The development of the insecticide Inscalis™ shows how classical chemistry and biotechnology can ideally complement each other. The first step in the production of this insecticide is fermentation. The intermediate product is then transformed into a finished crop protection product in a subsequent production process based on classical chemistry. “Here, we bring together the best of both worlds: By combining fermentation with selective chemical synthesis, the hybrid process enables us to produce a highly effective and sustainable product cost-efficiently,” said Schachtschabel.

In the future, BASF will continue to rely on a flexible and wide basis of raw materials and technologies. “We recognize that biotechnology, engineering and classical chemistry, when they are optimally integrated, enable processes that are very efficient as well as economically and environmentally sustainable. This will help BASF to achieve its sustainability goals,” said Schachtschabel.

Gaseous carbon as alternative feedstock source

In addition to classical fermentation, which is usually based on renewable raw materials, BASF and the U.S. firm LanzaTech are working together on special processes in which bacteria use gaseous carbon sources, such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, as a raw material. The carbon can come from off-gases from steel mills, refineries and chemical plants but also from gasified household waste. “We would like to tap the potential of gas fermentation to make chemicals for chemical value chains,” said Prof. Michael Helmut Kopf, Director Alternative Fermentation Platforms at BASF. LanzaTech production facilities in China are already using this technology to produce ethanol and a further plant in Belgium will soon be operational. The two companies would now like to produce higher alcohols and other intermediates using gas-fermentation processes.

“Our bacteria are specially designed so that they can transform waste carbon into a variety of desired intermediates,” explained Dr. Sean Simpson, LanzaTech’s founder and Chief Scientific Officer. BASF, in turn, contributes its expertise in chemistry and process technology as well as process intensification into this development project. BASF is also designing the process to separate and purify the products from the fermentation system so these can be fed into the value chains.

There are more than enough alternative carbon sources worldwide that can be used for gas fermentation. “But this will require a change of mindset to enable projects with a cross-sectoral character, for example, connecting the chemical industry with steel mills or waste management firms,” Simpson said. Greater availability of such alternative raw material sources will mean less need for virgin fossil feedstocks to produce chemicals.

“Gasification technologies for residual materials, gas fermentation – together with sustainable hydrogen and renewable energy for product synthesis – and efficient purification processes for the product outputs can, in the future, make an important contribution to improving the sustainability of our value chains,” said Kopf, commenting on the technology’s potential.

Understanding biodegradability in detail

At BASF, bacteria and fungi play a role not only 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,” said Professor Andreas Künkel, BASF’s Vice President Research Biopolymers. Biodegradability means that microorganisms metabolize complex organic molecules into energy, water, carbon dioxide and biomass.

To use this natural method and develop fully biodegradable products requires a fundamental understanding of chemistry and of biological processes. Therefore, BASF has significantly expanded its R&D activities relating to biodegradability over the past 10 years. “This incredibly complex topic can only be mastered as an interdisciplinary team,” said Künkel. He stressed the importance of internal and external collaboration with customers, universities and research institutes, with whom BASF carried out extensive experiments in the lab and in the field. “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,” Künkel explained.

One example of this is ecovio® mulch film. It is certified biodegradable in soil and helps farmers achieve higher yields. 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 to examine how and why the film biodegrades in soil – both in the laboratory as well as in the field. To do so, they developed new methods of analysis which can prove that the carbon in the film is biologically transformed into carbon dioxide and biomass.

Another important application for biodegradable materials are ingredients for laundry detergents, dishwasher detergents and cosmetics that end up in wastewater treatment plants at the end of their life cycles. Here, too, it is crucial to understand exactly how the structure of the material influences its biodegradability.

To expand the portfolio of new certified biodegradable products, digital tools are an important component of the research work. With its extensive collection of data on biodegradability, BASF can develop computer models that can predict at a very early stage of product development the properties and biodegradability of molecules and materials, and thus enable their structures to be adapted accordingly. “BASF is a pioneer and a leader in digital modelling of predictive biodegradability. This is helpful when cooperating with customers to develop tailor-made biodegradable products for a particular application,” said Künkel.

Livestream and more information about the presentations at the research press conference at:

http://basf.com/research-press-conference