Biotechnological exploitation of complex side and waste streams using pyrolytic water and its fractions as an example

• Applicant: Dr.-Ing. Katrin Ochsenreither
• Subject Area: Biological Process Engineering
• Term: from 2018 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 395736298

The cost-effective biotechnological production of bulk and platform chemicals as an alternative to petrochemical approaches can only be achieved if unused lignocellulose-containing residual biomasses are used as substrates. However, pretreatment is necessary for the biotechnological use of lignocellulose-containing substrates in order to make these accessible to microorganisms. There are a number of possible methods for breaking down biomass and then using it completely or fractionally for biotechnological or chemical processes. A drawback, however, in all digestion methods is that in addition to the main components, which are particularly suitable as microbial substrates, a number of other substances are also often found in the digestion, which have a toxic or at least negative effect on microbial growth or on production. Possible strategies for dealing with this problem would be (I) further purification or further fractionation of the digestions, (ii) screening or generation of particularly robust microbial producers not adversely affected by the secondary components, e.g. by evolution, mutagenesis or genetic engineering, or (III) by appropriate process control, e.g. continuous fermentation, in which the substrate is offered in diluted form to the microorganisms, so that growth and production can take place, but secondary components do not have a negative effect. All these strategies are to be tested in this project for their suitability for the biotechnological utilization of a very complex side stream using pyrolytic water as an example.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants