Honorary Professorship Bio-refinery technology
The main focus and subject of Honorary Professorship "Bio-refinery technology" is the research and development of the sustainable ecological concepts and systems of bio-refinery, as well as bio-refinery processes and products. Bio-refineries link necessary technology between biological raw materials and the industrial intermediate and final products. Basic approaches to fractionation of biomass and the development of intermediate and final goods have been developed in cooperation with other research and economic institutes of the state Brandenburg.
Honorary Professorship is a further academic development of the research activities of the Bio-refinery/ Green Bio-refinery Brandenburg-Berlin Alliance, established in 1998, and the Middle-East Bio-refinery Alliance (Brandenburg-Berlin, Saxony-Anhalt), founded in 2005. Also an Innovation Forum, financed by BMBF, was organised. Other founder members apart from Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) Cottbus are FI Biopos e.V., AVEBE Ltd., BASF AG, biorefinery.de Ltd., Dow Deutschland and Construction Association Ltd., Zukunftsagentur Brandenburg (ZAB), the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Potsdam, and the Institute of Agricultural Technology Bornim (ATB).
One of the goals is to transfer the ideas of Bio-refinery in teaching as a concept of a prospective regionally sustainable economy, based on raw material. Bio-refineries are the engines necessary for the reorientation of national economies into bio raw material and bio resources. Another goal is to promote the research of sustainable economic concepts of bio-refinery, sustainable product lines and marketable products as well as to prepare the establishment of pilot and demonstration plants in the region.
The demonstration plant “Green Bio-refinery” is still in its planning phase and is intended to be built in Selbelang/Havelland starting from 2009.
The module “Systems of Bio-refinery and Industrial Basic Materials” is integrated into the course of studies “Technology of biogenous raw materials”.
Research is mainly concentrated on the 5 main areas.
(1) Technology of primary refinement of original raw materials
(1.1) Lignocellulose feedstock refinery
(1.2) Green bio-refinery
(1.3) Crop- plant-bio-refinery
(1.4) 2 platform concept (Syn gas and sugar platform)
(1.5) Identification of biogenous connections and their acceptability as raw material for bio-refinary
(2) Chemistry and technology of platform chemicals
(2.1) Conversion of 4 biomass precursors – carbohydrate, lignin, oil and protein
(2.2) Novel processes based on precursors, that lead to the production of industrially important product classes.
(2.3) development processes of aliphatic bifunctional monomer blocks
(2.4) development processes of aromatic bifunctional monomer blocks
(2.5) Combination of bio and chemistry technologies in the processes of material conversion
(2.6) Novel syntheses for conversion of oil and fat as well as by-products of oleo chemistry (glycerin) to platform chemicals.
(3) Chemistry and technology of intermediate products
(3.1) novel processes of by-product and fine chemical syntheses
(3.2) bio-based cationic and anionic monomer structures
(3.3) new synthesis technologies of open chained cationic and anionic monomer structures
(3.4) new technologies in production of bio-based structures for green solvents and fuel additives
(4) Chemistry and technology for modification of natural polymers
(4.1) new technologies on derivatization of cellulose for the production of cationic and anionic substituted macromolecules
(4.2) new technologies for heterogeneous modification of polymers and carbohydrates
(4.3) new technologies in functionalisation of proteins from the green bio-refinery process
(5) Bio-based complexes of polymer electrolyte
(5.1) taxidermy of a bio-based polymer electrolyte systems
(5.2) development of the bio-based, bio-active and degradable polymer electrolyte systems
(5.3) development of polymer electrolyte systems for application as pharmaceuticals, cosmeceuticals and in medicine
Students of the study course “Technology of Biogenous Raw Materials” have a possibility to work on the abovementioned topics in the Research Institute of Bioactive Polymer Systems as part of their internship, master and PhD theses.
