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Agro-food streams, present in large volumes, contain compounds attractive for food industry, if they are separated from unwanted components. Recovery of such components offers a large potential for industrial applications. A trend towards enriched fractions, rather than purified products, enables sustainable process design via chromatographic separation. Chromatography has the potential to fractionate these agro-food streams at large industrial scale, while maintaining functionality and operating in a sustainable and economical manner. The separation mechanism can be fine-tuned to target specific molecular characteristics. Because the streams to be processed are so large, large equipment is required, which renders the process economically unfeasible. Process economics can be improved by reducing the size of the chromatographic installation, which is directly dependent on the volume to be processed. The stream to be processed can be reduced by increase of concentration, which leads to higher viscosity. The aim of this thesis is to understand the interplay between feed viscosity, mass transfer resistance, pressure drop and eventually productivity and water use of a chromatographic system. In the design of industrial chromatographic processes, both experiments at lab scale and model calculations are used. Experiments are performed to determine model parameters and to validate the model. Subsequently the model is used to scale-up. Experiments require, in addition to the column, the use of further equipment (connectors, tubing, valves, detectors, etc.), all of which add to extra-column volume. The contribution of the extra-column volume to peak broadening is often neglected assuming that by doing so the column efficiency is underestimated and scaling up results in an oversized system. Chapter 2 addresses method development for measuring the mass transfer resistance in a chromatographic column in such a way that the data can be used to scale up to industrial scale. It was shown, that correction for the extra-column contribution to band broadening must be made in many cases, otherwise the column efficiency is overestimated and subsequently industrial designs under-dimensioned. In chapter 3, the main hindrance to mass transfer is identified and measured: the intraparticle diffusivity. In industrial applications, generally stationary phase particles of large diameters are used. Large particle sizes facilitate operation at a low pressure drop, but they introduce large characteristic lengths that the molecules have to travers by diffusion. It is difficult to predict intraparticle diffusivity and therefore measurement for each new molecule/stationary phase combination is required. In an attempt to link and quantify pore and molecule characteristics, intraparticle diffusivities, pore diameters, porosities, and tortuosities are measured in various stationary phases with a selection of (relatively) small molecules. Two models from literature that relate stationary phase properties to intraparticle diffusivity, are tested for their predictive quality, but give unsatisfactory results. By modifying one of the models with the addition of the accessible pore fraction, calculated from inverse size exclusion measurements, a good fit of all intraparticle diffusivities for all stationary phases and all molecules is observed. This improved model can serve as a predictive tool for intraparticle diffusivity. Implications of using a concentrated feed with an increased viscosity on mass transfer resistance inside a chromatographic column is described in chapter 4. Dependence of intraparticle diffusivity on viscosifiers ability, those molecules in the mobile phase which contribute to viscosity, to penetrate pore volume is shown. The ability to penetrate pore volume is expressed by the partition coefficient KD. These results are used to determine the window of operation for viscous feed streams. It is shown that diluting highly viscous feed streams prior to chromatographic separation, should go no further than approximately 2.5 mPa·s. If the feed stream is diluted to lower viscosities, column volume will increase. Diluting feed streams from 8 mPa·s down to around 2.5 mPa·s shows little influence on column volume, but column dimensions change, with a tendency to get narrower and longer as viscosity decreases. In chapter 5, knowledge gained from working at high viscosities in single column systems is challenged on a multicolumn simulated moving bed SMB system with tomato serum as feed and ion-exclusion as separation mechanism. The aim was obtaining a γ-aminobutyric acid enriched and monomeric sugar strapped fraction. The behavior of the sugars for different feed viscosities is calculated well by the model when the ratio of feed to eluent is used as dilution factor. The behavior of γ-aminobutyric acid in ion-exclusion chromatography is highly concentration dependent and the recovery is not calculated with accuracy. The SMB at the two higher feed viscosities (2.5 and 4 mPa·s) outperforms the SMB at the lower feed viscosity (1 mPa·s) both in terms of water use and productivity. Finally in chapter 6 the main findings and conclusions are discussed. Further addressed are the use of temperature to reduce viscosity and an assumption used in this thesis, that the required number of theoretical plates remains constant when comparing designs for various feed concentrations. At the end of this chapter an outlook is given on future perspectives for the effort of decreasing chromatographic system size.

The bioeconomy is a new market field that was not considered when most of the existing regula-tions were drafted in several areas, including, for example, regulations on the end-of-life (EOL) stage of plastics. Consequentially, even though an EU bioeconomy strategy exists, a coherent and coor-dinated policy framework is still missing1. In addition, the lack of necessary mechanisms (e.g. regu-lative carbon pricing) and the fact that existing policies and standards are mostly based only on fossil-based products (e.g. existing EOL schemes are focused on fossil-based products and do not consider bio-based counterparts) are hampering the development of the bioeconomy.

