Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy Technology (UMSICHT)

Stephanie Wehr-Zenz

doi:10.1515/gps-2015-0068

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Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy Technology (UMSICHT)

Stephanie Wehr-Zenz

Published/Copyright: September 19, 2015

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From the journal Green Processing and Synthesis Volume 4 Issue 5

Introduction

Fraunhofer UMSICHT regards itself as a pioneer for sustainable energy and raw materials management. The institute provides scientific results and transfers them to businesses, society and politics. Fraunhofer UMSICHT, together with its partners, does research and develops exciting sustainable products, processes and services. As one of 66 institutes and research institutions of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the largest organization for applied research in Europe, it is networked worldwide and promotes international cooperation.

Keynotes

Founded: June 1990
Main site: Oberhausen, NRW (Germany) (Figure 1)
Branch office: Willich, NRW (development of plastics made of renewable resources, manufacturing in pilot series and small batches)
Institute branch: Sulzbach-Rosenberg (in the Nuremberg metropolitan region of Bavaria) (Figure 2) (business-oriented concepts and processes for the manufacturing and utilization of energy, raw materials and materials, thermal and chemical energy storage, energy conversion from biomass and waste, raw materials, materials and surfaces for power engineering and resources management)
Total staff: 559 employees, of whom 435 are located in Oberhausen and Willich, and 124 in Sulzbach-Rosenberg
Total budget: 38.1 million Euro (2014), of which 31.5 million Euro are allocated to Oberhausen/Willich and 6.6 million Euro to Sulzbach-Rosenberg
Customers: small- or medium-sized enterprises, major enterprises, public institutions
International markets: Europe (primarily), Africa, Asia, South America

Figure 1:

Institute’s complex in Oberhausen. © Fraunhofer UMSICHT.

Figure 2:

Institute’s complex in Sulzbach-Rosenberg. © Fraunhofer UMSICHT.

Our Divisions

Fraunhofer UMSICHT has 559 employees who work in four areas at the Oberhausen site and in departments in the institute branch in Sulzbach-Rosenberg.

Energy

The rebuilding of the energy economy on the renewable resources of the sun, wind and biomass requires sustainable solutions for society, industry and citizens in order to harmonize energy supply and requirements among the energy sectors. Effective and efficient energy processes, new storage technologies and intelligent system solutions are required. We develop and optimize energy systems, prepare solutions for the storage of electricity or heat and optimize energy or energy supply systems. Our competencies lie in the development of novel technologies and their implementation in pilot and demonstration plants as well as in system analytical studies.

Contact: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Doetsch, Division Director Energy, Phone +49-208-8598-1195, christian.doetsch@umsicht.fraunhofer.de

Processes

Modern and efficient production requires technologies for manufacturing products from starting materials using chemical, physical or biological processes. Economical, resource and energy-efficient, hence sustainable processes are our goal. Through the adaptation and optimization as well as the development of new individual components, we enhance the spectrum of possible conversion processes. Optimized total processes mean more than interconnecting optimized individual steps. We therefore view complex production processes as well as procedure and environmental technology holistically. We offer process technological procedures from laboratory tests up to demonstration plants and pilot production based on models for analysis and development.

Contact: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Görge Deerberg, Deputy Director, Division Director Processes, Phone +49-208-8598-1107, goerge.deerberg@umsicht.fraunhofer.de

Products

Today material and product innovations must address targets of sustainable development. For us this means a drastic increase in resource efficiency as well as the reorganization of human-technology interactions and an innovation culture based on openness, participation and interdisciplinary thinking. We develop materials based on raw materials that are regenerative and recyclable. We employ supercritical fluids, bionic approaches and technologies of individualized and generative production for optimized processing technologies.

