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Brown algal biomass (both wild and farmed) is exploited for food and food ingredients in parts of Asia and Europe, but remains largely unexploited in the UK despite its natural abundance and potential for farming. Research efforts are trying to develop value chains around brown algae in the UK, both through farming or collection. More […]
The fashion industry, globally worth $700bn, utilised 110 millions tons of fibre in 2018 and has ranked the second most polluting industry in the world. Growing awareness of the impact of human consumption on the environment has led producers and consumers to look for more sustainable feedstocks and processes for textile production. (https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/a-new-textiles-economy-redesigning-fashions-future). Bacterial cellulose […]
Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate is a biodegradable plastic produced as an intracellular polymer by some bacteria. While it has many potential uses, it is too expensive to produce for general application and is currently only used in specialist applications (eg medical). Aims Poly-β-hydroxybutryate (PHB) is a useful biopolymer with a limited current market due to the production economics. […]
Currently, UK packaging producers use imported, virgin cellulose pulp for manufacturing their paper-based packaging materials and solutions. Meanwhile, industrial waste wood, such as wood pallets, wood chips and wooden off-cuts from the construction industry, is disposed of at a substantial cost due to the presence of metal preservatives and other contaminants. Aims We will use […]
Seafibres aimed to produce sustainable functional fibres derived from UK sourced brown algae and to harness the potential of seaweed farming for sourcing algae biomass that could be fractionated and used to produce environmentally friendly fibres for specialised applications. At present, seaweed and products derived from them are sourced overseas. Half of the global seaweed […]
Lignin constitutes 20-30% of lignocellulosic biomass, a non-edible biomass containing three intertwined biopolymers – cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. In the UK yearly production of lignocellulosic wastes from agricultural and forestry industries are ~1.3 million tons giving potential lignin availability of more than a quarter of a million tons. Hence lignin valorisation is imperative for economic […]
Adipic acid is an important industrial chemical that is used primarily for the manufacture of nylon fabric. Over three million tonnes of adipic acid are manufactured each year worldwide via an industrial process that currently relies on diminishing fossil fuels and also emits unacceptable volumes of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. In fact, in 2015 […]
Acrylic acid is one of the most mass-produced chemicals in the world and it is used to manufacture a wide range of products including textiles, superabsorbents, paints and adhesives. Currently it can only be manufactured from fossil fuels. Global concern over greenhouse gas emissions has encouraged policy makers and industry to consider bio-based chemical production. […]
Wool fibres offer extensive natural benefits such as thermal insulation, breathability and biodegradability. However, wool currently only makes up 1% of global fibre production due to strong competition from cheaper synthetic fibres. With increasing demands for sustainable textile materials, closed-loop textile circularity, and a reduction of negative impacts caused by synthetic materials (microplastic) damage to […]
This project aims to explore the potential of waste material from the seafood processing industry to be converted into functional products that can benefit heart health. With increasing numbers of obesity and chronic metabolic disease in the population, posing a huge burden to the health system, there is clearly a scope for development of functional […]
Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are a group of valuable chemicals with a wide variety of industrial applications across the pharmaceutical, biofuel, food, cosmetics and manufacturing sectors. The uses for VFAs range from the production of electronic cables insulation to providing fragrance in perfume. Carbonovia Ltd. is an industrial partner on this project and the company […]
This project seeks to develop a cheap, nontoxic and fully renewable biorefinery catalyst to facilitate the oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) into 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), a critical intermediate for bioplastics (e.g., Bio-PET) synthesis. Despite high demand, displacement of PET with FDCA-based PEF is currently limited by the high cost of this intermediate due to a lack […]
Keratin is an abundant structural protein that forms the bulk of hair, fur, feathers, hooves, horns and scales in animals. Over 65 million tons of keratin waste are generated each year from the food and textile industry, and they represent a cheap and plentiful source of building blocks (peptides and amino acids) for the production […]
Methyl methacrylate (MMA) is a chemical building block for plastics, building materials, surface coatings and medical/dental implant materials. Currently, ~4 million tonnes (valued at ~$7.5 bn) is produced annually from petrochemicals. This produces ~14 million tonnes of associated CO2 emissions, roughly equivalent to the total annual CO2 emissions of Slovenia. We are partnering with the […]
MSAD will demonstrate the potential of Methanosarcina as an inoculant for the AD industry and develop an optimised method for detection. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a complex biological process whereby organic waste is broken down to produce biogas. Previously we have worked with a range of AD facilities at different scales and observed the digester microbial […]
This project combines the expertise of the academic partner in engineering substrate utilisation in the industrial yeast Yarrowia lipolytica with previously engineered strains that produce high value products created by the technology of the industrial partner. Aims This project aimed at producing high value terpenes in yeast using low-cost substrates. Outcomes During this partnership, we […]
Approximately half of the domestic waste produced in the UK is still not recycled and much is either, burnt to produce energy releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, or placed in landfill with the consequent release of methane; a gas over twenty times more potent than CO2 in terms of its potential for retaining heat in […]
Acrylic acid is a platform chemical used to produce esters which are polymerized for applications in paper treatment, plastic additives, textiles, sealants, adhesives and surface coatings. It is also an important starting material for superabsorbent polymers, which are widely used in diapers and other hygiene products. The market value of acrylate is expected to reach […]
This project aims to improve the technology readiness level and manufacturability of a sustainable industrial biotechnology developed at Green Fuel Research Ltd. (GFR) which can effectively create valuable chemicals (butanol, succinic acid and lactic acid) from sugarcane biomass waste. The project strongly underpins a UK’s national research priority – Growing the Bioeconomy. The UK’s bioeconomy […]
LPG is a clean burning lower-carbon fuel and due to the low emission of particulate matter and other pollutants during its combustion, promotes better air quality. There is an urgent need to develop bio-based low carbon pathways to C3 and C4 hydrocarbons to replace the existing use of liquefied petroleum gases (LPG). With a global […]
The production of biodiesel uses for example, vegetable oils and fats and; yields crude glycerol as by-product. For every 100 kg of oil converted, 10 kg of crude glycerol are produced. The purification of glycerol is complex and pure glycerol is low-priced thus, not presenting economic incentive to the biodiesel industry. However, crude glycerol can […]
Unavoidable byproducts/wastes from food manufacturing could provide an important source of nutrients for fermentation process. Substitution of purified substrates typically used in industrial biotechnology could provide the increased market competitiveness needed by a number of sustainable products such as biopolymers and biosurfactants. Existing research on the valorisation of food manufacturing byproducts/wastes typically focused on streams […]
Published on 19/09/23
Published on 17/08/23
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