This paper evaluates possible impacts of a variable biofuel demand (VBD) policy, i.e. a policy that adjusts biofuel production to changes in biomass availability as determined by variations in crop yield. The aim is to stimulate investments and enhancing efficiency in crop production while limiting competition with food in years of reduced crop availability.

Chitin and chitosan polymers are a valuable source of functional chemicals and materials. Chemical and/or enzymatic depolymerisation processes have been developed for the production of chitooligosaccharides (COS), N‐acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) and glucosamine (GlcN), which have a wide variety of applications. New technologies are now emerging to convert chitin and its derivatives into platform chemicals. Chemical liquefaction of chitin can lead to bulk chemicals like acetic acid and platform chemicals like hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and amine‐containing monomers for polymers, in low yield. The monomers GlcNAc and GlcN can be converted into N‐containing HMF derivatives, opening a pathway for furan‐based monomers for polyamides. Selective catalytic oxidation of GlcN results in the production of D‐glucosaminic acid (DGA). This acid is a valuable building block for the synthesis of various amino acids for biomedical applications and bio‐based chiral polyamides. Further technological improvements are necessary to increase the selectivity and efficiency of reactions, particularly for the conversion of polymeric chitin and chitosan into building blocks.

Oil palm trunks were harvested and divided in three sections to represent top, middle and bottom part of the trunk. The trunks were processed in a plywood factory within 24 hours of felling. The inner cores, which remained after removal of the outer layer for veneer production, were chipped and immediately frozen. Fresh samples showed starch granules with sizes between 5 and 15 μm, which is in agreement with earlier reports on palm starch from different palm tree species. The presence of native starch in the samples prepared by cryogenic milling was confirmed by the Maltese crosses after examination with polarized light. The concentration of starch showed a gradient over the oil palm trunk with 42-59% at the top decreasing to less than 10% at the bottom. The concentration of (hemi)cellulose was the reverse. As free sugars were virtually absent, starch hydrolysis seemed to be successfully prevented by this method.

Botryococcus braunii CCALA778 is a green microalga that can produce large amounts of extracellular carbohydrates and therefore is a potential host for industrial applications such as materials, food and pharmaceutical products. The downside of B. braunii is its slow growth and therefore, improvements on the biomass productivity or carbohydrate production will make this microalga more attractive for industrial exploitation. Microalgae grow naturally in the presence of bacteria and these can be beneficial or antagonistic. In outdoor cultivation systems, contamination by bacteria is common. The role or effects of bacteria present in B. braunii CCALA778 are not yet fully elucidated. We used UV-C treatment to reduce bacterial abundance in B. braunii CCALA778 cultures and 16S rRNA gene amplicon MiSeq sequencing for bacterial community analysis. The effect of the reduced amount of bacteria on biomass growth and production of extracellular carbohydrates was analysed. It is shown that UV-C treatment can reduce the bacterial population substantially without harming B. braunii. Bacteria removed by UV-C were antagonistic to B. braunii CCALA778 as in their absence production of biomass and extracellular carbohydrates was enhanced significantly. CCALA778 treated with UV-C accumulated 826 ± 61 mg L−1 of extracellular carbohydrates by day 15 compared with 422 ± 135 mg L−1 accumulated extracellular carbohydrates in the untreated culture. publishedVersion

