Zero Emission Biotechnology Program
Convert resources to product, while minimizing emission or maximizing utilization of CO2.
Our society is in dire need of a transition towards the sustainable production of food, fuels, and chemicals. Industrial biotechnology and novel enzyme-based routes contribute to this transition by using biotechnological processes to convert renewable resources into valuable products.
The development and improvement of sustainable biotechnologies requires expertise and understanding at multiple levels, from a fundamental biological understanding, biological engineering, to bioprocess engineering. Therefore an integrated and multidisciplinary approach is pivotal. The Department of Biotechnology at TU Delft houses the necessary disciplines and is enthusiastic to connect this knowledge to achieve the following goals:
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initiate and strengthen new strategic research lines and harvest cross-disciplinary synergy
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develop biotechnological solutions that converts resources to products, while minimizing the emission or maximizing the utilization of CO2
9 PIs from 5 sections tackle different aspects of sustainable biotechnologies over two themes: renewable feedstock from CO2 to products, and renewable products via biocatalytic platforms.
Contact the PI of interest for PhD and postdoc opportunities
Research sections
We discover and characterise novel enzymes to reduce and reuse CO2 emissions.
We convert CO2 into ethanol, and then into valuable products.
We screen microbial communities for specialized genes and enzymes, model their metabolism, and use them to grow biomass, thereby storing CO2.
We model and optimize industrial-scale conditions, and convert CO2 into ethanol and other alcohols using nothing but bacteria and green electricity.
We quantify technical, economic, and social aspects of novel biotechnological processes and the supply chain – providing guidance on improving process design.