Contact: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Eckhard Weidner, Director of the institute, Division Director Products, Phone +49-208-8598-1102, eckhard.weidner@umsicht.fraunhofer.de

Our Business Units

To achieve the declared objective of Fraunhofer UMSICHT – to offer the best research service – an overall view is important, in addition to excellent performance. It is only this way that topics can be assessed, custom solutions can be provided and an industry-oriented development can take place. In this, five newly created business units will help in the future, which – supported by business developers – have been tailored to the needs of select industry segments. A holistic understanding of markets and customers’ needs brings the specialized departments of the institute together with the objective to utilize resources more efficiently and to increase the productivity of Fraunhofer UMSICHT and of its partners.

Polymer Materials Business Unit

For decades, Fraunhofer UMSICHT has been a strong partner to small- and medium-sized enterprises all the way up to large-scale industry in the areas of the development and processing of plastics. Our specialties include the development of materials of bio-based plastics and recyclate-based plastics. We are representative of product and process developments, simulation, production scale-up and additive manufacturing of plastics.

In the area of consumer products, we have proven expertise in high pressure technology and coating technology. As an application-oriented development partner, we also transfer our material, process and product innovations to the construction and leather industries.

Contact: Dr.-Ing. Manfred Renner, Business Developer Polymer Materials, Phone +49-208-8598-1411, manfred.renner@umsicht.fraunhofer.de

Highlight of the Polymer Materials Business Unit: Cleantan®-Process: Resource-efficient tanning of leather without wastewater

The innovative leather tanning process developed by Fraunhofer UMSICHT, in comparison to conventional tanning, allows for a reduction of chromium-contaminated wastewater by more than 95%, a saving of more than half of the chromium tanning agent, and a 75% reduction of the tanning time. At the Oberhausen site, a tanning system on a pre-industrial scale has already been set up, in which up to 500 kg of hide can be tanned in a single step (Figure 3).

Figure 3:

Leather tanning by Fraunhofer UMSICHT: 40% less chrome, zero water, no salt, five times faster. © Fraunhofer UMSICHT.

Chemistry Business Unit

We offer process engineering research and development services as well as products and processes including industrial property rights. These help to meet the increasing demands for affordable sustainability and innovation in chemistry, petrochemistry and refinery. Our know-how encompasses the areas of fine and specialty chemicals (organic acids, peptides, sugars, tensides), polymers (monomer syntheses, polymerization, polycondensation) as well as chemical mass products (alcohols, naphtha) and biofuels (diesel, kerosene). Biomass, synthesis gas and select residues constitute the portfolio of raw materials from which we suggest process-specific solutions. Know-how regarding the upstream and downstream processing as well as product formulation rounds out our expertise. We are points of contact for the whole value-added and logistics chains, and we develop sustainability assessments and strategies. We are happy to bundle internal and external competences to fit your project.

Contact: Dr.-Ing. Axel Kraft, Business Developer Chemistry, Phone +49-208-8598-1167, axel.kraft@umsicht.fraunhofer.de; Dr.-Ing. Hartmut Pflaum, Business Developer Chemistry, Phone +49-208-8598-1171, hartmut.pflaum@umsicht.fraunhofer.de

Highlight of the Chemistry Business Unit: Plasticizers for plastics – 100% bio-based

The share of bio-based plasticizers is steadily increasing, wherein – in particular – applications for foodstuffs packaging and toys are of interest. Fraunhofer UMSICHT has developed a process that can produce a blend of alcohols with up to 10 carbon atoms from fermentatively generated ethanol. Their subsequent esterization with fermentatively produced succinic or citric acid leads to 100% bio-based plasticizers – a substitute for the phthalates in PVC which have been categorized as dangerous (Figure 4).

Figure 4:

Reactor for the synthesis of higher alcohols. © Fraunhofer UMSICHT.

Environment Business Unit

Our service portfolio includes consulting, applied studies, innovative technology development up to pilot plant scale as well as support of the technical implementation at the industrial scale. We provide clear communication paths with a central contact person, who accesses our business units for the ideal solution of the customers’ demands and who supports the joint realization of those demands, We deliver basics for strategic decisions; we improve competitiveness through optimization of energy flows, raw material flows and waste streams, through sustainability assessments and through optimization of processes and plants.