This report describes possible solution directions to overcome market entry barriers due to regulation and standardisation that companies that are active in the bio‐based economy experience. The market entry barriers were investigated and described in the deliverable D2.1. Five main hurdles were described in D2.1:‐ A number of issues around End‐of‐Life of bio‐based products‐ Certification and standards‐ Biofuel policy, and the fact that supporting policy for bio‐based products is missing‐ Missing long term policy that helps to promote bio‐based products‐ Communication and image.In order to define possible solution routes to the hurdles, for each hurdle the relevant stakeholders and their drivers towards the hurdle were investigated. Based on this investigation directions for solutions were defined and discussed with various stakeholders. Furthermore a workshop was held where the solutions were presented and discussed with a broad group of stakeholders.Solution directions defined for the first four identified hurdles are:‐ End‐of‐Life issues: There is no general agreement on which EOL option is most preferable for a several bio‐based products. This relates to present regulations, recycling targets, and industrial operation practices and business models of waste processors. All parties involved would benefit from clear LCA data for EOL options for (groups of) products. This would allow governments, municipalities, consumers and waste processors to decide which product best goes where. Clear icons indicating the preferable EOL, EU wide can help to minimise products going into the “wrong” bin. And in particular cases it may be useful to indicate what is not the desired EOL route, e.g. for products which look like a particularmaterial but in fact are not. Furthermore research on recycling of bio‐based plastics and composting of biodegradable plastics is proposed with both the bio‐based plastics suppliers and the waste processors being stakeholders in the project.‐ Certification and standards: Several possible solutions are proposed to overcome the hurdle related to certification and standards. In principle, it is important to involve as many stakeholders as possible in the standardization process, in order to achieve a widely supported middle ground that corresponds as well as possible with everyday practice. Besides this, to give new materials the possibility to enter the market, standards should focus on the functioning of materials instead of the material itself. In the field of certificates, solutions lie in mutual compatibility, alignment and transparency in tests. However, aligning all involved parties can be (politically) challenging due to competition (between schemes). Moreover, amending standards is time consuming, but in the endthese proposed solutions could open the door more easily to new bio‐based materials. ‐ Biofuel policy: The RED puts pressure on availability and price of biomass for bio‐based products. Different options are considered as potential solutions. One option is to reform the RED in order to integrate bio‐based chemicals and materials. Another option is without changing the RED to create a link of bio‐based materials to the RED through a “bio‐ticket” system. The third option considered is a new directive special for bio‐based materials. Furthermore a harmonized classification system of wastes and residues across EU isnecessary, which needs to be implemented under the EU Waste Framework Directive (WFD). Where the use of feedstocks by the bio‐based products industry is possible, such Elimination of hurdles in standards and regulation uses must be incentivized. The same classification system that will be needed to bedeveloped by the WFD will need to be adopted by the Biofuel policy for defining the feedstocks of “advanced biofuels”.‐ Missing long term policy: In order to level the playing field between fossil‐based and biobased products two possible solutions are proposed. In the first place, the producer should be responsible for paying for the negative externalities of the production processes (e.g. possible damage to the environment) and not the whole society. Furthermore, sustainablecertifications, currently often asked only for bio‐based products, should be requested for all products. The lack of clear, robust methodologies and criteria for assessing the sustainability of both bio‐based and fossil‐based products represents a major gap that is hampering the future development of the bio‐based industry. Development of the same sustainability criteria for all types of feedstock (bio‐based and fossil based) and all sectors (materials and fuels/energy) across the whole life‐cycle (material production, use and EOL)is proposed as a potential solution. And harmonization of LCA procedures is described to be important for this. During the investigation process it was found that the fifth hurdle, communication and image, was an integral part of the other four hurdles, it was therefore not investigated and presented separately, but integral with the other hurdles. The solution directions described in this report are focused specifically on the hurdles that were collected in D2.1 by interviewing a number of companies. During the investigation also more general aspects to stimulate the introduction of bio‐based products came up. An overview of these is presented in appendix A.The analysis laid down in this report has served as the basis for a deeper investigation and proposals to overcome specific market barriers, which are presented in D4.4, and proposals for supporting policy, presented in D3.3.

Oil palm trunks were harvested and divided in three sections to represent top, middle and bottom part of the trunk. The trunks were processed in a plywood factory within 24 hours of felling. The inner cores, which remained after removal of the outer layer for veneer production, were chipped and immediately frozen. Fresh samples showed starch granules with sizes between 5 and 15 μm, which is in agreement with earlier reports on palm starch from different palm tree species. The presence of native starch in the samples prepared by cryogenic milling was confirmed by the Maltese crosses after examination with polarized light. The concentration of starch showed a gradient over the oil palm trunk with 42-59% at the top decreasing to less than 10% at the bottom. The concentration of (hemi)cellulose was the reverse. As free sugars were virtually absent, starch hydrolysis seemed to be successfully prevented by this method.

Project AGROinLOG "Demonstration of innovative integrated biomass logistics centres for the Agro-industry sector in Europe"

Nederland en de meeste andere landen willen het gebruik van koolstofhoudende fossiele grondstoffen zoals aardolie, steenkool en aardgas verminderen. De twee belangrijkste motivaties hiervoor zijn de klimaatproblematiek en de eindigheid van de voorraden van deze grondstoffen. Het gebruik van fossiele brandstoffen en kunststoffen die gemaakt zijn uit fossiele grondstoffen verandert het klimaat doordat na verbranding of na biologische afbraak koolstofdioxide vrijkomt dat zich ophoopt in de atmosfeer en daar het broeikaseffect versterkt. Een atmosfeer met een verhoogd gehalte aan koolstofdioxide houdt de warmte beter vast en verhoogt daardoor de temperatuur van de atmosfeer, zoals een broeikas dat doet. Sinds het jaar 1750, het begin van de industriele revolutie, is de koolstofdioxideconcentratie met 48% toegenomen en veel klimatologen gaan er vanuit dat dat de hoofdoorzaak is van de eveneens toegenomen temperatuur op aarde. Volgens hen zal deze temperatuursverhoging leiden tot een stijging van de zeespiegel en extremer weer (stormen, droogte, overstromingen).

