project-biointense-eurombr-20.html
Annual Report 201
21 / 56
21 welcome to the world of
microfluidics
food, pharma, and materials for every- day products are, more o?en than not, the result of several chemical processes. as such, the chemical industry is on a constant search to improve these pro- cesses to ensure that they stay competi- tive, remain economically attractive all the while keeping a low impact on the environment. traditionally, chemical processes are run on large equipment and can as a result be expensive and even harmful due to considerable waste production or use of toxic substances. one solution to avoid using such processes could be to apply enzymatic bioprocesses. in enzymatic bioprocesses enzymes from nature are used as catalysts and could in this way potentially be more productive under mild reaction conditions and yield- ing less waste. according to associate professor ulrich krühne from the capec-process research centre, it is these bioprocess methods that need to be rethought. ?it?s nearly impossible to reduce waste production without finding a way to distinguish the good enzymes from the bad. here
microfluidics
can help us,? says the associate professor who is also the
project
manager of the biointense
project
which was concluded this year. he continues; ?
new
enzymes must be designed and test- ed. ?is is the core of our
project
. we used a technology which first emerged in the 80?s called
microfluidics
. ?e technology enables us to control and test very small volumes of liquid and determine very pre- cisely what works well and what does not. in this way, we can get quicker results and the small scale means we can do multiple tests at the time, making the process much more efficient?. multiple results in short time just like technology of
microfluidics
, the biointense
project
has brought many results in very short period of time.
new
methods to increase biocatalyst produc- tivity and process intensity through the development and application of novel microfluidic and modelling tools have been discovered. furthermore, other points of progress include development of
new
microfluidic products, 24 mass fabrication compatible micro-reactors for further commercial application, standardization of device formats, making the systems applicable with standard laboratory equipment,
new
enzyme products and much more. animating the public ?ere is another important side to the biointense
project
. ?e
project
aimed at communicating outside of academic circles. this was done by creating the ?world of
microfluidics
? animation films; short explanatory cartoons that have received much recognition at several science film festivals around the world. at the shortfest international in malta they were awarded best animation cartoon 2016. at the annual multi- media award they won silver for web/ tv-animation for bleech, and most recently they won an award at the european science tv and
new
media festival in lisbon. according to ulrich krühne, there are three main motiva- tions for promoting the
project
in this way: ?we are technical nerds here. we work in an environment where people understand our scientific lingo but of course most people are not used to this language. so communicating the
project
to non-techni- cal spheres can help us with three things: reaching young people who we will one day need to be interested in carrying on the research; making the public aware that we need to think about
new
and more sustainable ways to produce; and of course living up to our grant givers? demand for communicating complex, but important science,? says ulrich krühne. capec-process ?
plant-process-practice-22.html