Environmental biotechnology

ScanBalt Campus Knowledge network in environmental biotechnology. The scientific focus of Knowledge Network is: Renewable energy, chemicals and new products from forestry and agriculture. One aim is the production of bio-fuel for the transport sector based on residues (or products) from forestry and agriculture. Three areas of great interest are extraction of lignin from black liquor (kraft paper pulp process), ethanol production (separation of lignin from process streams) and gasification of biomaterial.

Fuel production will be an important function of future agriculture and forestry. The starch to ethanol process is well developed and the cellulose to ethanol is developing in the European region. Some parts of the region have set the goal to be oil independent in ten years time.

Central questions in the subject area are the biotechnical processes to make ethanol from different agriculture and forestry products. The area also face the problem of eco fuel production balanced against demand of other food and forestry products, the up scaling from laboratory experience to full scale production and the distribution and tax regulation of eco fuel.

The Environmental Biotechnology knowledge network has its node at GMV, Centre for Environment and Sustainability at Chalmers University of Technology and Göteborg University and is coordinated by professor Oliver Lindqvist, GMV.

Partners:

Institute	Country
Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) AlbaNova University Center	Sweden
Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry	Latvia
Department of Applied Microbiology LTH/Lund University	Sweden
Øresund Environment Academy	Denmark
Institute of Biotechnology, Vilnius	Lithuania
Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology,University of Helsinki	Finland
SCA, Sweden, vice chairman of the Advisory Committee for the Forest Based Technology Platform (FTP) in EU’s 7th Framework Programme FTP	Sweden
School of Engineering, University of Borås	Sweden
VTT Biotechnology, Finland	Finland
VTT Processes, Finland	Finland
Novozymes, Denmark	Denmark
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Umeå Plant Science Centre	Sweden
Chalmers Biocenter, Chalmers University of Technology	Sweden
Forest Products and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology	Sweden
Molecular Biotechnology, Chalmers University of Technology	Sweden
The Swedish Farmers Supply and Crop Marketing Association (Lantmännen)	Sweden
Centre for Environment and Sustainability (GMV) Göteborg University and Chalmers University of Technology	Sweden

Contact

Katarina Gårdfeldt

katarina@chem.gu.se  
Centre for Environment and Sustainability, GMV
Göteborg University and Chalmers University of Technology,
SE- 412 96 Göteborg, Sweden
www.chalmers.se/gmv/EN