The decline of the European hamster has been going on for years already and occurs not only in the Netherlands but in almost all habitats in Western and now also in Central Europe. It is certain that changes in agricultural practice is one of the main causes. As a follow-up to the earlier ‘Hamster experiment (2005-2010)’, the three-year project ‘Hamster op Eigen Benen’ was started in 2015 with the aim of determining the effectiveness of alternative forms of agricultural management that are favourable for the hamster and other species of arable fields and at the same time cheaper than the SNL hamster packages used so far. With lower reimbursements, more hectares of arable land can be managed in a hamster-friendly way. Increasing the scale of hamster management has proven to be a necessary condition for the sustainable survival of the hamster in Limburg. De achteruitgang van de Europese hamster is al jarenlang gaande en doet zich niet alleen in Nederland voor, maar in vrijwel alle leefgebieden in West- en inmiddels ook Midden-Europa. Vaststaat dat veranderingen in de agrarische praktijk een belangrijke hoofdoorzaak zijn. Als vervolg op het eerdere ‘Hamsterexperiment (2005-2010)’ is in 2015 het project ‘Hamster op Eigen Benen’ gestart, met als doel om gedurende een periode van drie jaar de effectiviteit vast te stellen van alternatieve vormen van agrarisch beheer die gunstig zijn voor de hamster en andere akkersoorten en tegelijkertijd goedkoper zijn dan de tot nu toe gebruikte SNL-hamsterpakketten. Met lagere vergoedingen kunnen meer hectares akkergrond hamstervriendelijk worden beheerd. Schaalvergroting van het hamsterbeheer is een noodzakelijke voorwaarde gebleken voor een duurzame overleving van de hamster in Limburg.

This paper evaluates possible impacts of a variable biofuel demand (VBD) policy, i.e. a policy that adjusts biofuel production to changes in biomass availability as determined by variations in crop yield. The aim is to stimulate investments and enhancing efficiency in crop production while limiting competition with food in years of reduced crop availability., Proceedings of the 27th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 27-30 May 2019, Lisbon, Portugal, pp. 1528-1535

The decline of the European hamster has been going on for years already and occurs not only in the Netherlands but in almost all habitats in Western and now also in Central Europe. It is certain that changes in agricultural practice is one of the main causes. As a follow-up to the earlier ‘Hamster experiment (2005-2010)’, the three-year project ‘Hamster op Eigen Benen’ was started in 2015 with the aim of determining the effectiveness of alternative forms of agricultural management that are favourable for the hamster and other species of arable fields and at the same time cheaper than the SNL hamster packages used so far. With lower reimbursements, more hectares of arable land can be managed in a hamster-friendly way. Increasing the scale of hamster management has proven to be a necessary condition for the sustainable survival of the hamster in Limburg.

The bioeconomy is a new market field that was not considered when most of the existing regula-tions were drafted in several areas, including, for example, regulations on the end-of-life (EOL) stage of plastics. Consequentially, even though an EU bioeconomy strategy exists, a coherent and coor-dinated policy framework is still missing1. In addition, the lack of necessary mechanisms (e.g. regu-lative carbon pricing) and the fact that existing policies and standards are mostly based only on fossil-based products (e.g. existing EOL schemes are focused on fossil-based products and do not consider bio-based counterparts) are hampering the development of the bioeconomy.

