Description of the Project

The GreenCarbon Project is dedicated to the practical demonstration of the material recycling of CO₂, as mentioned in the last climate report, into bio-based carbon fiber composites. These are polymers and carbon fiber-based lightweight construction materials that can be used in the aviation and automotive industries. Due to their rapid growth, the greenhouse gas CO₂ can be actively stored as biomass in microalgae cultivated in the worldwide unique TUM algae pilot plant. Among other things, the CO₂ is bound in the form of sugars (e.g. glucose), which the cells need to build their cell wall. These sugars will be released by enzymatic hydrolysis and used for the supply and production of lipids by means of unconventional oil-forming yeasts. The lipids produced by yeast serve as starting material for various synergistic, chemical and biotechnological processes. On the one hand, the chemoenzymatic conversion of lipids into biobased thermosets is aimed at. On the other hand, the yeast oils are split into glycerol and free fatty acids. The glycerol is converted into carbon fibers by established methods. The free fatty acids are enzymatically converted into two different products. In the first case, especially unsaturated fatty acids are refined chemoenzymatically to biobased thermoplastics. In the second case, high-quality additives for the lubricant sector can be obtained from the fatty acids by enzymatic modification. In the further course of the project, the thermosets or thermoplastics will be combined with the sustainable carbon fibers to form corresponding composites, the application of which will be tested in aircraft and automotive engineering. The development of the different process platforms is accompanied by a techno-economic and life cycle analysis.

Persons: Dr. Daniel Garbe (Project-management), Dr. Mahmoud Masri, Felix Melcher and Sophia Prem