Bioenergy and Catalysis Laboratory (LBK)

Sustainable management of energy and material resources implies that, in a long term, renewable energies will be used to drive closed material cycles. The Bioenergy and Catalysis Laboratory (LBK) is doing research to develop processes, catalysts and materials for providing primary energy and material products from biomass and/or waste. Improving the eco-efficiency of products and services (i.e. more value for less pollution and less resource intensity) has been the guiding principle of the research projects of LBK.



In particular we focus

On the thermal processing of waste materials with special emphasis on the separation of valuable and/or toxic metal fractions from mineral materials. The goal is to increase the recycling rate of waste products by eco-efficient processes (Chemical Processes and Materials - CPM).

On the development of efficient conversion technologies for biomass to clean-burning secondary fuels (Catalytic Process Engineering - CPE).

On catalytic exhaust gas cleanup and the development of catalysts for the efficient conversion of biomass (Catalysis for Energy - CEG).

On the investigation of catalysts and materials in these processes by X-ray spectroscopy at the SuperXAS-Beamline of the Swiss Light Source (SLS) (In situ X-ray Spectroscopy - IXS).



Our four groups are