Some steps in leather production are extremely unsavory. In order to be able to process and preserve the hide, it has to be tanned. Classical tanning processes use substances that are harmful to health and pollute soils and waters considerably. In addition to the harmful substances, animal farming is also problematic, because not every animal skin is a waste product.
Nadja Henke has a great job: she brings color into life - at least in animal feed and cosmetics. The young systems biologist is developing a sustainable process in which bacteria produce the antioxidant pigment astaxanthin under economic conditions.
250,000 tons of charcoal are consumed in Germany every year, about 85% are imported. In 2018, the WWF conducted a market analysis on charcoal. Among other things, the study examined the type of wood and origin of barbecue charcoal offered in Germany.
Get rid of the car, save power, cut out air travel: A lot of people in Germany want to do something to protect the climate. Many people do without schnitzel and meatloaf as meat consumption has a considerable impact on their personal climate balance. But you can still have a burger on the grill: Companies from the USA and Great Britain have developed a meat substitute that tastes like a beef burger but is vegan.
A dragonfly unfolds its wings and whirrs off. A little further on, a butterfly spreads its wings and glides through the air. Both animals have learned to fly through evolution, but with different techniques. "This fascinated me even as a child," Harald Luksch remembers. "When I was a boy, I was outdoors a lot. At that time there was a desire to understand more about nature".
Every person in Germany drinks about 150 liters of coffee per year. And everyone prepares their coffee in a different way. Word has gotten around: Coffee is not just coffee. When exposed to air, coffee, whether powder or beans, loses its aroma and taste. In order to preserve both as fully as possible, the capsule was invented. In it, the coffee powder is hermetically sealed and can be stored in portions.
If it were up to Andrea Kruse, every farmer would have his own biorefinery. Waste materials such as grass, straw or wood would be broken down into their components in a mini plant and converted into new products such as platform chemicals. The idea of the Hohenheim chemist is by no means utopian. Such an on-farm plant was inaugurated at the end of October on the site of the experimental station at the University of Hohenheim on Unteren Lindenhof. "We still need about three years before all teething troubles are resolved.
Last summer, heat and drought have afflicted farmers in many places and caused enormous harvest losses. The damage caused to farmers in Germany was estimated by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture at 770 million euros.
Extreme weather conditions make plants more susceptible to disease and pest infestation. This also endangers wheat production in Germany and large parts of Europe.
For a long time, washing was the most energy- and time-consuming work in the household. Washing was done in a lye made of ash - ash, because the non-water-soluble substances mechanically helped scrubbing. In addition, the combination of water and ash produces a corrosive solution that causes the fibres to swell and decomposes the fats.
"Bio-based" sounds like a good thing to most people. However, regarding biofuels this has been the topic of heated discussions for many years now. Environmental economist Ruth Delzeit has been involved in this topic in one way or another since the beginning of her research career - and it has been a transformative experience, especially once she recognized how some politicians and journalists deal with research findings.