FEATURE Oil & Gas
Cultivation of biomass on an industrial scale
sustainably from algae C
Festo offers the next step on the road to the industrialisation of biological transformation: BionicCellFactory. With automation technology, biomass can be cultivated on a large scale in a highly-efficient, resource-conserving way. Everything that we currently produce from crude oil creating immense CO2
emissions can also be obtained
limate and resource protection are two of the great challenges of our time. How can we extract CO2
from the atmosphere and
actively contribute to climate protection? How can we reduce our material consumption, recycle more materials and at the same time access alternative raw materials?
At Festo, we have been dealing with these questions for some time and are breaking new ground: “We are transferring our expertise of automation technology to biological processes. Here, too, nature is our great example: It teaches us about resource effi ciency, because in nature there is no wastage. We scale and accelerate solutions from the laboratory format and bring them to industrial application through the interplay of biological and technical processes,” said Dr Elias Knubben, Vice President Corporate Research and Innovation.
The cell as a factory Living cells are the smallest factories in the world. Algae’s chloroplast cells photosynthesise to convert sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and chemical energy sources – or valuable organic matter. Algae are planet protectors because they absorb ten times more CO2
This value can be increased by a factor of ten through automated cultivation in bioreactors. The biomass obtained can be used in many industries.
Holistic harvesting and refinement Festo’s interdisciplinary bionics team is going even further with the BionicCellFactory, by demonstrating a holistic bioprocess – from the optimised cultivation of the algae on a large scale with continuous monitoring and analysis, through to harvesting and the further processing and refi nement of the various
automationmagazine.co.uk
Festo’s BionicCellFactory
components, in contrast to chemical processes, without high temperatures and high pressures or toxins. As a model factory, the BionicCellFactory is a universal blueprint for holistic production systems of the future. With the help of Festo automation technology, it can be scaled to any size. In order to meet future demand for renewable raw materials, bioreactors with a capacity of several thousand litres are needed. Expertise in process automation is required to ensure that the plants can reliably produce the desired quantities of biomass.
than land plants.
Biological transformation portfolio Together with its customers, Festo develops intelligent control cabinet solutions for bioreactors, and continues to expand its portfolio. The automation specialist ensures stable and precise process control with maximum productivity. This includes optimised fumigation and feeding strategies, control algorithms, soft sensors for real-time biomass determination, and system concepts for bio-based production processes.
Festo will also support plant operators
with remote diagnostics, maintenance and control via the cloud. Robust value
creation processes and easy operation of the system modules will be important if a large number of modular production units for the extraction of raw materials and carbon fi xation are to be built and operated around the world in the future.
New job profiles However, highly-qualifi ed technical staff and biotechnologists are not available everywhere. To this end, Festo Didactic is already analysing the new knowledge requirements in order to defi ne interdisciplinary links and establish innovative apprenticeships, degree programs and additional qualifi cations in the fi elds of biomechatronics, biointelligence and sustainability. The BionicCellFactory factory is divided
into fi ve modules in which nature and technology coalesce in diff erent ways. In doing so, the cell factory is a tool for the biological transformation moving towards an environmentally-friendly circular economy.
CONTACT:
Festo
www.festo.com
Automation | May 2023
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