In the landscape, differences between Niedersachsen and the Northern Netherlands are almost unnoticeable. On both sides of the border, biobased economy is in full development. A lot of research and talks take place in the Eems-Dollard regional association. Some important … Read more
‘In the ‘80s we at DSM felt that antibiotics should be synthesised differently. Although at that time, we did not produce those medicines ourselves.’ Says Alle Bruggink, former Nijmegen professor, former head of DSM Chemfern Research, and member of the … Read more
We should take another view of grass, according to Grassa. Cows in meadows are beautiful, but grass contains too much proteins for the cow. Why not extract that excess first? Besides, grass contains many valuable substances like fibres and sugars, … Read more
‘Cows in the meadow in a real Frisian landscape will always be the subject of romanticism’, says Gjalt de Haan, ‘but the dairy farmer as the producer of milk as a sole product might change. In the Northern part of … Read more
‘Enzymatic polymerisation is a totally new branch of science and technology’, says associate professor Dr. Katja Loos of the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials (ZIAM), the top research school of Groningen University. ‘Most of the enzymes we need for this, … Read more
‘The Netherlands lag behind in biomass use. Germany, for instance, has more than 3.000 maize fermentation units, the Netherlands just a few. On the other hand, now we have the opportunity to develop new technology.’ Says Jan van den Broek, … Read more
Methanol, commonly produced from natural gas, is an interesting transport fuel, and a feedstock for products like plastics and paints. Natural gas feedstock contributes to almost three quarters of methanol’s production costs. This implies a major advantage for countries which … Read more
Groningen based Bioclear bacterially purifies soil and water pollution. ‘Most bacteria we find ourselves, in nature’, says Sytse Keuning, founder and manager of the company, started in 1988 as a spin-off of Groningen University. ‘The cleanup of most polluted soils … Read more
API Institute (Applied Polymer Innovations) and Cumapol (CUstom MAde POLyesters) are neighbouring companies at Emmtec Industry & Business Park in Emmen (the Netherlands). Both have their own way to anticipate the strongly increasing demand for biobased polymers. ‘Our main activity … Read more
Dutch Northern provinces could become the centre of algae production and technology. Algae contain proteins, fats and carbohydrates. For their growth they just need heat, carbon dioxide, and minerals from waste streams. Optimists claim that up to 20% of Dutch … Read more
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In the biobased economy, green chemistry will play an important role. But many aspects of it need further research and development. Almost all petrochemical technology will have to be adapted of even reinvented: separation and process technologies, catalysis, and analytical … Read more
In 2009, Dutch IMI institute interviewed eleven NGOs on their stand on the biobased economy, on behalf of the ministry’s Interdepartmental Program for the Biobased Economy. All NGOs are prepared to enter into a dialogue and welcome new policy developments. … Read more
Ancient regulation might stand in the way of biobased economy development in many forms. These bottlenecks differ among countries; here we offer an overview with some examples. Waste regulation Waste regulation is intended to serve public health. Manure and offal … Read more
High yields generally require sufficient fertilizer, e.g. phosphate. Phosphorus is an element essential to plant growth. But whereas nitrogen fertilizer is synthesized, the only way to produce fertilizer containing phosphorus, is to mine it as phosphate. World phosphate resources are … Read more
Northern France’s agricultural areas host many biobased initiatives. Both in Picardy and in Champagne-Ardennes, French government invests in joint chemistry/agriculture projects. There are pilot and demo plants for ethanol production, and the French produce second generation biofuels, and biochemicals like … Read more
Green chemistry development will take place in three overlapping phases, up to 2050. The first has been developing for some time now, the second started recently, and the third is in the research phase. 1. Biofuels in the petrochemical infrastructure … Read more
In the biofuel debate, it important to distinguish first and second generation technologies. First generation technologies produce biofuel from edible feedstock like starch (from maize), sugar (from sugar cane) or rape seed oil. Second generation technologies produce biofuel from wood … Read more