Tag Archive for: Research grants

Recycling of Plastics and Forest Management Under Loup in New Projects

While a part of the research community is trying to develop plastics from bio-based materials; as an alternative to petrochemicals; a group of Bio4Energy researchers are looking at how to reuse or recycle traditional plastic using bio-based processes. Two projects were granted last month, one by the national funders Swedish Research Council and more recently by Formas.

Here we acknowledge Bio4Energy researchers who won projects from Formas, in its annual round of grants.

  • Bioholistic: Developing integrated bioprocesses for a holistic chemical recycling of plastics, Leonidas Matsakas, Bio4Energy Biopolymers and Biochemical Conversion at Luleå University of Technology (LTU). Co-applicants at LTU are Alok Patel, Io Antonopoulou, Ulrika Rova and Paul Christakopoulos.
  • Browsing tolerant trees, Henrik Böhlenius, Bio4Energy Forest-based Feedstock at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). His collaboration partners are Stefan Jansson of Umeå University and Michelle Cleary of SLU.
  • Can the soil priming effect enhance plant growth under elevated CO2 by alleviating nutrient limitation? Sandra Jämtgård, Bio4Energy Environment and Nutrient Recycling at SLU. Her co-applicant is Oskar Franklin of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria.

Plastic Waste, Carbon Nano Materials, Photothermal Imaging in New Research Projects

Bio4Energy researchers have won funds from the Swedish Research Council for multi-annual projects on “upcycling” of plastic waste, evaluation of carbon nano materials for use in electrodes and photothermal imaging of fatty acids and droplets.

The projects and their participants are acknowledged as follows:

  • Development of sustainable and efficient processes for upcycling of PET waste into value-added chemicals as building blocks for recyclable materials, Ulrika Rova, Bio4Energy Biochemical Conversion at Luleå University of Technology (LTU). Co-applicants at LTU are Suman Bajracharya, Annie Modestra Jampala and Paul Christakopoulos.
  • Experimental and theoretical evaluation of carbon nano materials with hierarchical porous structures and large surface area for use as sustainable electrodes, Kristiina Oksman, Bio4Energy Biochemical Conversion. Collaboration partners are Staffan Lundström and Andreas Larsson. All are affiliated with LTU.
  • High-speed mid-infrared photothermal imaging of fatty acids and lipid droplets in living cells, Florian Schmidt, Bio4Energy Thermochemical Conversion at Umeå University.
  • Raman spectroscopy applied for neurosurgery – assistance in decision making on tumor boarders and tumor grade, Kerstin Ramser, Bio4Energy Thermochemical Conversion at LTU. Collaboration partners are Karin Wårdell, Jan Hillman, Johan Richter, Martin Hallbeck; all of the University of Linköping; as well as Joel Wahl of LTU.