Fraunhofer CBP as a research partner for transferring new processes to industrial applications
Bringing new, innovative processes to traditional industries, such as refining vegetable oils and fats, is often a challenge. That is why it is especially productive for small companies such as B+B Engineering to work together with research partners like Fraunhofer IGB. We started working with Fraunhofer IGB in Stuttgart on extracting bioactive minor components from vegetable oil back in 2013 – and this cooperative endeavor with a focus on solutions has now led to another joint project. When dedicated, creative people work together, progressive approaches to established processes can emerge. One example of this was produced a few years ago at a dinner during the Tutzing Symposium, when the concept of the EthaNa® plant was planned out on the back of a napkin. Since then, the idea underpinning mild ethanolic extraction of oilseeds has been further developed thanks to an excellent partnership with Fraunhofer CBP, and a pilot plant has been established. This will enable advancements in plant-based biorefineries, workarounds for previous limitations in sustainability, and more innovations.
Dr. Jeannette Hollien