Page 179 - CW E-Magazine (26-12-2023)

BASF Research Press Conference BASF Research Press Conference

herbicide application strategy for the
best timing, product and dosing,” said
Mr. Kretschun. Depending on growing
conditions and weed pressure, it can
result in herbicide volume savings of
two-thirds or more.

In the past few years, BASF and
Bosch have tested ‘One Smart Spray’
with farmers in North America, South
America and Europe, developing a
precision tool. It can economically
and ecologically control more than
Dr. Torsten Clarius 650 weed types in the cultivation of
health of our largest organ. Until now, soybeans, sunfl ower, cotton, corn and
however, not much was known about canola. The solution is expected to be
their exact function. A study conducted launched in the market next year.
by BASF researchers has shown that
Lactobacillus crispatus bacteria are Battery material production
NovaFlex SharkSkin very abundant on the skin of younger Probiolift Dr. Heiko Urtel, Vice President,
swims through water. This led to the aircraft, the fi lm reduces the aerodynamic people around their eyes, but are not R&D Battery Materials & Recycling
development of ‘NovaFlex SharkSkin’ – drag by 1.%. “For a Boeing 777-300ER found inside the wrinkles of older peo- at BASF, spoke about the sustainable
a functional fi lm that reduces drag on passenger airplane, this fi lm can save ple. In vitro studies demonstrated that production of cathode active mate-
surfaces, is UV-resistant and can with- around 400-tonnes of kerosene and these live bacteria stimulate the produc- rials (CAMs) needed for electric vehicle
stand rapid temperature changes and roughly 1,250-tonnes of CO per air- tion of collagen in skin cells. (EV) batteries.
2
mechanical stress. craft per year,” he noted.
Based on these fi ndings, BASF deve- “The production of battery mate-
“We had to develop a product con- In the future, the body of the planes loped ‘Probiolift’, which it called the rials is very close to the making of cata-
cept that works with the customer. So, will be covered even more extensively fi rst cosmetic active ingredient con- lysts that we produce for the chemical,
we developed a self-adhesive fi lm, with ‘NovaFlex SharkSkin’, which will taining living bacteria – Lactobacillus automobile and other markets. Our
which protects the riblets during reduce aerodynamic drag by 3%. crispatus – found on human skin. BASF competencies fi t very well together for
application. We developed a very robust manufactures the bacteria using a us to get into this new market segment.
application process that works in the Dr. Hartwig informed that BASF is fermentation process that requires very We are now in the process of develop-
hangar while the airplane is being further developing this functional fi lm less energy. ing an integrated added-value chain in
repaired or maintained. This was a key for other industrial applications. The order to supply CAMs to the market,”
requirement as the airplane couldn’t be surface fi lm can make electricity pro- In a two-month trial, a formula con- One Smart Spray he said.
on ground just to apply the fi lm, as this duction more effi cient when applied to taining 0.5% ‘Probiolift’ enhanced the improve skin elasticity and reduce the Smart Spray’ – an integrated solu-
wouldn’t be economically feasible,” wind turbine rotor blades and reduce production of collagen in human skin appearance of wrinkles around the eyes. tion combining agronomic software BASF is aiming to signifi cantly
said Dr. Hartwig. fuel consumption when applied to ship enough to markedly reduce the pre- (BASF’s xarvio) and hardware from reduce the environmental footprint of its
hulls, he said. sence of wrinkles, Dr. Clarius said. Protecting crops more precisely Bosch. battery materials throughout the entire
The surface fi lm – covered with “The active ingredient contributed to A joint effort with Bosch for high- value chain. The focus is on three areas:
50-micrometre-high riblets – is being Skin microbiome and tackling a signifi cant increase of the volunteers’ precision targeting of weeds was dis- “The hardware consists of cameras, the CAM itself; the production process;
applied to Lufthansa Cargo’s entire wrinkles skin density and to a reduction of their cussed by Mr. Konstantin Kretschun lighting units, and algorithms that recog- and the recycling of battery materials
777F freight fl eet, as well as all Dr. Torsten Clarius, Senior Busi- forehead wrinkles,” he noted. Vice President & Managing Director, nise weeds. This is attached to the de- from end-of-life batteries.
Boeing 777-300ER passenger airplanes ness Development Manager, at BASF’s BASF Digital Farming. vices added to the tractor. While the
fl own by Swiss International Air Lines. Cosmetic Active Ingredients, spoke The process is particularly sus- tractor is being operated, we can recog- Innovative CAMs are a key deter-
About 16 airplanes have already been about a fermentation-based ingredient tainable because BASF also uses the Farmers usually control weeds by nise weeds in real time within milli- minant of the performance, safety and
equipped with this. to tackle aging woes. fermentation supernatant to produce a spraying the entire fi eld with herbicides seconds. We can decide which nozzles cost of modern lithium-ion batteries in
second active ingredient: ‘Postbiolift’. at a standard dose rate. To enable more are to be opened in order to spray the EVs. “In its R&D, BASF has numerous
According to Dr. Hartwig, when Numerous different bacteria live on This contains the metabolites produced precise and sustainable weed control, herbicide precisely to that spot. This methods that have a decisive infl uence
applied to the fl ow-related parts of the human skin and are important for the by Lactobacillus crispatus, and helps BASF and Bosch developed the ‘One provides farmers with a customised on the properties of battery materials.

178 Chemical Weekly December 26, 2023 Chemical Weekly December 26, 2023 179

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