2012|13 Annual Report Fraunhofer IGB

FRAUNHOFER CENTER FOR CHEMICAL- BIOTECHNOLOGICAL PROCESSES CBP The Fraunhofer Center for Chemical-Biotechnological Pro- cesses CBP in Leuna, central Germany, closes the gap between the lab and industrial implementation. By making infrastruc- ture and plant (pilot scale and miniplant) available, the center makes it possible for cooperation partners from research and industry to develop and scale up biotechnological and chemi- cal processes for the utilization of renewable raw materials up to an industrial scale. The CBP building, with over 2000 m2 ﬂoor space for pilot plants, labs, ofﬁces and storage facilities was completed in September 2012 and inaugurated on October 2, 2012 in the presence of the German Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Mer- kel. The Fraunhofer CBP, which is run jointly by the Fraunhofer IGB und ICT institutes, represents a hitherto unique platform for developing new processes up to commercially relevant scale, with a direct link to the chemical industry on the one hand, and to Fraunhofer research on the other. Joint projects involve partners from industry, academia and non-university research establishments, and currently focus on the following specializations: Functionalization of vegetable oils, e.g. biotechnological epoxidation and ω-functionalization Pulping of lignocellulose and separation of its components Fermentative production of platform chemicals Manufacturing of biobased alcohols and oleﬁns Development of new technical enzymes Production of high quality extractives from biogenic raw and residual materials The core focus of the Fraunhofer CBP’s activities is the sustain- ability of processes along the entire value chain involved in generating products based on renewable resources. The goal is to achieve a cascading material-energetic utilization of as many biomass plant components as possible, on the lines of a bioreﬁnery. Process development will thus concentrate on the following aspects: Exploiting the carbon synthesis potential provided by na- ture The energy and resource efﬁciency of the processes devel- oped Minimizing waste streams Reducing CO2 emissions Utilizing plants that are not suited as either human food or animal feed Integration of the processes developed into existing sys- tems, e.g. to obtain biogas from residual biomass Small and medium-sized enterprises frequently do not have the resources of their own to realize the transfer of these new technologies from the laboratory to industrially relevant orders of magnitude. The center’s pilot scale and miniplant facilities offer an excellent platform for process development. COMPETENCES 52

2012|13 Annual Report Fraunhofer IGB

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