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4 neWs<br />
test plant for CO 2 separation started up<br />
At the foot of the chimney of STEAG’s cogeneration plant in Herne, a ninemeter-high<br />
test plant has been built for evaluating new absorbents. The test<br />
plant, which is supposed to allow researchers to investigate absorbents for<br />
separating CO 2 from industrial and waste gases under real conditions, is part<br />
of the Efficient CO 2 Separation (EffiCO 2 ) Project of Creavis’ Science-to-<br />
Business Center Eco².<br />
<strong>Evonik</strong>’s business units are working together with experts from industry<br />
and science to develop new absorbents that should significantly reduce energy<br />
requirements for CO 2 separation. The aim is to investigate these new<br />
substances both under real conditions and in the laboratory. Over the next<br />
few weeks, the test plant will be tested for this purpose with commercially<br />
available absorption media to obtain a reference process for the new absorbents.<br />
For the investigations which are to occur under real conditions, the power<br />
plant has been built in such a way that part of the flue gas can be taken directly<br />
from the chimney and characterized by online analytics. The entire system<br />
has been made of glass to make it easy to view the process.<br />
Before the CO 2 is separated from the flue gas, interfering flue-gas components<br />
are removed in a scrubber column. Connected to this is the absorption<br />
column, in which the CO 2 contained in the flue gas is absorbed. In a<br />
third unit, the absorption medium is regenerated and pure CO 2 obtained,<br />
which is analyzed and returned to the chimney. The regenerated absorption<br />
medium is reconveyed to the absorption column and a continuous process is<br />
made possible. The EffiCO 2 project is funded by the German Federal Ministry<br />
of Education and Research (BMBF).<br />
A greenhouse gas, CO 2 is considered to be the single-most important<br />
cause of climate change. Global CO 2 emissions in 2010 amounted to more<br />
than 33 gigatons, an increase of about 30 percent over 1990. The energy<br />
sector emits the highest proportion of CO 2 . Because of mounting global<br />
energy requirements, the energy sector will continue in the future to account<br />
for a large share of CO 2 emissions. To meet energy requirements and simultaneously<br />
reduce CO 2 emissions, various CO 2 separation technologies are<br />
being developed and tested worldwide.<br />
BMBF PetrA project<br />
to simplify<br />
administration of<br />
biopharmaceuticals<br />
The goal of the interdisciplinary research project<br />
PeTrA*, which is sponsored by the<br />
German Federal Ministry of Education and<br />
Research (BMBF), is to remove the need for<br />
injections for biopharmaceuticals used for<br />
example in cancer immunotherapy by developing<br />
spray and tablet formulations which<br />
include innovative biofunctional polymers.<br />
The project is designed to simplify the administration<br />
of biopharmaceuticals and to improve<br />
their bioavailability. PeTrA is managed by a<br />
consortium consisting of <strong>Evonik</strong> Indus tries<br />
elements39 Issue 2|2012<br />
the nine-meter-high test<br />
plant for CO 2 separation<br />
AG, Merck KGaA, EMC microcollections<br />
GmbH (a hightech company for peptide and<br />
peptidomimetics synthesis), the Helmholtz<br />
Center for Infection Research (HZI), and the<br />
Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engi neering<br />
and Biotechnology (IGB).<br />
The project, which started on July 1, 2011,<br />
is scheduled to last for three years Ap prox -<br />
imately half of the €6 million budget is supported<br />
by the three industry partners. The<br />
PeTrA consortium also includes the Friedrich<br />
Schiller University in Jena, Saarland University,<br />
the University of Nij megen (Neth erlands),<br />
Bonn University Hospital, the Charité<br />
Hospital Berlin, Kiel University, and Würzburg<br />
Uni versity.<br />
Biopharmaceuticals have been on the<br />
advance for years in modern drug therapy.<br />
They include peptides, proteins and antibodies,<br />
nucleic acids, and blood components, that<br />
all represent a promising basis for new active<br />
principles and for cancer immunotherapy.<br />
Many of these highly successful drugs im -<br />
prove patient life quality and have enormous<br />
technological potential for the pharmaceutical<br />
industry.<br />
Today, biopharmaceuticals are mostly<br />
administered by injection. Indeed, there is no<br />
efficient or broadly applicable system for<br />
administering them via the mouth (oral) or<br />
through the respiratory pathways (inhalation)<br />
because they are not easily absorbed by the<br />
mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal<br />
tract and respiration system, and tend to be<br />
degraded in the stomach before they can<br />
have an effect on the body. The PeTrA project<br />
aims at overcoming these obstacles by<br />
packaging highly sensitive biopharmaceuticals<br />
into nano- and micro-sized particles that<br />
transport the active ingredients through the<br />
mucous membranes and protect them from<br />
degradation in the stomach.
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