GreenToGreen - municipal green waste as the basis for green chemistry
With the "GreenToGreen - municipal green waste as the basis for green chemistry" project, the BMBF is funding the investigation of material flows that have so far hardly been recycled or not recycled at all as part of the Bioball innovation area. The aim is to close bio-based material cycles and at the same time achieve greater added value. The use of bio-based material flows in this way is urgent, because in view of climate change, the requirements of environmental protection and the continuing growth in the world's population, the limits of our current economic system, which is predominantly based on fossil resources, are foreseeable.
A wide variety of material flows are being considered for material use. Green waste has proven to be a relevant material flow in a preliminary study. For example, the Frankfurt Parks Department alone disposes of around 9,000 tons of green waste every year. This does not include green waste that is disposed of by external companies or waste that accumulates in allotment gardens, on sports grounds and in urban forests. The costs for the removal of green waste are currently still higher than the added value from the energy recovery or composting of the green waste.
The aim of GreenToGreen is therefore to recycle this green waste. New recycling scenarios should lead to the generation of income instead of having to spend money on the disposal of the green waste. To this end, the use of green waste as a raw material (source of sugar) in fermentations and the conversion of green waste into electrode materials for electro-biotechnology are being investigated. Both products are then to be used in the sense of green chemistry for the biotechnological synthesis of basic chemicals. It is particularly important to emphasize that (i) green waste can be processed in a less energy-intensive manner than highly woody raw materials, (ii) green waste can also be obtained from agriculturally inferior land and (iii) there is no competition with food production.
In order to achieve the overall objective of GreenToGreen, academia and industry are to work together with the municipal economy and municipal administration.
| Partner | Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen Grünflächenamt Frankfurt FES Frankfurter Entsorgungs- und Service GmbH) Energiereferat der Stadt Frankfurt Mainova |
| Status | Completed project |
| Funding organisation | BMBF |
| Funding period | 02/2020 - 11/2023 |
| Funding code | 031B0903B |
Publications and conference papers
- L. Varriale, M. Volkmar, J. Weiermüller, R. Ulber; Effects of Pretreatment on the Biocatalysis of Renewable Resources. Chemie Ingenieur Technik (2022) https://doi.org/10.1002/cite.202200137
- A. Langsdorf, M. Volkmar, D. Holtmann, R. Ulber; Material utilization of green waste – A review on potential valorisation methods; Bioresour. Bioprocess. 8, 19 (2021); DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40643-021-00367-5
- A. Langsdorf, A-L. Drommershausen, M. Volkmar, R. Ulber, D. Holtmann; Fermentative alpha-Humulene Production from Homogenized Grass Clippings as a Growth Medium; Molecules 2022, 27, 868; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27248684
- A. Langsdorf, M. Volkmar, R. Ulber, F. Hollmann, D. Holtmann; Peroxidases from grass clip-pings for the removal of phenolic compounds from wastewater; Bioresources Technology Reports 2023, 22, 101471; doi.org/10.1016/j.biteb.2023.101471
- M. Volkmar, A.-L. Maus, M. Weisbrodt, J. Bohlender, A. Langsdorf, D. Holtmann, R. Ulber; Municipal green waste as substrate for the microbial production of platform chemicals; (2023) Bioresour. Bioprocess. 10 (1). DOI: 10.1186/s40643-023-00663-2
Presentations
- M. Volkmar, A. Langsdorf, D. Holtmann, R. Ulber; The potential of municipal green waste as sustainable feedstock for fermentations; 2nd Scotland-Rheinland-Pfalz Life Sciences and Biotechnology Conference 2024, online
- M. Volkmar, M. Weisbrodt, L. M. Blank, R. Ulber; Municipal green waste as feedstock for the fermentative production of itaconic acid using Ustilago maydis; 14th European Congress of Chemical Engineering and 7th European Congress of Applied Biotechnology (2023), Berlin, Deutschland
- M. Volkmar, M. Weisbrodt, L. M. Blank, R. Ulber; Production of itaconic acid using Ustilago maydis based on municipal green waste; 19th International Conference on Renewable Resources & Biorefineries (2023), Riga, Lettland
- M. Volkmar, E. Bentz, A. Langsdorf, D. Holtmann, R. Ulber; Investigation of alternative feedstocks based on municipal green waste for conventional and electro-assisted fermentations; International Conference on Renewable Resources & Biorefineries 2022; Brügge, Belgien
- M. Volkmar, M. Weisbrodt, A. Langsdorf, D. Holtmann, R. Ulber; Alternative feedstocks for microbial fermentations based on municipal green waste; (Bio)Process Engineering – a Key to Sustainable Development 2022; Aachen, Deutschland
- M. Volkmar, A.-K. Schwartzkopff, M. Weisbrodt, A.-L. Maus, R. Ulber, Press juice of municipal grass clippings as medium for microbial fermentations, Grassification Webinar “Assessing the Potential Use of the Liquid Fraction of Roadside Grass”, Biorefine Cluster Europe (2021), Digital
- M. Volkmar, E. Bentz, A.-K. Schwartzkopff, J. Stiefelmaier, M. Engel, D. Holtmann, R. Ulber, Municipal Green Waste as Feedstock for conventional and electro-assisted Fermentations, 17th International Conference on Renewable Resources & Biorefineries (2021), Aveiro, Portugal
- M. Volkmar, E. Bentz, A.-K. Schwartzkopff, J. Stiefelmaier, M. Engel, D. Holtmann, R. Ulber, Electro-assisted fermentation of Clostridium acetobutylicum with municipal green waste as feedstock, 13th European Congress of Chemical Engineering and 6th European Congress of Applied Biotechnology (2021), Digital
Poster
- M. Volkmar, F. Bartzack , L. M. Blank, R. Ulber; Cultivation of Ustilago maydis based on municipal green waste for the fermentative production of itaconic acid; Renewable Resources & Biorefineries 2024, Brüssel, Belgien
- M. Volkmar; Municipal green waste as feedstock for fermentations; RPTU Verfahrenstechnik Doktorandenseminar (2023), Annweiler, Deutschland
- M. Volkmar, A. Langsdorf, D. Holtmann, R. Harnisch, P. Hahn, R. Ulber, Kommunaler Grünschnitt als Rohstoff für Fermentationen, Jahrestreffen BioBall (2022), Frankfurt am Main, Deutschland
- M. Volkmar, E. Bentz, A. Langsdorf, D. Holtmann, R. Ulber; Analysis of municipal green waste as feedstock for electro-assisted fermentations with Clostridium acetobutylicum; Himmelfahrtstagung on Bioprocess Engineering 2022; Mainz, Deutschland
- M. Volkmar, J. Weiermüller, A. Langsdorf, D. Holtmann, N. Feizy, R. Hommel, R. Ulber, Kommunaler Grünschnitt als Rohstoff für Fermentationen, Jahrestreffen BioBall (2021), Frankfurt am Main, Deutschland
- M. Volkmar, J. Weiermüller, J. Stiefelmaier, A. Akermann, A.-L. Maus, A.-K. Schwartzkopff, W. Ly, R. Ulber; Municipal green waste as feedstock for microbial fermentations; Himmelfahrtstagung on Bioprocess Engineering 2021 - New Bioprocesses, New Products (2021), Digital