As part of the METABOLICA project, a team of microbiologists is researching process methods for cultivating bacteria to produce the biopolymer polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB). The production of PHB is used artistically to create sculptures and 3D-printed objects that are partially degraded by the same bacteria that produced them.
METABOLICA was launched in 2017 and has been supported by a team of scientists and engineers since 2020. The aim of the research is to use carbon sources from wastewater streams in industrial and sewage treatment plants to produce PHB.
Microbiological research and biotechnological development of PHB bacterial cultivation:
Department of Microbiology of the University of Innsbruck, Unit of Environmental Engineering, Biotreat GmbH
Christian Ebner, Livia Hökl, Judith Ascher-Jenull, Rudolf Markt, Thomas Pümpel, Christian Scherfler, Christoph Schinagl, Thomas Seppi, Pamela Vrabl
METABOLICA was launched in 2017 and has been supported by a team of scientists and engineers since 2020. The aim of the research is to use carbon sources from wastewater streams in industrial and sewage treatment plants to produce PHB.
Microbiological research and biotechnological development of PHB bacterial cultivation:
Department of Microbiology of the University of Innsbruck, Unit of Environmental Engineering, Biotreat GmbH
Christian Ebner, Livia Hökl, Judith Ascher-Jenull, Rudolf Markt, Thomas Pümpel, Christian Scherfler, Christoph Schinagl, Thomas Seppi, Pamela Vrabl