As a reliable and strong partner for our customers we are open to establishing long-term business partnerships.

Contact: Dipl.-Ing. Gerold Dimaczek, Business Developer Environment, Phone +49-172-8156183, gerold.dimaczek@umsicht.fraunhofer.de

Highlight of the Environment Business Unit: Eliminating micropollutants in water

The micropollutant problem is the new global challenge in water management. Pharmaceutical residues or industrial chemicals are increasingly polluting water and cannot be decomposed in conventional wastewater treatment plants. Fraunhofer UMSICHT is developing multi-barrier systems based on a metallic microfilter (microsieves) with a functional surface which – in a single process step – mechanically retain certain impurities and additionally can decompose and/or destroy micropollutants. At present, research is being carried out on new bio-based adsorbents and energy-efficient regeneration processes for active charcoal (Figure 5).

Figure 5:

Demonstration plant: a hybrid system consisting of a composit microsieve and a UV-LED decontamination (nanoPur). © Fraunhofer UMSICHT.

Biomass Business Unit

Provision of bioenergy and biogas, utilization of residues, nutrient management and recovery as well as decentralized production and marketing of bio-based conversion products (biochar, synthesis gas and pyrolysis condensate) are among our focal points. We develop and optimize thermochemical and biological conversion and distribution processes and the corresponding plant technology. With the objective to recover nutrients from communal and industrial process chains and the conversion processes, we develop concepts and methods for nutrient management in biomass management. For this, we take into consideration raw materials potentials as well as logistic issues and integrate the technologies developed into established or novel value-added chains.

Highlight of the Biomass Business Unit: Fraunhofer innovation cluster Bioenergy

Massive amounts of biomass are generated worldwide. The spectrum ranges from grass and green waste via harvesting residues, processing wastes from agricultural and silvicultural production to organic wastes from private households. As part of the Fraunhofer Innovation Cluster “Bioenergy”, methods for the efficient utilization of wet biomass and of biogenic residues are being developed. The objective is to open up optimization potentials in the collection, transport, storage and conversion, and to thereby make available a novel palette of biogenic intermediate products for material and energetic utilization (Figure 6).

Figure 6:

Energy Business Unit

The growth of renewable, decentralized and distributed energies in the supply mix and the increased use of energy storage, smart technologies and services are characteristic of new energy systems. We are researching efficient solutions for the energy supply and distribution of the future. For this, our primary focus is on the decentralized combined generation. We support companies of the industry in the handling of technical and system analysis issues in urban and regional energy supply structures as well as in the industrial environment (e.g. decentralized power generation, cross-energy technologies, application of energy storage systems). We are specialized in the technical development and utilization of innovative technologies as well as in decentralized power generation and energy storage.

Contact: Dr.-Ing. Wilhelm Althaus, Business Developer Energy, Phone +49-208-8598-1186, wilhelm.althaus@umsicht.fraunhofer.de

Highlight of the Energy Business Unit: Novel, powerful electrical storage: redox flow battery

Powerful energy storage systems can compensate for fluctuations in renewable energies and ensure a constant supply of electricity. Fraunhofer UMSICHT has developed a redox flow battery with a cell size of 0.5 m² that features a stack output of 25 kW in total. The next objective is the development of a 2 m² sized stack with an output of 100 kW. In the in-house battery test laboratory, new applications for lithium ion batteries are also being tested. In the future, they could not only be used in cellular phones or notebooks but also as battery packs in electric vehicles or in other stationary applications (Figure 7).

Figure 7:

Scientists at Fraunhofer UMSICHT have succeeded in increasing the size and power of the battery stack by rethinking its design. © Fraunhofer UMSICHT.

Corresponding author: Stephanie Wehr-Zenz, Public Relations, Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy Technology, Osterfelder Straße 3, 46047 Oberhausen, Germany, E-mail: stephanie.wehr-zenz@umsicht.fraunhofer.de

Article note:

In extended version: www.umsicht.fraunhofer.de

Published Online: 2015-9-19

Published in Print: 2015-10-1

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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