020 in Aachen will highlight recently identified novel catalysts and catalytic combinations to synthesize chemical products. Enzymes are the focus, but recent developments also include chemical catalysts or microbial cell factories combined in hybrid processes. Further, MECP2020 will provide a platform to discuss enzyme and process engineering innovations, including continuous reaction modes, systems biology, cascade regulation, and downstream processing. Eminent experts from each topic field are invited in order to initiate creative discussions, interdisciplinary thinking and launch new connections and networks.