The bioconversion group at ATB coordinates related topics which belong to the production of value added goods by biological and chemical conversion processes respectively. Based on the use of renewable agricultural raw materials as carbon substrates as well as protein sources one of the main products are organic acids, such as, lactic acid (LA). Industrial Biotechnology could contribute to the following topics:
ATB's expertise: enantioselective manufacture of pure L- and/or D-Lactic Acid (ee >99% for both), development of high-performance bioprocesses for LA and other organic acids, ATB's expertise: pre-treatment of several biogenic feedstocks incl. waste materials, enzymatic hydrolysis, production of organic acids based on these (residue/waste) substrates incl. feasibility study/assessment of efficiency and quality (e.g. for further processing) etc., ATB's expertise: development of continuous mode fermentation processes, environmental friendly membrane-based downstream processing, operation of a pilot plant for the demonstration of the overall technology and scale-up, waste reduction and water recycling for improved bioprocesses
Agata Olszewska-Widdrat studied biotechnology and food chemistry at the Technical University of Lodz (Poland). Afterwards she moved to Potsdam, to the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Biomaterials Department, where she finished her dissertation in 2016 in the area of molecular biotechnology and material science. Since 2018 she has been working at the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB) as a researcher and also as a research area coordinator in the field of bioconversion, multifunctional biomaterials and platform chemicals production.