Environmental Process Engineering

The research focus on biomass exploration and transformation evolved from the former research focus on environmental process engineering, which was previously led by Dr.-Ing. Korbinian Kätzl. Following his appointment to the Chair of Urban Water Management at Dresden University of Technology, leadership of the research focus was transferred to Dr. Carolina de Castro Bueno. Under her leadership, the research focus will be further developed in terms of content and continued with new scientific emphases.

We combine chemical ecology, biomass utilization, and biotransformation to develop new approaches in agriculture and bio-based materials. Our research tracks biomass across twelve orders of magnitude.

The diagram illustrates the processing of grassland biomass in a rumen-inspired bioreactor. The fermentation broth is fractionated to investigate seed priming and antifungal activity. Solid residues are further processed into carbon materials via pyrolysis. An outer loop represents the circular bioeconomy and the preservation of ecosystems.