Pressurized extraction of unsaturated fatty acids and carotenoids from wet Chlorella vulgaris and Phaeodactylum tricornutum biomass using subcritical liquids

The objective of this study was to investigate the extraction of lipids, for example, mono‐ and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) as well as carotenoids, from wet microalgae biomass using pressurized subcritical extraction solvents, which meet the requirements of food and feed applications. To demonstrate the effect of the solvent and temperature on the lipid yield, we chose two microalgae species, viz. Chlorella vulgaris and Phaeodactylum tricornutum , differing in their biochemical composition fundamentally. In case of P. tricornutum, ethanol showed the highest fatty acid yield of 85.9% w/w. In addition to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), the ethanolic extracts contained exceptional amounts of fucoxanthin (up to 26.1 mg/g d. w.), which can be beneficial to protect unsaturated fatty acids from oxidation processes and in terms of human nutrition. For C. vulgaris , a fatty acid yield of 76.5% w/w was achieved from wet biomass using ethyl acetate at 150°C. In general, an increase in the extraction temperature up to 150°C was found to be important in terms of fatty acid yield when extracting wet microalgae biomass. The results suggest that it is possible to efficiently extract both fatty acids and carotenoids from wet microalgae by selecting suitable solvents and thus circumvent energy‐intensive drying of the biomass

A new generation of production with cyber-physical systems - Enabling the biological transformation in manufacturing

Within 200 years since the industrial revolution manufacturing systems have often changed their faces. Emerging nations, new markets, new inventions and the changing needs of the society forced them to adapt. Until today, the arising challenges are immensely diverse: highly individualized products, decreasing manufacturing time, limited resources and critical ecological footprints are only a few of them. Oftentimes solutions for these issues and other future requirements can be found by interrogating nature. Applying knowledge of biological principles to industrial manufacturing processes is recently referred to as '‘biological transformation of manufacturing systems”. Hereby three levels of a biological transformation are introduced, starting from inspiration over integration to the interaction of biological and technical systems. The paper illustrates the idea of biological transformation with specific examples for each level. On the inspiration-level the design of manufacturing systems with elements of natural ecosystems is described. Thus flexibility is increased, material cycles are closed and waste will be reduced. Furthermore the integration-level is illustrated by the use of microorganisms in cutting fluids. Finally, evolutionary computing within an automatic joining cell is shown as an example for the interaction-level

Competitive and sustainable manufacturing by means of ultra-efficient factories in urban surroundings

The rapid growth of the world population, the finiteness of resources on our planet Earth and the ongoing tendency towards urbanisation result in the need to question our actions and economic activities, also for industrial enterprises. A paradigm shift to decouple growth and resource utilisation is needed. By means of ultra-efficiency, factories are targeted, whose positive impact to their surrounding is optimised instead of only minimising negative influences. In the contribution, the concept of ultra-efficient factories and first tools for their implementation are introduced. Therefore, the term ultra-efficient factory is defined based on the state of the art. On this definition, spheres of activity for ultra-efficient factories under consideration of urban surroundings are determined. For the spheres of activity, criteria to assess the according maturity of companies are identified and aggregated into a comprehensive maturity model. The maturity model enables the determination of potentials for advancements of companies. To support the industrial application of the theoretic work, industrial best practices are determined and a visual tool is developed

Biointelligenz. Eine neue Perspektive für nachhaltige industrielle Wertschöpfung: Ergebnisse der Voruntersuchung zur biologischen Transformation der industriellen Wertschöpfung (Biotrain)

Die Biologische Transformation der Wertschöpfung wird den Produktionsstandort Deutschland massiv verändern, ein Sachverhalt, der im Zuge der BIOTRAIN-Voruntersuchung erstmal umfangreich analysiert wurde. Im Ergebnis zeichnet die Voruntersuchung ein ganzheitliches Bild des Status-Quo Deutschlands, der zu erwartenden Umwälzungen, der Basistechnologien sowie der Handlungsfelder dieser Transformation

The biological transformation of industrial manufacturing - Technologies, status and scenarios for a sustainable future of the German manufacturing industry

The German manufacturing industry is forced to evolve its processes, techniques, and organizations due to increasing global competition and progressive sustainability requirements. In this context, the soaring possibilities of bio- and information technology have recently let few authors develop the vision of a biological transformation of manufacturing, a concept that to date has been barely concrete to politicians, scientists, and managers. In this paper, we present results of the first systematic assessment of the biological transformation of the German manufacturing industry. We chose a combination of the Delphi method and scenario planning in order to assess key technologies, determine the status quo of Germany and provide a forecast of potential developments. Thereupon, we identify ten fields of action for setting the course for a sustainable industrial value creation. We conclude with a summary and recommendations for decision makers in politics, industries and research