Purification of bio-based chemicals on an industrial scale
Separation and purification are essential processes in the production of bio-based chemicals. This is challenging because bio-based compounds can only be manipulated under mild conditions. Scientists and engineers are trying
CocoPallet: grow in niches and compete on price, says Michiel Vos
CocoPallet is a Dutch start-up that valorises the husk of the coconut to pallets for freight transport. Last month, Michiel Vos, founder and CTO of the company, was in Indonesia
SynBio is gearing up
Synthetic Biology (SynBio) includes a large field of applications. Within this area biochemists combine engineering concepts and techniques with biology to design new genes that produce a specific protein. When
A common sense or 50-50-40 energy scenario. Part 2: renewable energy
Two factors are underrated again and again in energy policy: the potential of better energy efficiency (check here) and that of renewable energy. In our first column, we saw that
A common sense energy scenario. Part 1: global energy consumption
Two factors are underrated again and again in energy policy: the potential of better energy efficiency (check here) and that of renewable energy. In Paris, world leaders have affirmed their
Biobased economy strategy: through specialty chemicals and materials
The European biobased economy strategy should not lead through drop-in chemicals. The key is in Smart, Small and Clever. This is the second of two columns on the European biobased
Drop-ins lead the biobased economy astray
Earlier this year, German nova-Institute published another thoughtful document on the biobased economy. It starts out from the observation that ten years of European policy making have not been very
CRISPR-Cas: a prize winning technology?
According to Piet Borst, a highly respected Dutch cancer researcher, those deserving to receive the Nobel Prize for the development of CRISPR-Cas technology, will not get it. With that he
on: 17 December 2016