Research projects

Quelle: IfBB

In the wake of rewetted peatlands and the need to develop new concepts for agriculture and forestry in order to utilise peatlands in a climate-friendly yet profitable way, rushes show great potential. They spread preferentially on moist, acidic and low-nitrogen soils, and rewetted moorland is also suitable as a location for pure rush cultures.
The project focuses on the potential uses of rushes as a fibre material for insulation or as a filler for plastics. Harvesting and raw material utilisation concepts for rushes are to be developed that take into account the special challenges of their harvesting. In addition, the developed materials will be characterised and ecobalanced.

The aim of the project is to develop new types of natural fibre organosheets with biopolymers in order to provide semi-finished products made of completely bio-based composite material for a wide range of applications such as enclosures and cladding in mechanical and plant engineering, interior and structural components in vehicle construction and the aviation sector, and products for the sports industry.

How can data gaps in the processing of bioplastics and recycled plastics be closed so that more of these materials are used? As part of the research project "Computer simulation in extrusion technology for customised bioplastics and biocomposites (ComEX)" research is being conducted on the computer simulation of plastics in order to simulate processing procedures, ensure greater safety in the processing of bioplastics and recycled plastics and thus produce customised materials.

Quelle: Timo Klostermeier_pixelio.de

Industrial food production in Germany produces large quantities of eggshells, which to date have remained largely unused. Yet they offer great potential as a resource for a bio-based economy, as they can be used industrially, for example in the plastics industry. This is where the research project "AddEgg" comes in.

Quelle: RainerSturm / pixelio.de

In the "Bio-CO2 polymers" project, novel plastics based on dihydroxyacetone (DHA) are to be developed from the base molecule CO2. The basis is a biocatalytic process cascade. DHA is a simple carbohydrate that is widely used in self-tanning products, for example.