research focus
- Isolation and characterizing of new algae (own strain selection) ® Screening regarding cultivation and production of valuable products
- Developing cultivation and downstream processing to extract valuable products from algae (carotinoids, proteins, sulfolipids, carbohydrates, hydrocarbons/oils, polyhydroxycarbonates)
- Process development to separate extracellular products (e.g. hydrocarbons) by in-situ-extraction
- Isolation and characterizing of pharmaceuticals (indications: alzheimer disease, inflammatory diseases, fibrosis)
- Development of process-accompanying analysis methods (HPLC-MS, GC-MS, fluorimetry, IR / UV spectroscopy) for the determination of ingredients (proteins, carotenoids, lipids, carbohydrates, polyhydroxyalkanoates) and harvest times
- Development of specific online monitoring systems for the automated determination of algae growth and ingredients using IoT-based concepts
- Optimization of photobioreactors
- Establishment of integrated production / utilization concepts by coupling algae biotechnology with biogas technology, development of material cycles
- Influence of diversity effects on the stability of microalgae communities in photobioreactors - Studies on the susceptibility of algal cultures to contamination
- Fermentation of renewable raw materials (straw, residual algae biomass, grass silage ...), identification of process inhibitations in the biogas process
current projects
EMIBEX
Development of an industrial process for the mixotrophic production of bio-dyes / proteins from microalgae using carbonaceous residues and propane-based extraction processes
NOVAL
New algae species as sustainable source for bioactive nutrients for human nutrition
TEWICOS
Process development for the extraction of lipophilic and hydrophilic extracts from the microalgae Tetradesmus wisconsinensis as raw materials for cosmeceuticals on an industrial scale
FORZA
research- and technology - transfer for living in the digital age (sub-projects 3 and 8)
BZA
Developing and characterizing a method for the biological cell disruption
SUMI
Obtaining and characterizing sulfolipids from microalgae
BG2Algae
Emission-reducing coupling of biogas cogeneration plant and algae ponds for a flexible value-added chain and improved life-cycle assessment on the farm