Sustainable with powerful microorganisms

I’m very excited about the good discussions we had with journalists and our LinkedIn community at today’s research press conference. Together with Doreen Schachtschabel Michael Helmut Kopf, Sean Simpson and Andreas Künkel , I showed how we drive sustainability along the whole value chain – with new concepts and approaches in biotechnology. I share more details in this article - and I’m looking forward to your feedback.

Continuous commitment to sustainability

More than ever, our industry is facing unprecedented challenges: Our production must become climate-neutral; we must create a circular economy, scrutinize many of our products and drive digitalization further. Only with innovative solutions based on chemistry we will achieve the transformation to climate neutrality.

Innovation and sustainability go hand in hand at BASF: our researchers work globally at full speed to develop solutions for alternative raw materials, climate-friendly processes and sustainable products - thereby supporting our customers and society.

White biotechnology becoming increasingly important

White biotechnology – using bioprocesses like fermentation and bio-catalysis – is becoming an increasingly important part of BASF’s toolbox to drive sustainability. Microorganisms, such as bacteria or fungi, use organic material to transform it into completely different end products – similar to producing bread, cheese, or beer.

The list of chemicals and products that BASF manufactures with white biotechnology methods is long: biopolymers, essential ingredients for human and animal nutrition such as vitamins and enzymes, crop protection products, flavors, and fragrances as well as enzymes for detergents and cosmetic ingredients.

Suitable microorganisms produce the target molecule under optimal conditions. They can use a wide range of nutrients and building blocks: renewable raw materials, such as sugar, but also fossil-based chemicals, waste streams and recycled products. If necessary, the genome of the microbes can be tailored to adapt their metabolism to the task at hand. It almost goes without saying that digitalization is an essential element in this targeted development of new processes and products.

Gaseous carbon as alternative feedstock source

In addition to classical fermentation, which is usually based on liquid or solid raw materials, we work together with the U.S. firm LanzaTech on special processes in which bacteria use gaseous carbon sources, such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. They can metabolize off-gases from steel mills, refineries and chemical plants but also carbon sources from gasified household waste. The broad availability of such alternative raw material sources will mean less need for new fossil feedstocks to produce chemicals like ethanol, higher alcohols or intermediates.

While LanzaTech is genetically altering designed bacteria so that they can transform the gaseous carbon source into the desired intermediates using hydrogen as an energy source, BASF, in turn, contributes its expertise in chemistry and process technology as well as process intensification to this development project. We are also designing the processes to separate and purify the products from the fermentation system to feed these into our value chains. There are more than enough alternative carbon sources worldwide that can be used for gas fermentation and therefore it can one day make an important contribution to improve the sustainability of our industry’s value chains.

Understanding biodegradability in detail

At BASF, bacteria and fungi play not only a role in the production of sustainable products. For us, sustainability also means knowing exactly how and why microorganisms in the environment biodegrade our products after they are used and metabolize complex organic molecules into energy, water, carbon dioxide and biomass. We need to fundamentally understand the corresponding chemical and biological processes.

BASF has significantly expanded its R&D activities relating to biodegradability. We look in great detail at how we should design materials so that our products biodegrade in soil and in technical systems such as compost and sewage treatment facilities.

One example of this is ecovio? mulch film which is certified biodegradable: it helps farmers to achieve higher yields and after the harvest the film can simply be plowed under and will be broken down by microorganisms in the soil. BASF researchers worked with scientists from ETH Zurich and can prove now that the carbon in the film is biologically transformed into carbon dioxide and biomass.

Also here, digital tools are an important component of our research work. With our extensive collection of data, we can predict at a very early stage of product development the properties and biodegradability of molecules and materials and thus speed up the development of tailor-made biodegradable products for particular applications with our customers.

At BASF we are well prepared to meet the challenges of today’s world

All in all there are many reasons to be optimistic although we are facing daunting challenges. Throughout the history of BASF we were always being able to reinvent ourselves and we will continue to do so – and biotechnology and our great R&D team play a key role here!

Interested to learn more? You can find all relevant materials, including a replay, here.?