Integration of Next Generation Biosurfactant Production into Biorefinery Processes (Bio²), 2017 - 2020

Description
Surfactants are surface-active molecules, which are used in many products such as cleaning agents and detergents, in the food and agricultural industries, and also in medical technology. Up to 97% of today’s surfactants are synthesized from crude oil. These surfactants can cause long-term ecological problems due to their toxicity, the difficult degradability of petrochemical precursors and long residence times. Biosurfactants of microbial origin on the other hand are natural products, which are easily biodegradable and offer a broad diversity of variants with highly specialized attributes.
Bio² (Biosurfactant Biorefinery) aims at the development of a biorefinery process for the production of rhamnolipids (RLs) and mannosylerythritol lipids (MELs). In the spirit of a sustainable bioeconomy the process is based on waste products of the food industry. By decreasing raw material and production costs, increasing yields and enhancing product properties, we help to establish biosurfactant competitiveness on the market. In addition, new cultivation concepts and integration of downstream processing are applied to facilitate a holistic approach, which is supported by a Life Cycle Sustainability assessment (LCSA). Effects of the production of conventional surfactants are compared to those of the biosurfactant process chain. In close collaboration with the technology developers, weaknesses of the production can be identified at an early stage. Improvement potentials as well as development goals can be addressed.

Project Duration
May 2017 – December 2020

Funded by
Land NRW

Project Partners
RWTH Aachen University, Chair of Biochemical Engineering (AVT)
RWTH Aachen University, Institute of Applied Microbiology (AVT)
RWTH Aachen University, Chair of Chemical Process Engineering (AVT)
RWTH Aachen University, Chair of Fluid Process Engineering
Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Institute of Molecular Enzyme Technology (IMET)
Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Institute for Microbiology

Project Manager IEK-STE
Dr.-Ing. Petra Zapp

Results
See Project Website

Contact
Dr. Petra Zapp
Forschungszentrum Jülich
Institute of Energy and Climate Research
Systems Analysis and Technology Evaluation (IEK-STE)
e-mail: p.zapp@fz-juelich.de

Project Website
http://www.biosc.de/bio2