This report describes possible solution directions to overcome market entry barriers due to regulation and standardisation that companies that are active in the bio‐based economy experience. The market entry barriers were investigated and described in the deliverable D2.1. Five main hurdles were described in D2.1:‐ A number of issues around End‐of‐Life of bio‐based products‐ Certification and standards‐ Biofuel policy, and the fact that supporting policy for bio‐based products is missing‐ Missing long term policy that helps to promote bio‐based products‐ Communication and image.In order to define possible solution routes to the hurdles, for each hurdle the relevant stakeholders and their drivers towards the hurdle were investigated. Based on this investigation directions for solutions were defined and discussed with various stakeholders. Furthermore a workshop was held where the solutions were presented and discussed with a broad group of stakeholders.Solution directions defined for the first four identified hurdles are:‐ End‐of‐Life issues: There is no general agreement on which EOL option is most preferable for a several bio‐based products. This relates to present regulations, recycling targets, and industrial operation practices and business models of waste processors. All parties involved would benefit from clear LCA data for EOL options for (groups of) products. This would allow governments, municipalities, consumers and waste processors to decide which product best goes where. Clear icons indicating the preferable EOL, EU wide can help to minimise products going into the “wrong” bin. And in particular cases it may be useful to indicate what is not the desired EOL route, e.g. for products which look like a particularmaterial but in fact are not. Furthermore research on recycling of bio‐based plastics and composting of biodegradable plastics is proposed with both the bio‐based plastics suppliers and the waste processors being stakeholders in the project.‐ Certification and standards: Several possible solutions are proposed to overcome the hurdle related to certification and standards. In principle, it is important to involve as many stakeholders as possible in the standardization process, in order to achieve a widely supported middle ground that corresponds as well as possible with everyday practice. Besides this, to give new materials the possibility to enter the market, standards should focus on the functioning of materials instead of the material itself. In the field of certificates, solutions lie in mutual compatibility, alignment and transparency in tests. However, aligning all involved parties can be (politically) challenging due to competition (between schemes). Moreover, amending standards is time consuming, but in the endthese proposed solutions could open the door more easily to new bio‐based materials. ‐ Biofuel policy: The RED puts pressure on availability and price of biomass for bio‐based products. Different options are considered as potential solutions. One option is to reform the RED in order to integrate bio‐based chemicals and materials. Another option is without changing the RED to create a link of bio‐based materials to the RED through a “bio‐ticket” system. The third option considered is a new directive special for bio‐based materials. Furthermore a harmonized classification system of wastes and residues across EU isnecessary, which needs to be implemented under the EU Waste Framework Directive (WFD). Where the use of feedstocks by the bio‐based products industry is possible, such Elimination of hurdles in standards and regulation uses must be incentivized. The same classification system that will be needed to bedeveloped by the WFD will need to be adopted by the Biofuel policy for defining the feedstocks of “advanced biofuels”.‐ Missing long term policy: In order to level the playing field between fossil‐based and biobased products two possible solutions are proposed. In the first place, the producer should be responsible for paying for the negative externalities of the production processes (e.g. possible damage to the environment) and not the whole society. Furthermore, sustainablecertifications, currently often asked only for bio‐based products, should be requested for all products. The lack of clear, robust methodologies and criteria for assessing the sustainability of both bio‐based and fossil‐based products represents a major gap that is hampering the future development of the bio‐based industry. Development of the same sustainability criteria for all types of feedstock (bio‐based and fossil based) and all sectors (materials and fuels/energy) across the whole life‐cycle (material production, use and EOL)is proposed as a potential solution. And harmonization of LCA procedures is described to be important for this. During the investigation process it was found that the fifth hurdle, communication and image, was an integral part of the other four hurdles, it was therefore not investigated and presented separately, but integral with the other hurdles. The solution directions described in this report are focused specifically on the hurdles that were collected in D2.1 by interviewing a number of companies. During the investigation also more general aspects to stimulate the introduction of bio‐based products came up. An overview of these is presented in appendix A.The analysis laid down in this report has served as the basis for a deeper investigation and proposals to overcome specific market barriers, which are presented in D4.4, and proposals for supporting policy, presented in D3.3.

The article Reducing external costs of nitrogen pollution by relocation of pig production between regions in the European Union, written by Hans J. M. van Grinsven, Jan D. van Dam, Jan Peter Lesschen, Marloes H. G. Timmers, Gerard L. Velthof, Luis Lassaletta, was originally published electronically on the publisher’s internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on 28 May 2018 without open access. With the author(s)’ decision to opt for Open Choice the copyright of the article changed on April 2019.

The present invention relates to a method for extracting salt and optionally one or more organic compounds from a composition comprising organic matter, and in particular from a dry or solid composition comprising organic matter. The present invention further relates to the use of the extracted salt and optionally one or more organic compounds, and/or of the remaining organic matter, for preparing foodstuff, a fertilizer, animal feed and/or a chemical.

POWER4BIO project H2020

In the Panacea project the role of Non-Food Crops (NFC) in the rural renaissance is investigated. The needs and interests of farmers to produce NFC have therefore to match those of bio-based industries. In this report the demands for biobased feedstock of industries were surveyed, analysed and discussed. Responses were received from a wide variety of companies and stakeholders distributed over the various production and supply chains. Those companies have interest in processing and marketing or innovation of biobased products. Responses were received from startups to multinationals from all over Europe with broad interest in uses of many different NFCs. The existing and emerging needs and interests of different industries involved in producing biobased products are summarized and discussed.

