Thursday, 29 July, 2010
New products from renewable resources
Thursday, 18 March, 2010
VTTFinland is very strong in developing technologies for the utilisation of renewable resources in industrial manufacture.What does one get when combining White Biotechnology with Green Chemistry? New sustainable methods for the production of chemicals, materials and fuels from renewable biomass resources.
– Future production processes will in increasing amounts combine biotechnological and chemical methods, says professor Merja Penttilä from the Finnish Centre of Excellence (CoE) in White Biotechnology – Green Chemistry Research.
– With the combination of White Biotechnology and Green Chemistry one aims for sustainable, energy and material efficient production processes that are carried out in gentle conditions without the use of toxic and harmful chemicals.
White Biotechnology is a term used for industrial biotechnology, the use of biotechnological means in industrial production, production of useful chemicals, fuels and proteins by living cells, usually microbes. Green chemistry, or sustainable chemistry, is the design of chemical products and processes that reduce the use of energy and materials, and reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances.
Wide range of skills
Penttilä is leading one of the national Centres of Excellence (CoE), nominated by the Academy of Finland. The aim of the CoE is to develop microbial cells that will produce useful new compounds out of plant biomass sugars.
– Sugar-derived organic acids, such as sugar acids and their derivates, are produced by applying the tools of genetic technology to engineer the metabolism of microbes. They have numerous industrial applications, for instance as precursor molecules in the production of new bioplastics.
Another important objective is to develop sensitive measurement techniques and to shed new light on the basic function of microbial cells. The ultimate aim is to develop mathematical models of cell functions. These models can be used to predict the productivity of microbial cells as well as in the design and management of optimal bioprocesses.
Development effort requires a wide range of skills and knowledge from the biosciences to engineering. The CoE brings together the high level of expertise available at VTT Finland in the fields of biotechnology, chemistry, systems biology, and engineering sciences to design miniaturised measurement devices.
– For decades, VTT Finland has been a world pioneer in technologies based on renewable natural resources.
www.aka.fi
– Future production processes will in increasing amounts combine biotechnological and chemical methods, says professor Merja Penttilä from the Finnish Centre of Excellence (CoE) in White Biotechnology – Green Chemistry Research.
– With the combination of White Biotechnology and Green Chemistry one aims for sustainable, energy and material efficient production processes that are carried out in gentle conditions without the use of toxic and harmful chemicals.
White Biotechnology is a term used for industrial biotechnology, the use of biotechnological means in industrial production, production of useful chemicals, fuels and proteins by living cells, usually microbes. Green chemistry, or sustainable chemistry, is the design of chemical products and processes that reduce the use of energy and materials, and reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances.
Wide range of skills
Penttilä is leading one of the national Centres of Excellence (CoE), nominated by the Academy of Finland. The aim of the CoE is to develop microbial cells that will produce useful new compounds out of plant biomass sugars.
– Sugar-derived organic acids, such as sugar acids and their derivates, are produced by applying the tools of genetic technology to engineer the metabolism of microbes. They have numerous industrial applications, for instance as precursor molecules in the production of new bioplastics.
Another important objective is to develop sensitive measurement techniques and to shed new light on the basic function of microbial cells. The ultimate aim is to develop mathematical models of cell functions. These models can be used to predict the productivity of microbial cells as well as in the design and management of optimal bioprocesses.
Development effort requires a wide range of skills and knowledge from the biosciences to engineering. The CoE brings together the high level of expertise available at VTT Finland in the fields of biotechnology, chemistry, systems biology, and engineering sciences to design miniaturised measurement devices.
– For decades, VTT Finland has been a world pioneer in technologies based on renewable natural resources.
www.aka.fi
