Chemistry

Alternative proteins for gluten-free baked goods

For many people, pasta is a natural part of their meals. For 250 million people worldwide, however, such food causes serious health problems. The reason: they suffer from celiac disease - an intolerance to gluten, a protein found in many types of grain. Although there are already gluten-free products on the market, the baked goods lack the right texture. This is because gluten is a gluten protein that provides stability to air bubbles in dough and bread and gives volume to pasta. Without the supporting gluten framework, the dough collapses.

Producing basic chemicals with wood and hot steam

Agriculture and forestry produce enormous quantities of residual materials such as hay, straw, wood or plant residues. The bioeconomy strives for the efficient and sustainable utilization of such raw materials in order to close cycles and thus conserve resources and the environment. Some of these valuable by-products of agricultural and forestry production are already being used to generate energy and materials for the production of new biobased products. However, neither the material nor the energy potential has been sufficiently exploited.

Algae biotechnology: creating profitable processes

Shifting away from fossil raw materials and toward biobased alternatives: This credo has become a matter of course in research and industry as a result of the climate crisis. From biofuels to bioplastics and biobased fine chemicals, the alternatives are proliferating - at least in theory. This is because the technically feasible processes are not always economically profitable in the end. Frequent reasons for this are insufficient product yields or overly complex purification steps.

Starch based foam film

Foamed plastics are frequently used for packaging. They are mostly made of polystyrene, polyethylene or polyurethane - and are thus ultimately based on petroleum. The production process is clearly not sustainable, and the situation is often no better at the product's end of life: After a single use, they are usually discarded - even if done correctly, foamed materials are rarely recycled today. Instead, they end up in thermal recycling.

Million euro funding for traceless

Only recently, traceless launched the biomaterial they had developed with a pilot product in the form of a sock holder. Just under three years after its founding, the young bioeconomy start-up is now going into large-scale production. The team led by traceless founders Johanna Baare and Anne Lamp has just received a grant of 5 million euros from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment.

Higher wheat yields with silicon fertilizers

In agriculture, large quantities of fertilizers are often used to increase yields per unit area. However, this practice has long been controversial because it damages soils, the environment and the climate alike. In addition, heat and drought are putting increasing pressure on soils and crops, leading to crop failures. How can we prevent soils from drying out while increasing yields to ensure food security in the future? A study led by the Leibniz Center for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) provides promising results.

Organic disposable bag made from hemp fibers impresses at the Jugend forscht competition

They are young and they have innovative ideas in store: kids and young people aged up to 21 who put their talents to the test in the STEM competition Jugend forscht. This year's winners were announced in Bremen on May 21 in the presence of the Federal Minister of Education and Research, Bettina Stark-Watzinger. A total of 173 young STEM talents qualified for this year's national finals in seven subject areas with 108 innovative research projects.

Oleogels as heat-resistant barrier layer

From bakery snacks to prepared frozen vegetables, many foods are so-called multicomponent systems and consist of a dry layer and a moist or creamy layer. One challenge in the production and storage of such foods is to prevent the dry layer from becoming moist. Researchers at the University of Hohenheim have now developed a biobased barrier layer made of oleogels for this purpose. The oleogel consists of vegetable oils and ethyl cellulose and can thus be used in the food sector.

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