A grass soda technical lignin (PB1000) underwent a process combining solvent fractionation and treatment with an ionic liquid (IL), and a comprehensive investigation of the structural modifications was performed by using high‐performance size‐exclusion chromatography, 31P NMR spectroscopy, thioacidolysis, and GC–MS. Three fractions with distinct reactivity were recovered from successive ethyl acetate (EA), butanone, and methanol extractions. In parallel, a fraction deprived of EA extractives was obtained. The samples were treated with methyl imidazolium bromide ([HMIM]Br) by using either conventional heating or microwave irradiation. The treatment allowed us to solubilize 28 % of the EA‐insoluble fraction and yielded additional free phenols in all the fractions, as a consequence of depolymerization and demethylation. The gain of the combined process in terms of antioxidant properties was demonstrated through 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH.) radical‐scavenging tests. Integrating further IL safety‐related data and environmental considerations, this study paves the way for the sustainable production of phenolic oligomers competing with commercial antioxidants., Technical lignin refinement: A cascade biorefinery process is presented that enables upgrading of technical lignins and sustainable production of phenolic oligomers of interest as substitutes for commercial antioxidants.

POWER4BIO project H2020

In the Panacea project the role of Non-Food Crops (NFC) in the rural renaissance is investigated. The needs and interests of farmers to produce NFC have therefore to match those of bio-based industries. In this report the demands for biobased feedstock of industries were surveyed, analysed and discussed. Responses were received from a wide variety of companies and stakeholders distributed over the various production and supply chains. Those companies have interest in processing and marketing or innovation of biobased products. Responses were received from startups to multinationals from all over Europe with broad interest in uses of many different NFCs. The existing and emerging needs and interests of different industries involved in producing biobased products are summarized and discussed.

We have compiled this booklet with the aim of providing an overview and, where possible, guidelines for policy and entrepreneurship. It offers an overview of the types of biomass and biomass availability on the scale of the Netherlands, Europe and the world, and the available technologies for converting biomass into a range of useful products.

Chitin is a natural biopolymer abundantly occurring in nature and is a main source for production of its monomer - N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc). GlcNAc is widely used in medical treatment of joints disorders e.g. osteoarthritis, in skin care and dermatology as moisture agent, in food as a food additive. In this thesis we present the development of an enzymatic process for production of GlcNAc from chitin with use of chitinolytic enzymes Chitinase Chi1 and N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAGase) MthNAG from Myceliophthora thermophila C1. We homologously overproduced Chitinase Chi1 and MthNAG in a low protease/(hemi-) cellulase free M. thermophila C1-expression host. Overproduced enzymes were purified and their mode of action, catalytic properties and thermostability were characterised. Both enzymes showed remarkable thermostability that has never been observed for this group of fungal enzymes. Chitinase Chi1 and MthNAG synergistically hydrolysed chitin i.e. the products released from polymeric chitin by Chitinase Chi1 were hydrolysed by MthNAG to a final product, GlcNAc. The synergistic action of Chitinase Chi1 and MthNAG and their thermostability was fundamental for the development of an enzymatic production process of GlcNAc. Furthermore, we investigated the production of GlcNAc from chitin impregnated with H2SO4 and subsequently ball milled (ball-milled-H2SO4-chitin). According to the XRD measurements, the crystallinity of chitin has been drastically decreased upon ball-milling pre-treatment and the accessibility of chitin was considerably improved for the enzymatic action of Chitinase Chi1 and MthNAG. Subsequently, we optimized the production of GlcNAc from ball-milled-H2SO4-chitin based on a catalytic cascade catalysed by Chitinase Chi1 and MthNAG. Using central composite design (CCD) and response surface methodology (RSM), we found conditions that allow production of GlcNAc at high yield. After 6 h incubation at 50 °C, the yield of GlcNAc of 73.2 % from 1.6 % (w/v) ball-milled chitin treated with 25 μg Chitinase Chi1 and 20 μg MthNAG was obtained. We also applied Chitinase Chi1 as a tool for a fingerprint analysis of (modified)chitosan. Since Chitinase Chi1 showed a wide substrate specificity and was active on chitosans with the degree of deacetylation (DDA) up to 94 %, the enzyme was used for hydrolysis of modified chitosans with different degree of oxidation (OD). The oligosaccharides released by Chitinase Chi1 were identified with MALDI-TOF-MS. Depending on the degree of oxidation (OD), different oligosaccharides were identified. The results were used for the elucidation of the structure of the oxidised chitosans and for understanding the behaviour (structure-function relation) of this polymers. Finally, we gave an overview on chitin and chitosan as a biomass for monomers in the biobased economy. We showed the valorisation routes for chitin from different types of chitin-containing biomass and we gave an overview on current and potential applications of GlcNAc. Furthermore, we discussed the main drawbacks of the enzyme-based methods for the production of GlcNAc from chitin and we identified the possible solutions. Finally, we present a setup for the process based on hydrolysis of ball-milled-H2SO4 chitin with Chitinase Chi1 and MthNAG and give suggestions for the consideration of the important aspects of the enzymatic production of GlcNAc from chitin.

