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 to overcome these challenges and at the EFIB-event in Glasgow, last October, various innovative separation techniques were presented. Using laboratory techniques on an industrial scale
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 with a trade mission headed by Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte. Much of the husk there goes to waste on plantations. CocoPallet proposes valorisation of
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 this protein is an enzyme, bacteria and yeast in which such a gene is implanted can produce specific chemicals through a fermentation process. A large
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 important forecasters overestimate demand growth. We foresee global energy growth to slow down considerably. Will renewable sources grow fast enough to reach the equivalence of
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 intention to restrict global warming to 2 oC or less. In order for this to become true, global energy consumption needs to level off and
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 economy strategy, published on 23 October and 27 October 2016. New value chains The present European biobased economy strategy, that heavily depends on biofuels, has
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 successful. The amount of biomass used in the European chemical and plastics industry has stagnated. The only sectors showing growth are the bioenergy and biofuel
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 means the microbiologists who did the painstaking fundamental research and developed the knowledge required to turn CRISPR-Cas technology into the Science breakthrough of 2015. Piet
on: 17 December 2016