14C Method

Also referred to as Radiocarbon dating is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon.

1st Generation feedstock

Carbohydrate rich plants such as corn or sugar cane that can also be used as food or animal feed are called food crops or 1st generation feedstock. Bred my mankind over centuries for highest energy efficiency, currently, 1st generation feedstock is the most efficient feedstock for the production of bioplastics as it requires the least […]

2nd Generation feedstock

2nd Generation Feedstock refers to feedstock not suitable for food or feed. It can be either non-food crops (e.g. cellulose) or waste materials from 1st generation feedstock (e.g. waste vegetable oil). [bM 06/11]

Aerobic digestion

Aerobic means in the presence of oxygen. In composting, which is an aerobic process, microorganisms access the present oxygen from the surrounding atmosphere. They metabolize the organic material to energy, CO2, water and cell biomass, whereby part of the energy of the organic material is released as heat. [bM 03/07, bM 02/09]

Amorphous

Non-crystalline, glassy with unordered lattice

Amylopectin

Polymeric branched starch molecule with very high molecular weight (biopolymer, monomer is Glucose) [bM 05/09]

Amylose

Polymeric non-branched starch molecule with high molecular weight (biopolymer, monomer is Glucose) [bM 05/09]

Anaerobic digestion

In anaerobic digestion, organic matter is degraded by a microbial population in the absence of oxygen and producing methane and carbon dioxide (= biogas) and a solid residue that can be composted in a subsequent step without practically releasing any heat. The biogas can be treated in a Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP), producing […]

Antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic resistance happens when germs like bacteria and fungi develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them. That means the germs are not killed and continue to grow.