Biotechnology

Research in the area of biorefining at the ICPF is carried out in the Department of Catalysis and Reaction Engineering. Biorefining and biotechnology these days are producing new and desired products. The Department of Catalysis and Reaction Engineering is the leading entity at the BIORAF Centre of Competence and the BIOCIRTECH National Centre of Competence—projects undertaken with academic and industry partners to solve problems related, for example, to the creation of new products such as joint supplements from poultry cartilage or cosmetic and anti-inflammatory dermatological agents from plants, and to isolation of essential unsaturated fatty acids from microalgae. We are currently working with the medical community to solve issues related to the adhesion of animal cells to various biopolymer meshes and membranes produced by an original method of electrospinning.

Research in the field of microbial biotechnologies at the ICPF is undertaken by the group within the Department of Multiphase Reactors. The core of this research lies in the utilization of microorganisms in environmental and food technologies. This involves primarily unicellular eukaryotic algae and cyanobacteria, but also bacteria and yeasts. Important activities include optimization and scale-up of cultivation processes, including development of photobioreactors, optimization of separation processes, and innovation of down-stream processes, drawing significantly on findings gained from fundamental research on multiphase hydrodynamics carried out within the department.

Research in the field of biocatalysis at the ICPF is undertaken by the Supercritical Technologies Group within the Department of Advanced Materials and Organic Synthesis. Our biocatalysis is carried out in supercritical carbon dioxide for the purpose of enriching vegetable oils with essential fatty acids through hydrolysis. Here, vegetable oil reacts with water or ethanol in scCO2 medium, catalysed by a regiospecific enzyme. The profile of fatty acids in the reaction product then depends on the various reaction rates of individual components of the oil. The reaction mixture enriched with essential fatty acids can then be carried out on the basis of different scCO2 solubility or different affinity for the sorbent.