The institute’s task is to create process-engineering bases for sustainable land-use management and to provide innovative technical solutions for agriculture and industry. The mission of ATB is application-oriented basic research in all areas of agricultural engineering. By combining scientific and engineering findings with economic and social expertise it is ensured that the newly developed processes and technical solutions are profitable for manufacturers and users but also meet the concerns of consumer-, animal-, and environmental protection and of sustainability.
Production, conditioning, and biotechnical conversion of renewable raw materials for generating bioenergy and bio-based materials are focal research issues at the institute since its foundation in 1992. With its complex research program the ATB has developed comprehensive expertise in the field of biomass research. Its work makes a considerable scientific-technical contribution to the reorientation process in energy and material producing industry towards the utilization of bio-based feedstocks. It also provides knowledge and technologies for a successful and internationally leading ‘knowledge based bio-economy’ (KBBE).
For several years, “bioconversion of raw materials produced in agriculture into chemicals, microbial biomass and active substances“ has been the subject of intensive studies in the bioengineering department of the ATB. Alongside technologically oriented studies of the overall process (pre-treatment of renewables/residues, fermentation, up- und down-stream) design, they include fundamental research into strain optimization and the kinetics of microbial processes. Dr. Joachim Venus is head of the research group bioconversion/fermentation of biogenic feedstocks/residues at the ATB. The bioconversion group coordinates related topics which belong to the production of value added goods by biological and chemical conversion processes respectively. Based on the use of renewable agricultural raw materials as carbon substrates as well as protein sources one of the main products is lactic acid. Tests on substrate preparation, microbial transformation, physiochemical basic research on substance separation as well as the technological optimization of fermentation and down-stream processing steps are being carried out.

Country: Germany

Organization Type: Research Centre

Phone: 0049(331)5699-112

Email: jvenus@atb-potsdam.de

City: Potsdam ,Max-Eyth-Allee 100 Google map

Areas of Activities