Current Research Projects

SchaWo - Biokohle und Flammschutzmittel aus Schafwolle

Biokohle und Flammschutzmittel aus Schafwolle. Schafe sind wertvolle Gestalter intakter Ökosysteme in Kulturlandschaften und werden mit staatlicher Hilfe zur Landschaftspflege eingesetzt. Doch die wirtschaftliche Schafhaltung ist unmöglich. SchaWo entwickelt innovative Produkte und Geschäftsmodelle als Lösung.

Schafwolle hat Potential für eine wertschöpfende Verwertung. Der Hauptbestandteil von Wolle sind Faserproteine, Keratine. In der Literatur sind Verfahren zur Herstellung von Bio-Kunststoffen, Flammschutzmitteln, Biodüngern, Druckertinten oder Medizinprodukten beschrieben. In SchaWo wird die Verkohlung der Wolle priorisiert. Dies ist ein einfaches und für viele Biomassen gut erforschtes Verfahren, sodass die technischen Herausforderungen gering sind und hier das Ziel eines funktionierenden Vermarktungskonzepts im Vordergrund steht. Um die Wertschöpfung für den ländlichen Raum weiter zu steigern, wird parallel an einer hochpreisigen Verwertungsoption gearbeitet: Biobasierte Flammschutzmittel (FSM). Ziel des Projektes ist es mindestens 2 Produkte, ein FSM und eine Biokohle, mit ihrem potentiellen Markt identifiziert zu haben. Außerdem sollen Partner identifiziert werden, die eine Produktion vorantreiben. Das sind Kunden für das Produkt und Firmen die entsprechenden Anlagen zur Produktion bauen und betreiben wollen. Dazu sind Fragen zu den potenziellen Märkten, der Logistik und Organisation sowie zum Potenzial an Wolle geklärt. Dies geschieht durch kontinuierliche Einbeziehung aller potenziellen Partner entlang der Wertschöpfungskette.

Projektbeteiligte: Universität Hohenheim mit Fachgebiet Agrarmärkte (Prof. Dr. Sebastian Hess, Nikolas Bublik), Fachgebiet Konversionstechnologien nachwachsender Rohstoffe, Hessischer Verband für Schafzucht- und Haltung e.V.
Förderprogramm: Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
Laufzeit: 01.07.2024 - 31.03.2026

Transparency on the difference between producer and consumer prices: Value addition, pricing and competition.

Producer prices are central to the income and standard of living of agricultural households. Rising production costs, new ecological requirements, competitive pressure, but also rising consumer prices, repeatedly bring producer prices into the focus of political debate. Controversial questions include: whether and how changes in costs and revenues are passed on along the value chain? And whether producer prices are fair in relation to the margins of other players in the value chain?
Using the case of Baden-Württemberg, the project examines price formation and price transmission along the value chains for 4 products: Apples, eggs, minced meat and toast. The project uses both quantitative and qualitative methods.

Quantitative analyses include a price transmission analysis and the descriptive representation of price shares at various points in the value chain. The qualitative analysis covers supply relationships and market structure in the 4 value chains, as well as discourses on producer prices.

Funded by: Ministerium für Ernährung, ländliche Räume und Verbraucherschutz Baden-Württemberg
Project members: Sarah Graf, Vicky Heijnk, Laura Hellstern, Sebastian Hess, Franziska Mittag
Duration: September 2024 - April 2026

BUSINESS – Organic farm ice cream in recyclable plastic packaging made from agricultural residues

For several years now, the Department of Conversion Technologies of Biobased Resources, under the direction of Prof. Kruse, has been working in many projects on the production of the platform chemical 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from agricultural and food residues and the development of sustainable, circular biorefinery concepts and value chains. One interesting end product from HMF is the bio-based and recyclable plastic polyethylene furanoate (PEF), a high-performance polymer which, among other things, offers unique application options as a monomaterial for food packaging. Together with various partners and possible users and customers from industry, the Sustainable Packaging Institute of the Albstadt-Sigmaringen University (ASU), Prof. Schmid, and the Chair of Agricultural Markets of the University of Hohenheim (UHOH), led by Prof. Hess, the BUSINESS project is pursuing the goal of transferring PEF packaging made from waste biomass HMF from applied research into the field, where it will be introduced to the market in parallel with further technological development and optimisation. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) until the end of November 2025.
The object of the project is the demonstration of PEF-based food packaging made from agricultural residues for the marketing of organic ice cream from a producer of agricultural products. Compared to conventional plastics such as PE, PP, PET or PS, PEF could provide significantly more material-efficient packaging concepts without adversely affecting food protection and thus food shelf life. The selected ice cream is a premium niche market food product whose packaging needs for representative tests during the project can be met with the production capacities of the participating research institutions. Currently, the ice cream is sold in fossil-based polystyrene (PS) cups for sale from the refrigerated counter.  The early market launch of the ice cream in the newly developed packaging should contribute to an increased awareness of bio-based and recyclable PEF packaging and at the same time provide important insights into the expected consumer acceptance and the potential total market volume. The expected results should be the starting point for future scaling up to an industrial scale and for the development of further and larger markets and further dissemination opportunities in the field of sustainable packaging. A circular bioeconomy that encompasses the entire value chain is to be demonstrated in the project as an example.
The project will end with the demonstration in relevant use environments, where the ice cream cups will be tested by consumers and their acceptance will be evaluated.  If successful, the consortium expects that the organic farm ice cream will also be sold in the PEF cups in the future. This would be a big step towards carrying the circular bioeconomy from the research institutions into the economy.

Project member: Prof. Dr. Andrea Kruse; Philipp Konnerth; Prof. Dr. Sebastian Hess (Department of Agricultural Markets), Dr. Lisa Lichtenberg (Department of Agricultural Markets)
Promoter: Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung (BLE) im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (BMEL)
Duration: 01.12.2022 – 31.11.2025