Background

The metallization of plastics, called Plating On Plastics (POP) for decorative and functional applications is an integral part of many branches of industry. In the automotive industry, for example, in car interiors, for sanitary fittings, for shielding electronic devices or in consumer goods industry for control elements on household appliances. Electroplating usually refers to plating of metallic surfaces, and requires electric conductivity of the substrate, while the adhesion between layer and substrate is achieved by metal-metal bonds. These both aspects are not observed in POP as plastic is used. Therefore, POP processes rely on very special mechanism and pretreatment procedures. Furthermore, it is not possible to use any type of plastic for metallization in order to produce adhesive layers. Usually, POP products are based on acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) or acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene – polycarbonate (ABS/PC) blend substrates. Modern societies will change into a reduced or neutral carbon footprint way of living. This means not only the use of renewable energies; it means the use of renewable resources in general – including materials. The currently available bioplastics cannot be electroplated with the existing processes and development work has to be carried out. The important thing is that the biopolymer and the electrochemical processes are developed together.

The Project

The aim of the joint research project is an optimised electroplating process for tailor-made biopolymer materials. Biopolymers from renewable raw materials will be used in the field of "Plating On Plastic" (POP) to replace non-biodegradable and oil-based materials. From this point of view, the project will have a beneficial impact for the societal change from “oil-based to green” by the intermediate of more sustainable consumable goods, packaging and vehicles.

The Science

The research to reach the targets goes deep into material science and needs competences in different disciplines of material science as well as in biotechnology and chemistry. The multidisciplinary of the project is best seen in his dual approach of improving the process of metal deposition on plastic from two perspectives: the design, synthesis and surface preparation of a suitable biopolymer from renewable resources and the optimization of the deposition procedures and conditions. This demands on the one side knowledge on design and conducting bioprocesses for a target product and on the other hand, the know-how related to developing electroplating process chains.

Two research lines are proposed regarding the design of the polymer. First, a bio-based polymer or blend having a biphasic structure, similarly to ABS, will be targeted together with a standard electroplating process but involving a suitable non-CMR etching agent like sulfuric acid. A second approach utilizes the difference between the first and second crystallization rates observed for some PHA polymers. The surface pretreatment and the electroplating process must be tailored to the biopolymers.

The Team

The BIOPLATE partners are:

• Coordinator : Dr.- Ing. Martin Metzner, Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation / Electroplating, Stuttgart, Germany
• Prof. Dr. Manfred Zinn, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland Valais Wallis, Biotechnology and Sustainable Chemistry, Sion, Switzerland
• Dr. Chuanchom Aumnate, Metallurgy and Materials Science Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
• Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yuttanant Boonyongmaneerat, Metallurgy and Materials Science Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

Contact: 

Dr.- Ing. Martin Metzner martin.metzner@ipa.fraunhofer.de

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Background

Both in Southeast Asia and Europe, the transition towards a bio-based economy holds great potential for economic growth, rural development and decreasing fossil fuel dependence, but requires tackling important challenges. One of these is the steady, reliable and affordable supply of sustainably produced biomass in the agricultural sector. A reliable supply of biomass (for food, feed, fuel) in terms of quantity, quality and continuity, heavily depends on agronomic management practices.

This is also the case for irrigation in regions where rainfall does not cover the physiological needs of plants to achieve the maximum yield potential, and co-occurring environmental conditions such as high temperatures contribute to drought stress. Irrigation needs to be sustainable in terms of water use, and affordable on a macro-economic (production costs versus market value) and micro-economic level (costs versus yield gain). A smart irrigation system aimed at optimizing water use in a cost- and effort-affordable way addresses the EU and SEA bioeconomy strategies for the agricultural sector, including the sustainable exploitation of resources, resource use efficiency, and rural development.

The Project

The irrigation-dependency of plant biomass production and the deficiency of resources will further increase due to climate change. The project involves the development of a new irrigation scheduling system that can reduce water consumption in the agricultural sector by being tuned to the plant’s actual water use, and to agronomic practices aimed at maximizing yield. This collaborative project aims at creating innovation as it is fully embracing the concepts of agriculture 4.0, and fits within the strategic objective of mitigating and adapting to climate change.

The project focuses on two different plant species and production systems that require appropriate irrigation to achieve high yields: high-value fruit orchards (durian)and an arable crop (maize). These were chosen in order to maximize the project’s potential application areas, to raise its scientific value in terms of plant water use for a tree species and an annual C4 monocot crop, and to challenge the technology under different scenarios.

