Biobased Resources & Energy

Practice-oriented research plays a role in the material and energy transition that should not be underestimated. This not only relates to the knowledge that is gained in research projects, but especially also to the place where that knowledge ends up; at the students. Every year, no fewer than 80 students participate in the most intensive form of CoE BBE, namely an internship. For 20 weeks, the students fully participate in a research project as a graduate or in an internship. Each and every one of them ambassadors in the aforementioned transition.

Breed lachend en enthousiast vertellend zit ze voor ons. “Jazeker, het begin was lastig. De corona-maatregelen, moeite met het vinden van huisvesting, je draai zien te vinden in een onbekend land en een andere cultuur.” Ga er maar aan staan als 22-jarige bachelor student uit het Braziliaanse Belo Horizonte. Gelukkig ging het stof snel liggen en vond ze, te midden van studenten en collega’s van CoE BBE, al snel haar draai. Nu is het aftellen tot de terugreis alweer begonnen. “Ik neem een onvergetelijke ervaring mee terug naar Brazilië. Bagage die ik hopelijk kan gebruiken om ook thuis stapjes te zetten in duurzame ontwikkeling van chemische processen.”

To achieve a climate neutral and circular economy in 2050, a switch to green raw materials for chemicals, materials and fuels is needed. In all these chains, the currently used fossil raw materials must be replaced. To show the possibilities and opportunities of renewable fuels to entrepreneurs and students, short knowledge clips have been developed.

Sewage contains valuable substances that can be used as raw materials for biobased products. Think of fully biodegradable bioplastics, biochar or biodiesel. But where do you start? As part of the Interreg North-West Europe WOW! project, Avans University of Applied Sciences has developed a tool that answers the question: which valuable substances can I recover at my sewage treatment plants? The tool is designed to provide employees in the water sector with a simple tool in the decision-making process towards a more biobased and circular approach.

On February 3rd Jappe de Best, professor of Biobased Resources & Energy, will be presenting his inaugural lecture. Prior to the inaugural lecture a minisymposium is organized by the research group Biobased Resources & Energy which will take you on a journey of some of their recent projects

Towards a sustainable production of bioplastics from residual flows, PHA2USE and the Interreg NWE project WoW! recently took another important step. In the first extraction campaign on a pilot scale, we succeeded in producing more than 18 kg of PHBV from sewage sludge.

The Grassification project is aimed at valorizing roadside grass clippings as renewable feedstock in industrial processes and demonstrating the economic potential for products resulting from its refining. During the webinar, project partners showcased the possibilities and feasibility of producing different building materials and landscape infrastructures from grass fibres.

In deze Biobased Update kan je onder andere meer Lezen over lerend netwerk biobouwers, studenten die bedrijven helpen en gezondere kleding!