Bioplastics made from renewable raw materials and residues have the potential to replace petroleum-based plastics. Despite many advantages, however, there are still obstacles that prevent companies from manufacturing their products from bioplastics. These include higher production costs and an insufficient choice of bioplastic grades.
From yogurt pots and chip bags to cardboard boxes: The majority of packaging ends up in the trash shortly after use. 18.8 million tons of waste were generated in Germany alone in 2020, according to the Federal Statistical Office. 46% of this was generated in private households. To save raw materials and protect the environment, sustainable packaging solutions are needed. Students at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart have an alternative. A five-member team called EDGGY has developed edible packaging.
Agriculture is responsible for around 7.7% of Germany's greenhouse gas emissions. In order to achieve the climate targets, emissions of climate-damaging gases must be drastically reduced. In agriculture, this is to be achieved with the help of carbon farming. There are many measures that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store CO2 in the soil. But how does the principle work in agricultural practice and how effective are humus certificates? Carsten Paul from the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) studied this topic.
Fiber composites made from bio-based raw materials are increasingly in demand in industry. They are set to replace materials previously based on glass or carbon fibers or even basalt or aramid fibers. The intention is to produce more sustainable products, because the previous variants are very energy-intensive, both in production and in recycling. Yet sustainability is not to be achieved at the expense of processability or material properties.
What will food production look like in the future? Already today, more people live in cities than in the countryside. However, the majority of food is produced in rural areas. Due to climate change, however, there is less and less land that is suitable for growing food. In the joint project CUBES Circle, researchers have been working on an alternative for years.
Innovations in the field of life sciences secure the food production of the future and make it more sustainable. To accelerate innovation through start-ups in the fields of agriculture, food technology and biotechnology, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and UnternehmerTUM have launched the TUM Venture Lab Food-Agro-Biotech (FAB). The Lab FAB is one of now eleven TUM Venture Labs, which are designed to support TUM researchers and students in entrepreneurial spin-offs in the various fields of technology.
AI-supported field robots could give agriculture a significant boost toward greater sustainability. Agricultural scientist Hans G. Griepentrog is convinced of this. In recent years, the scientist from the University of Hohenheim has developed a field robot with AI-supported data analysis and intelligent sensor technology that independently makes its rounds in the fields, weeds and gives the farmer fertilizer recommendations.
Less than two years ago, a team of researchers at the University of Leipzig reported that they had discovered an enzyme that degrades the plastic polyethylene terephthalate - better known as PET - at high speed. Now the experts have followed up and improved this enzyme even further.
It has been ten years since AMSilk first processed biotechnologically produced spider silk into fibers. Today, the artificial spider silk threads called Biosteel are used in numerous high-tech products such as running shoes, watch straps, door handle loops and aircraft wings. Spider silk proteins are also used in medicine and cosmetics.
Wastewater has long since become a valuable resource for recycling nutrients such as phosphate or returning water to the cycle. For this, however, all pollutants such as pharmaceutical residues or corrosion protection agents must be removed from the wastewater. This is usually done with activated carbon, because the pollutants easily stick to this carbonaceous and porous material. But activated carbon is mainly obtained from lignite and hard coal.