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© Thünen-Institut
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Institute of

AT Agricultural Technology

Biomass digestion

For the production of many bio-based chemicals, the sugars that constitute biomass are essential. The biomass digestion is the first conversion step and provides free sugars for the subsequent processes. We analyze, develop and evaluate methods and processes for the efficient digestion of biomass.

The sugars and sugar building blocks that build up the carbohydrates of biomass are essential intermediates for many bioraffinery processes. Though, carbohydrates originating from food such as starch from corn or sucrose from sugar beets can be relatively easy used for these purposes, these raw materials are also used for food production and can therefore only be not be used in biorefineries without limitation. Alternative sources of sugars are cellulose and hemicellulose, the main constituents of plant biomass, especially of agricultural wastes such as straw, chaff or sugar beet pulp. Cellulose and Hemicellulose usually occur in complex and recalcitrant composite structures. For an efficient use of raw materials, it is necessary to convert the bound sugars into a easily processable form. Physical, chemical and biotechnological methods and combinations of methods are used for this saccharification process.

We investigate, develop and evaluate these processes to obtain free sugars from agricultural raw materials and residues. This basic first conversion steps is crucial for the overall efficiency of biorefineries. Our special attention is paid to the specific requirements of raw materials and the subsequent processes. Our goal is to optimize the digestion of agricultural residues by new methods and combinations of methods and to obtain the underlying sugars in industrially utilizable concentration and purity.

Gallery

Projects

Itaconic Acid for Polyesters

Polyesters nowadays represent an important group of plastics which generally are obtained using fossil raw materials. Another, more sustainable approach, we work on in an ERA-IB project, is the use of renewable resources like chaff or orange peels for their production.

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Itaconic Acid for Polyesters

BioButanol

Butanol is an important chemical feedstock used in paints resins, plasticizers and polymers. The aim of the project was the integrated evaluation of a biotechnical process for the produktion of butanol from agricultural residues or raw materials.

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BioButanol

Digestion of agricultural raw materials and residues

Sugars from biomass are essential building blocks for the production of biobased chemicals. A comprehensive knowledge of their recovery is necessary in order to evaluate and develop efficient conversion processes.

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Digestion of agricultural raw materials and residues

Research Equipment

Biomass digestion

The institute is well equipped for the physical, thermochemical and enzymatic saccharification of biomass as well as for the analysis of the sugar composition of raw and pretreated biomass. In addition, the resulting degradation products can be quantified.

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Biomass digestion

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