Promising biobased alternatives to polar aprotic solvents

07-Dec-2017 - A report from Wageningen Food & Biobased Research commissioned by RIVM (the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) has revealed a number of promising biobased alternatives to the controversial polar aprotic solvents NMP, DMAc and DMF. Wageningen Food & Biobased Research ...

Tyre rubber from dandelions

12-Sep-2017 - Vredestein showed a prototype of its Fortezza Flower Power at the Eurobike exhibition in Friedrichshafen in August. This innovative road tyre is made of rubber extracted from the roots of dandelions. The prototype is the result of a EU joint initiative in which Vredestein and Wageningen ...

Polymerisation pilot facilities can accelerate the development of biobased materials

30-Jun-2017 - While the polymerisation of biobased monomers is an important step in making plastics, resins and coatings from plant materials which can compete with their fossil counterparts, there are currently no pilot facilities for this process available in the Dutch R&D ecosystem. Industry, regional ...

Breakthrough in organic acid production

28-Mar-2017 - Scientists from Wageningen University & Research, in association with oil and gas company Total, have developed a new process for producing organic acids via a biotechnological method. The discovery of the Monascus ruber micro-organism proved to be the crucial step in the new process. The fungus ...

Global redistribution of phosphorus use could improve food security

How decisions in China can have a positive global impact

10-Dec-2014 - If the use and reuse of the finite resource phosphorus as a nutrient for plants were to be handled with greater care worldwide it would become possible to produce sufficient food for the global population in and after 2050. In addition to being home to a considerable proportion of the global ...

Wageningen UR realises bioasphalt with lignin in Zeeland

03-Dec-2014 - Bioasphalt for roads in Zeeland is being developed by Wageningen UR Food & Biobased Research, the Asfalt Kennis Centrum (Asphalt Knowledge Centre, AKC) and the company H4A from Sluiskil (NL). Zeeland Seaports is a project partner with interest in potential applications for the asphalt. Lignin ...

Ultra-low temperature freezing of research material

06-Nov-2013 - In partnership with the Dutch company B.E.R.G. Koudetechniek & Klimaatbeheersing, Wageningen UR (University & Research centre) has designed and constructed an entirely new type of facility for the storage of research material at the ultra-low temperature of -80°C. This facility, named ‘Radix ...

Artificial leaves can generate energy

25 million euros for unique research into photosynthetic energy from plants and algae

17-Jul-2009 - On Friday 10 July the research programme Towards Biosolar Cells was granted a budget of 25 million euros by the Dutch Government. The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality recommended the programme because it will contribute to green energy, improve food supplies and a create a more ...

AkzoNobel and partners awarded algae research funding

30-May-2008 - AkzoNobel is part of a Dutch consortium which has just received major funding to investigate the potential of converting algae into feedstock for the chemical industry. Having partnered with energy company Essent, algae producers Ingrepo and Wageningen University, the consortium has now received ...

Plants do not produce methane gas

Dutch scientists disprove recent claim that living plants would produce a large part of the greenhouse gas methane.

02-May-2007 - A group of scientists of Plant Research International (Wageningen UR), Radboud University Nijmegen, Utrecht University, and the Wageningen-based companies IsoLife and Plant Dynamics has demonstrated that the 'methane emission' by living plants is negligibly small. This is shown in their ...