Viennese acib and BOKU researchers are developing a sterile 3D printing process that can be used to produce laboratory equipment from environmentally friendly and biodegradable plastic. This could avoid several million tons of single-use plastic waste and reduce resource, energy and water consumption by up to 90 percent.
Im Rahmen eines Praktikums durften wir (drei Schüler der Forstschule Bruck) an der TU Graz bzw. beim acib (Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology) den Weg vom Holz zum Biokunststoff im Rahmen unserer Diplomarbeit erforschen.
As part of the EU project BIO-PLASTICS EUROPE, 22 scientific and industrial project partners from 13 countries are working on sustainable solutions for the production of biobased and biodegradable plastics to bring sustainable and safe products to market – from reusable cutlery and toys to packaging and agricultural products.
The recent climate change is caused by greenhouse gases absorbing some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight, thus trapping this heat in Earth’s lower atmosphere, causing global warming. There are many approaches to reduce this phenomenon. acib as the leading institute of industrial biotechnology developed several biotech tools for that very purpose.
A balanced diet is important, we learn that from an early age. The more natural the ingredients and the shorter the supply chains, the better for our health and for the environment. Nevertheless, a trend is currently developing in biotechnology towards food ingredients fresh from the laboratory. Probiotics from intestinal bacteria, flavourings from yeast fungi or artificial meat from animal cell cultures – all these examples are the subject of daily research in industrial biotechnology.
Petrochemical synthetic-based polymers are still everywhere in our daily lives, despite strict regulations and general awareness of their long-term risks to the environment and human health. This is especially true of the numerous cosmetics and personal care products that we apply to our skin every day, and which can cause skin problems, allergies, hormonal changes, and even lead to cancer with prolonged use!
Carbon serves as the building block of life, as well as the goods and products we use every day. We consume fossil fuels and use carbon to make plastic and a variety of other products. Life as we know it today would not be possible without it. Therefore, carbon balance is crucial to have a sustainable world and future. In this context, CO2 balance is of particular interest because the rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations due to human activities is the main trigger for global warming, which in turn leads to a climate crisis that affects the global health, economy, and future of our planet.
Viennese researchers from the Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (acib) and BOKU Vienna found a way to use the harmful greenhouse gas CO2 as a raw material for the production of industrial products such as bioplastics, absorbents or important chemicals with the help of an optimized yeast, thus binding it into durable materials. The technology, which is still on a laboratory scale, is not only climate-neutral, but could also make a contribution to the fight against climate change in the future.
Antibodies are an important part of our immune system and work by recognizing potential hazards entering the body, such as bacteria and viruses, and activating an immune response if necessary. Antibodies that are produced in the laboratory, so called monoclonal antibodies, are widely used in modern medicine for diagnostics as well as for treating infections and some types of cancer, e.g. breast cancer.
The climate crisis is on everyone’s lips! The chemical industry plays an important role in finding more efficient measures for industrial production processes. Most recently, the Ukraine crisis has also caused that quick solutions are urgently needed for independence from fossil resources. In this context, the keyword “green chemistry” quickly comes to our mind.