The invention concerns a method for manufacturing leather including employing pectin and leather thus obtained, in particular leather impregnated with pectin.

Chitin and chitosan are natural biopolymers with applications in different areas. However, to broaden its application area, research is needed to impart new functionality, develop new and better materials and to explore the whole potential of chitin/chitosan derivatives. These derivatives can be made by chemical and enzymatic synthesis. Here, the main classes of chitosan derivatives obtained by using green and sustainable conversion routes and as much as possible using green and/or bio‐based chemicals for modification and their potential areas for application are discussed.

Deze catalogus is opgesteld op basis van de eerdere versie in 2012, met een update van trends en beschikbare bioproducten en leveranciers. De catalogus is een brondocument voor hernieuwbare bouwmaterialen en duurzame bouwmethoden, waarmee de bouwsector een instrument in handen heeft voor het maken van verantwoorde keuzes van globaal ontwerp tot detail afwerking.

In fibre hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) grown for the production of high‒quality textile yarns the presence of secondary fibres is unwanted. These fibres are too short for spinning and their presence hampers the production of fine and homogeneous yarns from the primary or long fibres. Primary fibres are present along the stem from bottom to top and hemp for fibres is traditionally harvested around the time of flowering, when the cell walls of these fibres are sufficiently thickened with cellulose to be extracted. In literature indications are found that the height up to which secondary fibres are present, moves upwards along the stem during the growing season, and that this process accelerates around flowering. To optimise the length of the stem part with primary fibres, but without secondary fibres, the background of secondary fibre development should be elucidated. It can be hypothesised that either flowering or the increasing plant size accelerates the formation of secondary fibres. To investigate this, an indoor experiment was conducted in greenhouses with mobile covers in which the day–length sensitivity of hemp was used to create size ranges of flowering and non–flowering plants for a single cultivar, Futura 75. Secondary fibre formation was recorded using microscopic techniques. The height up to which secondary fibres were present, depended on plant weight. The higher secondary fibre front in flowering plants was most likely caused by the higher weight of these plants as compared with non–flowering plants of the same height. As seed carrying inflorescences contribute to plant weight, dual use of fibre hemp for seed and high–quality textile fibres is not an option. Results from a field experiment confirmed the correlation between plant size and the height of the secondary fibre front. Therefore, to optimise the length of the stem part with primary fibres, but without secondary fibres above stubble height, for Futura 75 a relatively short crop of around 1.3–1.4 m should be harvested before flowering. This ideal crop height is likely to differ between varieties.

Project AGROinLOG "Demonstration of innovative integrated biomass logistics centres for the Agro-industry sector in Europe"

The present invention relates to a composition comprising bitumen; optionally vegetable oil or derivative thereof; and a lignin preparation, wherein the lignin preparation is characterized by a lignin purity of 60-100 wt.% with respect to the weight of the lignin preparation; and a lignin average molecular weight of 1000-5000 g/mol. The composition may be an asphalt binder composition or asphalt composition. Accordingly, the present invention also relates to a paving or roofing comprising the composition of the invention.Further, the present invention relates to a method of preparing an asphalt composition, comprising mixing bitumen with filler material, adding lignin preparation and vegetable oil to the mixture obtained, preferably wherein the lignin preparation and the vegetable oil are added simultaneously.

The impact of four different growth conditions on the cell disruption efficiency of Neochloris oleoabundans was investigated. A mechanical and biological cell disruption methods were evaluated separately and combined. It has been established that microalgae grown in marine water under nitrogen deprivation were the most resistant against cell disruption methods and released the lowest amount of proteins. The release of lipids, however, followed the “hindered molecule diffusion phenomenon” because it did not follow the same release pattern as proteins. The enzymatic treatment was efficient enough to release the majority of the proteins without combining it with high-pressure homogenization. Regarding energy input, Neochloris oleoabundans grown in marine water under nitrogen deprivation required the highest energy input to release proteins (Ep = 13.76 kWh.kg−1) and to break the cells by high-pressure homogenization (Ex – HPH = 1.14 kWh.kg−1) or by the combination of enzymes and High-pressure homogenization (Ex – ENZ = 2.79 kWh.kg−1).

