MATERIALS • PROCESSES • FINISHES
I
than it sets free. A research project spearheaded by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is to further advance these technologies. Te most recent global climate report
n combination with granite or other types of hard rock, carbon fibres make all-new construction and building materials possible. Teoretical calculations show that if the carbon fibres are produced from algae oil, production of the innovative materials extracts more carbon dioxide (CO2
release to be an important option to get climate change under control. Te objective of the new project bearing the title “Green Carbon” is to develop manufacturing processes for polymers and carbon-based lightweight construction materials based on algae, which may be used in the aviation and automotive industry, for example. Te development of the various
(IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C) considers manufacturing processes that use more CO2
than they MATERIALS MADE FROM
processes is accompanied by technological, economical and sustainability analyses. Te German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF) has dedicated funds amounting to around €6.5 million to fund the research at TUM.
bound in sugars and algae oil. Tese can be used in chemical and biotechnological processes to produce precursors for a variety of industrial processes. For example, oil-forming yeasts produce
in form of biomass. CO2
MICROALGAE BIND CO2 Due to their fast growth, microalgae such as those cultivated in the technical algae centre at TUM’s Ludwig Bölkow Campus south of Munich can actively store the greenhouse gas CO2
is mainly
Lighter than aluminium and stronger than steel: introducing innovative materials with carbon fibres made from algae
ALGAE?
into glycerine and free fatty acids. Te free fatty acids are precursors for products such as high-quality additives for lubricants, among others; the glycerine can be turned into carbon fibres.
yeast oil from the algae sugars, which is a feedstock for sustainable plastics. Furthermore, enzymes can split the yeast oil
SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION OF CARBON FIBRES In the further course of the project, the plastics will be combined with the carbon fibres to produce corresponding composite materials. “Te carbon fibres produced from algae are absolutely identical to the fibres currently in use in the industry,” says project lead Tomas Brück, Professor for Synthetic Biotechnology at TU
Step for an e-scooter made from a composite material with fibres from algae
Munich. “Terefore, they can be used for all standard processes in aviation and automotive production.” Furthermore, carbon fibres and
Carbon fibre reinforced granite plate
hard rock can be used in a process of the industrial partner TechnoCarbon Technologies to produce novel construction materials. Not only do they have a negative CO2
balance, they are also lighter
than aluminium and stronger than steel.
www.engineerlive.com 51
Fibres produced from algae oils are identical to current materials
) from the atmosphere
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