Dirk Hebel

Cities of change - Addis Ababa: transformation strategies for urban territories in the 21st century

Dieses Handbuch analysiert zeitgen ssische urbane Ph nomene in Wachstumsregionen am Beispiel der thiopischen Hauptstadt Addis Abeba und stellt einen Katalog nachhaltiger Strategien f r die St dtebaupraxis in der 2. und 3. Welt vor.

Tailor-made PAT platform for safe syngas fermentations in batch, fed-batch and chemostat mode with Rhodospirillum rubrum

Recently, syngas has gained significant interest as renewable and sustainable feedstock, in particular for the biotechnological production of poly([R]‐3‐hydroxybutyrate) (PHB). PHB is a biodegradable, biocompatible polyester produced by some bacteria growing on the principal component of syngas, CO. However, working with syngas is challenging because of the CO toxicity and the explosion danger of H2, another main component of syngas. In addition, the bioprocess control needs specific monitoring tools and analytical methods that differ from standard fermentations. Here, we present a syngas fermentation platform with a focus on safety installations and process analytical technology (PAT) that serves as a basis to assess the physiology of the PHB‐producing bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum. The platform includes (i) off‐gas analysis with an online quadrupole mass spectrometer to measure CO consumption and production rates of H2 and CO2, (ii) an at‐line flow cytometer to determine the total cell count and the intracellular PHB content and (iii) different online sensors, notably a redox sensor that is important to confirm that the culture conditions are suitable for the CO metabolization of R. rubrum. Furthermore, we present as first applications of the platform a fed‐batch and a chemostat process with R. rubrum for PHB production from syngas.

Building from waste : recovered materials in architecture and construction

This is a conceptual and practical look into materials and products which use waste as a renewable resource for architectural, interior, and industrial design. The inventory ranges from marketed products to advanced research and development, organized along the manufacturing processes: densified, reconfigured, transformed, designed and cultivated materials. A product directory presents all materials and projects according to their functional uses.

Bamboo could turn the world's construction trade on its head

Bamboo, a common grass which can be harder to pull apart than steel, has the potential to revolutionise building construction throughout the world. But that’s not all. As a raw material found predominantly in the developing world, without a pre-existing industrial infrastructure built to skew things towards the rich world, bamboo has the potential to completely shift international economic relations.