Biofach 2021

•••6••• Innovationen economy by developing newconcepts that utilize material flows in bioeconomy process cycles to produce optimized materials for innovative products. From environmental pollution to climate change – the crises of our time are anthropogenic. The cost of agriculture designed for mass pro- duction is high and the careless use of coal, oil, and other fossil fuels is damaging. It is high time to answer the question of howwewant to run our economy and production cycles without harming the environment, the climate, valuable ecosystems and, ultimately, people. In the EVOBIOproject, 19 Fraunhofer Institutes have combined their ex- pertise and over a period of five months have developed concepts andmodules for a newway of doing business. This is now demonstrated through the use of selected exam- ples. “We want to rethink the indus- trial value chain, in which raw materials are processed into specific materials that can be used to manufacture products,” says Dr. Markus Wolperdinger, director of Fraunhofer IGB. Together with Prof. Alexander Böker, director of Fraunhofer IAP, and Prof. Andrea Büttner, director of Fraunhofer IVV, he has driven forward the project as part of the Fraunhofer Strategic Research Field Bioeconomy. “By-products or residual materials should be avoided or – following nature’s example – should be returned to the material and substance cycle without leaving any residues,” says Wolperdinger. Wastewater, Waste, and CO 2 as Resources EVOBIOhas already shown that thisworks: A wastewater treatment plant, for exam- ple, was expanded to become a central component of a regional recycling man- agement system. The technical basis for this is known as high-load digestion. A pilot plant installed at the wastewater treatment plant in Ulm, Germany not only converts sewage sludge into biogas as a regenerative source of carbon and energy, but also provides additional material flows of sludge water and digestate. The EVO- BIO partners use the nutrient-rich sludge water, for example, as a growth medium for unicellular microalgae. These micro- algae produce polysaccharides that help plants defend themselves against fungal infections, such as powdery mildew, and thus can replace pesticides. Sludge water is similarly suitable for water-based veg- etable cultivation: with its nutrients as fertilizer, lettuce grows from seedlings in hydroponic systems within a few weeks. The remaining solids after sludge dewater- ing, the digestate, are processed into valu- able substances for material production in the next value-adding step. Using thermo- catalytic reforming, Fraunhofer scientists extract biochar, synthesis gas, and a bio- oil similar in composition to crude oil. New impedance-based inline sensors can con- tinuouslymonitor the treatedwastewater. They detect bacteria and simultaneously measure the concentrations of nutrient ions. NewMaterials fromAlternative Substance Streams The Fraunhofer team is developing high- performance materials based on raw materials produced from wastewater or waste, as well as other biogenic raw ma- terials. Some of these have new and ad- ditional functions and are intended to replace petrochemical materials in the fu- ture. One focus of the development work is bio-based polymer blends using novel additives and coating formulations. The researchers have a wide variety of appli- cations in mind: Proteins produced from rapeseed extraction meal, for example, serve as oxygen barrier layers on food packaging. Protein-based nanofiber ma- terials from various rawmaterials, such as kidney beans and rapeseed, are used to develop filter materials, coating agents, or wound dressing materials, and nanofiber nonwovens are spun from rapeseed pro- tein. Bio-based and biogenic additives are also important for the green economy. Many natural substances, such as essential oils or enzymes, are known for their antibac- terial, oxidative, and antioxidant or UV-ab- sorbing effects. Direct integration of such substances into polymer materials and processes is therefore generally difficult, as the substances are often in liquid form, highly volatile, reactive, or unstable. In the EVOBIO project, biogenic substances are therefore microencapsulated so that they can be integrated into coatings or extrud- ed polymer composites. Optimized Products Made from Bio- based Materials Especially in the packaging sector, bio- based polyethylene furanoate (PEF) is considered a promising replacement for petroleum-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is the dominant material for fibers worldwide. As part of the project, the EVOBIO team is syn- thesizing PEF for fiber applications on a pilot scale using furan dicar- boxylic acid as the starting mate- rial. The PEF obtained in this way can also be spun and post-treated using conventional melt spinning technology, which significantly sim- plifies its potential establishment on the market. The researchers are also developing foams made of shape memory polymer with bio- based fibers and particles. Protein-based materials with wa- ter-repellent properties are also being developed. In the future, they could replace halogenated hy- drocarbons in the finishing of func- tional textiles. In combination with poly- glucosamine from chitin, which comes from the shells and carapaces of crabs, shrimps, and prawns, applied to absor- bent papers, the Fraunhofer researchers were able to demonstrate that functional layers with both water-repellent and wa- ter-vapor-permeable properties can be produced with bio-based and biodegrad- able materials. Is the Market Ready? The comprehensive approach pursued in the EVOBIO project requires that estab- lished value chains must be further de- veloped into intercommunicating value networks. Are companies ready for this? What new business models are needed to turn wastewater treatment plants and operations that generate biogenic residues into producers of secondary raw materials and other usable materi- als? With a view to the utilization of the new bio-economy processes, the part- ners are evaluating their usefulness, fea- sibility, and transfer potential. By means of acceptance analyses, they are investi- gating whether companies consider the project results to be valuable. In addition, various business model scenarios are be- ing developed and prioritized in terms of feasibility and economic viability. The EVOBIO Project The project “Evolutionary bioeconomic processes EVOBIO – Integrative use of material flows for the production of op- timized materials for innovative products in bioeconomic process cycles” started in August 2020 under the management of the Fraunhofer Institutes IGB, IAP, and IVV. It is being funded by the Fraunhofer Innovation Program and coordinated by Fraunhofer IGB. The treated nutrient-rich wastewater from the wastewater treatment plant is used in the EVOBIO project for the hyd- roponic cultivation of lettuce. Foto: Fraunhofer EMB Inspiration und Im- pulse für den Markt Auch beim BIOFACH / VIVANESS eSPECIAL stehen die Neuheiten und Trends der Branche im Fokus. Auch 2021 wird es eine digitale Al- ternative zum Neuheitenstand mit begleitenden Terminen im Live-Stream zur Präsentation der Neuheiten geben. Und die in den Augen der Teilnehmer spannends- ten und innovativsten Neuheiten erhalten wieder den begehrten Best New Product Award. Auch ei- ne Start-up-Area wird es geben. Die Start-ups@BIOFACH/VIVA- NESS präsentieren sich und ihre Produkte in eigenen Kur z- Terminen/10-minütigen „Pitches“ im Ausstellerforum. Planetary Health Report Der Planetary Health Report zeigt die Zusammenhänge zwischen Umwelt- und Gesundheitsschä- den: So sind gut 35% der globalen Lebensmittelerzeugung abhängig von bestäubenden Insekten. Ein Fortschreiten des Insektenster- bens hätte weitreichende drama- tische Gesundheitsfolgen, denn die Artenvielfalt der Früchte, Ge- müse und Nüsse würde sich ver- ringern. Wenn die Insektenpopu- lation beispielsweise um 50% schrumpft, dann ist mit mehreren zusätzlichen Todesfällen pro Jahr allein durch Vitaminmangel zu rechnen. Zahlreiche Organisatio- nen setzen sich für den Erhalt der Arten und gegen das Insekten- sterben ein. Anabela Foods e. K. www.anabelafoods.de C.E. Roeper GmbH www.roeper.de Haus Rabenhorst O. Lauffs GmbH & Co. KG www.haus-rabenhorst.de Mühle Kottmann GmbH & Co. KG www.muehle-kottmann.de Messe­ telegramm Anzeige Continued from Page 1