From the inventory of a cell by –omics to synthetic biology, from strain development to industrial biotechnological processes including downstream processing
Carbon4PUR project explores industrial symbiosis between steel and chemical industry to produce polymer foams and coatings from steel off-gases Flue gases from steel manufacturing contain a mixture of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, valuable feedstock gases for chemical production. Manufacturing high value polyurethane materials from these flue gases to is the ambition of Carbon4PUR, a 7.8 Mill. Euro Horizon2020 project with 14 partners from 8 countries, coordinated by Covestro. The unique Carbon4PUR technology will valorise steel off-gas without previous cleaning or separation of the gas components. This flexible and energy efficient technology will allow a reduction of the CO2 footprint of polyurethane production by 20-60% and substitution of at least 15% of the oil-based reactants by waste-gas based carbon. A collaboration between value chain partners and experts The Carbon4PUR consortium comprises industrial partners along the entire value chain. Flue gas is provided by steel manufacturer Arcelor Mittal to feed the production of polyurethane intermediates at Covestro. Polyurethane manufacturers Recticel N.V. in Belgium and Megara Resins S.A. in Greece are involved as downstream producers, testing the intermediates for the manufacturing of rigid foams and polymer dispersions. The Port of Marseille Fos, an industrial production site for both Covestro and ArcelorMittal, is the model site for which the industrial symbiosis concept will be evaluated. Leading European research and technology support partners are involved to further develop and evaluate the Carbon4PUR technology: the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission and RWTH Aachen University for process design and catalyst development; Ghent University for flue gas treatment; Leiden University and TU Berlin for life cycle and techno-economic assessment;; sustainability solutions provider South Pole Group for investigating social impacts and mechanisms for market uptake; and PNO Consultants for value chain and stakeholder analysis. DECHEMA will provide mapping and assessment of potential replication sites for the technology, together with Imperial College in London, and is responsible for dissemination and communication.
Geobiotechnology does not only contribute to the remeditation of soil and mining waters. It offers also significant potential for the exploitation of resources from primary deposits as well as tailings and heaps and for recycling. The status paper by the Temporary Working Group Geobiotechnology gives an overview on the current status of research and technology and discusses perspectives for the further development. Relevant stakeholders in Germany and educational courses are also listed.
VOLATILE is a large scale project in the frame of Horizon 2020 involving 21 industry and research partners from nine European countries.
The project’s intention is to develop a Volatile Fatty Acids Platform (VFAP) for the economic utilization of municipal as well as industrial biowaste. Fatty acids will continuously be recovered from anaerobic digestion processes applying membrane technology and will be provided for value added fermentation approaches:
The evolvement of the new value-added chains will be supported by findings of executed case studies and market analyses. Furthermore, the processes will be optimized applying agent-based modeling. To ensure environmentally friendly and economical reasonable process design, VOLATILE additionally will be accompanied by a life cycle assessment (LCA) and an economic feasibility study. Business cases will be developed and a CEN workshop will support standardization on “Sustainable use of municipal solid and sludgy biowaste for added value biomolecules for industrial application”.
These recommendations of Working Group Upstream Processing of the DECHEMA expert group “Single-use technology in biopharmaceutical manufacturing” aim to select suitable experimental methods for the characterisation of single-use bioreactors (SUB) and mixers (SUM). The described methods are applicable to a broad range of of single-use systems and applications. The guidelines can also be used for the engineering characterisation of reusable systems. Furthermore, these process engineering characterisation methods intend to offer manufacturers and operators of SUB and SUM a uniform set of methods and instruments through validated Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
New production systems and innovative manufacturing methods such as single-use technologies bring about new challenges for quality control of biopharmaceutical production processes. In its most recent publication, the DECHEMA Working Group “Single-use technology in biopharmaceutical manufacturing” gives recommendations for a risk analysis of these processes. Based on prior publications, the compact paper lists the regulatory background as well as potential risks related to material, processes, or products. An example of an industrial application shows how risk values can be defined and risk levels calculated in order to determine appropriate countermeasures. This recommendation is based on an article in Adv. Biochem. Eng. Biotechnol. The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com.
DECHEMA-Werkstoff-Tabelle (materials charts) - the ultimate reference for corrosion specialists materials scientists...
Today, single-use technology is used routinely in biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing processes. Besides many advantages, the available single-use systems still have limitations. One of the most cited disadvantages is the risk for release of potentially toxic or inhibitory substances, so-called leachables from the plastic bags. The bags are typically made of multi-layer thermoplastic films. Until now, no standardized cell culture test was available to identify critical bag films at an early stage in process development. To meet this need, a sub-team of the DECHEMA temporary working group "Single-Use Technology in Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing" developed a standardized cell culture test that would enable the early identification of non-satisfactory films for cultivation of CHO cell lines in chemically defined culture media.
Wasser in ausreichender Menge und Qualität ist eine essentielle Lebensgrundlage. Die Sicherstellung einer qualitativ hochwertigen Trinkwasserversorgung stellt deshalb eine der großen Herausforderungen der Zukunft dar. Neben Schadstoffen und Krankheitserregern belasten auch in Deutschland klimatische und demografische Veränderungen in Abhängigkeit der regionalen Ausprägung die Wasserqualität. Es ist daher erforderlich, dass gerade in unserer komplexen und hoch dynamischen Gesellschaft diese vielfältigen, absehbar zunehmenden Risiken für die Wasserqualität erkannt und neu bewertet werden.
Neben der Errichtung einer Pilotanlage im chemisch-biotechnologischen Prozesszentrum (CBP) am Standort Chemiepark Leuna, die nach Ablauf von zwei Jahren die Produktion aufnehmen soll, liegt der Schwerpunkt des Projektes auf der Entwicklung neuer Prozessketten für biobasierte Produkte aus den Zuckern und Lignin