The Science

The objective of the project is to improve a soil moisture and evapotranspiration-based irrigation scheduling system in a wireless sensor network (WSN) platform, by means of high temporal resolution data informing about plant water status. Psychrometers and thermal infrared cameras, providing stem water potential and canopy temperature data, will be added to the WSN. The improved platform will cope with large data volumes, new processing algorithms requiring significant computing performance, and an increased power consumption. The plant-based sensors will be critically tested for their value in increasing our understanding of plant water use throughout development and in interaction with the environment. The improved irrigation platform will then be installed in a durian (Durio zibethinus L.) orchard in Thailand for performance testing and data collection. Machine learning approaches will be applied to develop plant water potential and canopy temperature index models, and to classify plant responses to irrigation, water-deficit, and environmental conditions across the growing season. The new irrigation scheduling system in the adapted platform will be extensively tested in a durian orchard and a maize (Zea mays L.) field plot for performance, irrigation accuracy and effects on yield.

The Team:

The Irrigation4.0 partners are:

Dr. Teera Phatrapornnant : National Electronics and Computer Technology Center, National Science and Technology Development Agency, Thailand

Dr. Nathalie Wuyts: Forschungszentrum Jülich, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-2: Plant Sciences, Germany

Porf. Dr. Khin Than Mya: Faculty of Computer Systems and Technologies, University of Computer Studies, Yangon, Myanmar

Contact:

Teera Phatrapornnant: teera.phatrapornnant@nectec.or.th 

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Background 

Cyanobacteria have gained much attention as a rich source of bioactive compounds and have been considered as one of the most promising groups of organisms to produce them. One of the well-known and widely used representative, mostly in the food industry, is Arthrospira platensis (Spirulina platensis).

Growth of A. platensis requires a group of nutrients in the cultivation media, with the nitrate, phosphate, and carbon source being of the highest importance. Under systematic, continuous cultivation a build up of nutrients, organic matter and A. platensis metabolites is observed in the cultivation water, which acts as a growth inhibitor for A. platensis and is therefore an issue for the productivity in commercial plants. This fact shows the need to replace the media water when A. platensis production decreases, which leads to the production of large yearly amounts of Arthrospira purge water.

Therefore, an A. platensis production in tank based systems presents two key technological challenges:

• Reducing water usage in A. platensis production by increasing purge water recycling
• Repurposing the purge water after it is no longer able to be used for algae cultivation

The Project

The aim of the project is to use the metabolites from A. platensis purge water for the production of a complex nitrogen source. Extremophile yeasts do have the capability to convert the short chain sugars that are occurring in A. platensis purge water into valuable lipids and these do have the potential to serve as a valuable food product.

Therefore, the aim of the project is twofold: Firstly, the integration of a second biological process shall serve as a purge Arthrospira wastewater cleaning step. That is the cultivation of extremophile yeasts in the wastewater, that have the capability to convert the exopolysaccharides and media build up to valuable lipids, while the water is recycled and reused in A. platensis cultivation. Secondly, the produced biomass or parts thereof (yeast extract, lipids etc.) represent additional product streams with the potential to serve as a valuable food product of or a recycle stream for existing or as an organic alternative media for existing A. platensis production plants.

The Science

The implementation of a second biological step into algae cultivation systems, that makes use of the purge water, will be pursued. An extremophile yeast, Debaryomyces hansenii, a producer of valuable lipids, has been identified for this purpose. There is evidence that these two organisms could be cultivated on each other’s excreted metabolites and enable a combined production process. To enhance the profitably of the overall process valuable substances, a lipid fraction and a yeast extract from D. hansenii shall be identified, isolated and assessed in regards of their compliance to food and feed applications. The experiments in lab scale will be cultivations of A. platensis and D. hansenii on the respective purge water and an in depth analysis of all influencing effects. Furthermore, the isolation of lipids and yeast extract will be investigated. All experimental investigation will be analytically monitored, the developed new products will be characterized and data for validation will be gathered. The results of the experimental investigation will be technically assessed and contribute to the design of an integrated overall process for the valorization of side streams of the said process, by creating further products from and closing recycle loops for A. platensis production processes.

The Team

Purge to Value partners are: 

Prof. Dr. Heike Frühwirth : Hochschule Biberach (HB), Germany

Dr. Baptiste Leroy : University of Mons (UM), Belgium

Dr. Thornthan Sawangwman : Ramkhamhaeng University (RU), Thailand

Muhamet Doertkardes : EnerGaia Co. Ltd. Thailand

Contact: 

Heike Frühwirth : fruehwirth@hochschule-bc.de

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