Diffusion inside pores is the rate limiting step in many preparative chromatographic separations and a key parameter for process design in weak interaction aqueous chromatographic separations employed in food and bio processing. This work aims at relating diffusion inside porous networks to properties of stationary phase and of diffusing molecules. Intraparticle diffusivities were determined for eight small molecules in nine different stationary phases made from three different backbone materials. Measured intraparticle diffusivities were compared to the predictive capability of the correlation by Mackie and Meares and the parallel pore model. All stationary phases were analyzed for their porosity, apparent pore size distribution and tortuosity, which are input parameters for the models. The parallel pore model provides understanding of the occurring phenomena, but the input parameters were difficult to determine experimentally. The model predictions of intraparticle diffusion were of limited accuracy. We show that prediction can be improved when combining the model of Mackie and Meares with the fraction of accessible pore volume. The accessible pore volume fraction can be determined from inverse size exclusion chromatographic measurements. Future work should further challenge the improved model, specifically widening the applicability to greater accessible pore fractions (> 0.7) with corresponding higher intraparticle diffusivities (Dp/Dm > 0.2). A database of intraparticle diffusion and stationary phase pore property measurements is supplied, to contribute to general understanding of the relationship between intraparticle diffusion and pore properties.

Molecular weight (MW) and related conformational data of three commercially available technical lignins (Alcell L, kraft L, and soda L) have been studied by means of analytical ultracentrifugation, taking advantage of some recent developments in both sedimentation velocity and sedimentation equilibrium determinations. The lignins were dissolved in dimethyl sulphoxide (with ca. 90% solubility), and solutions were studied with regards to their oligomeric state, heterogeneity profiles (distribution of sedimentation coefficients), and molecular weight distributions (MWD). Alcell L and soda L have similar properties showing one major low MW component and two minor high MW components, whereas kraft L appears to be larger and more uniform, i.e., it shows a more monodisperse MWD. Weight average molecular weight (M w) data from sedimentation equilibrium obtained by the new SEDFIT-MSTAR procedure in conjunction with MULTISIG analysis were found to be ~18 kDa (Alcell L), 25 kDa (kraft L), and 15 kDa (soda L). Further analysis of the data by means of the routines MULTISIG and M_INVEQ confirmed the presence of additional components in Alcell L and soda L, and the larger size and high degree of monodispersity of kraft L. The intrinsic viscosity data of the three lignins were found to be very similar in the range of 22–24 ml g-1, and all data were consistent with an elongated plate shape molecular structure with an equivalent discoid aspect ratio ~30.

Polysaccharides are abundant natural polymers found in plants, animals and microorganisms with exceptional properties and essential roles to sustain life. They are well known for their high nutritive value and the positive effects on our immune and digestive functions and detoxification system. The knowledge and recognition of the important role they play for promoting and maintaining human health and wellbeing is continuously increasing. This review describes some important polysaccharides (e.g. mucilages and gums, glycosamine glycans and chitin/chitosan) and their medical, cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications, with emphasis on the relationship between structure and function. Next, the use of polysaccharides as nutraceuticals and vaccines is discussed in more detail. An analysis of the trends and challenges in polysaccharide research concludes the paper.

Non-renewable energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and land use of two biobased products and biofuel from oil crops is investigated and compared with products from sugar crops. In a bio-based economy chemicals, materials and energy carriers will be produced from biomass. Next to side streams, also vegetable oils and sugars are expected to become important resources for these products. Application of these resources calls for effective resource use, with minimal environmental impacts. In this paper we study a number of available options and their trade-offs. Use of vegetable oils in a chemical and a resin results in a higher reduction of non- renewable energy use and greenhouse gas emissions than their use as biodiesel. Furthermore, similar savings in environmental impact per unit of land can be reached by products from either oil or sugar crops as transportation fuel, but the sugar crops, applied in chemicals or bioplastics outcompete the oil crops.

A thermostable Chitinase Chi1 from Myceliophthora thermophila C1 was homologously produced and characterized. Chitinase Chi1 shows high thermostability at 40 °C (>140 h 90% activity), 50 °C (>168 h 90% activity), and 55 °C (half-life 48 h). Chitinase Chi1 has broad substrate specificity and converts chitin, chitosan, modified chitosan, and chitin oligosaccharides. The activity of Chitinase Chi1 is strongly affected by the degree of deacetylation (DDA), molecular weight (Mw), and side chain modification of chitosan. Chitinase Chi1 releases mainly (GlcNAc)2 from insoluble chitin and chito-oligosaccharides with a polymerization degree (DP) ranging from 2 to 12 from chitosan, in a processive way. Chitinase Chi1 shows higher activity toward chitin oligosaccharides (GlcNAc)4–6 than toward (GlcNAc)3 and is inactive for (GlcNAc)2. During hydrolysis, oligosaccharides bind at subsites −2 to +2 in the enzyme’s active site. Chitinase Chi1 can be used for chitin valorisation and for production of chitin- and chito-oligosaccharides at industrial scale.