World-wide integration of agriculture and chemistry will continue to increase strongly. Society changes rapidly into a ‘biobased economy’. The strength of petrochemistry is that complex and variable basic materials (oil, coal and gas) are first via simplification transformed into basic elements before conversion into a multitude of carbon-based products via separation, addition and transformation.
In the biobased economy biomass is replacing part of the mineral oil as a source of carbon. Biomass can then be used to produce the same universal elements that are currently produced by means of petrochemistry. The unique biomass components can also be put to maximum use after further improvement via chemical, enzymatic or microbial transformation for food, chemistry and energy applications.
Together with Wageningen University and PPO we aim at utilising our knowledge about plants and production systems for the development of new propagation material, crop growth, fitting crops into the cropping plan, and the optimisation of biomass for further processing.
Examples of Research projects:
- Living plants produce energy
It is possible to use plants for generating energy without first having to harvest them. This is the exiting conclusion after Wageningen UR plant scientists and environmental technologists connected reed grass to a microbial fuel cell. This fascinating discovery opens the door to numerous new applications.
- Biobased energy production