Over 600 pupils in the CMFI school lab
The TüChemLab school laboratory was visited by over 600 pupils in 2024. It offers insights into the CMFI's current research into bioplastics.
The working group of CMFI Principal Investigator Karl Forchhammer and members of the Chemistry Education department have developed a new offer for the school laboratory TüChemLab at the University of Tübingen. The development and implementation is being coordinated by employees of the BMBF-funded MINT me! project, which aims to expand extracurricular learning opportunities and make them more visible. The CMFI has been a partner in the MINT me! project since its launch in 2022. The jointly developed station "Bioplastics - The sustainable revolution of plastic waste?", which was offered in 2024, has now had a very successful start with over 600 pupils per year.
Contents of the CMFI school lab
The "Bioplastics - The sustainable revolution of plastic waste?" station provides insights into the current research at CMFI. The research shown deals with innovative approaches to the sustainable production and recycling of bioplastics and thus conveys the principles of a circular economy. Both the contribution of chemistry and the possibilities of interdisciplinary cooperation between chemistry and microbiology are conveyed. The challenges for life in a sustainable society are discussed and made tangible through experiments.
"What I am particularly pleased about is that we developed this station co-creatively and with the target group of pupils. The research content was initially prepared jointly by our researchers and the Chemistry Education team. The station was then tested several times with classes during the ongoing process and the feedback directly affected the development of the content. In addition, our station is now continuously evaluated and a representative group of participants is monitored over a longer period of time. In this way, we want to determine what impact our offer has and whether we can see a connection to later areas of interest or even the choice of studies," says Leon Kokkoliadis, who is responsible for media and public relations at CMFI.
The most commonly used bio-based and biodegradable plastic is polylactic acid (PLA). However, it is not fully compostable outside of industrial plants. Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) can be an alternative here. PLA and PHB are produced industrially by heterotrophic bacteria that have to be fed with carbohydrates. However, PHB consumes twice as many carbohydrates in the production process as PLA.
In addition to heterotrophic bacteria, cyanobacteria also produce PHB. Cyanobacteria are the only bacteria that feed themselves through oxygenic photosynthesis - i.e. exclusively through light and carbon dioxide. The potential of a circular economy for plastics is therefore enormous: the CO2 required for PHB production is released again during composting, and the only energy source used is the unlimited available sunlight. Karl Forchhammer and his team have succeeded in modifying the metabolism of cyanobacteria in such a way that they increase their natural PHB production immensely, making industrial application possible.
The pupils first learn about the differences between PLA and PHB and evaluate the two materials using various sustainability parameters. The new production approach of the Forchhammer lab is then presented. The cyanobacteria are microscoped during the growth and production phases. The samples come from the Forchhammer lab and provide an authentic insight into the research. The cellular structure of the bacteria and the principle of catabolic PHB production are explained using bacterial models. Afterwards the pupils visit microbiology labs to gain an insight into current research work and the state-of-the-art technology used. At the high-resolution fluorescence microscope, the pupils can talk to CMFI scientists, discuss open questions and learn more about possible career paths in microbiology.
(Text: Felix Pawlak, Leon Kokkoliadis)
We visited the school laboratory TüChemLab and made a short video showing exciting impressions of this offer.
MINT me! has also produced three short videos to show what research is being carried out in Karl Forchhammer's working group.
TüChemLab
Prof. Dr. Stefan Schwarzer
University of Tübingen
Chemistry Education / MINT me!
stefan.schwarzer@uni-tuebingen.de
Scientific contact
Prof. Dr. Karl Forchhammer
University of Tübingen
Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine
Organismic Interactions
karl.forchhammer@uni-tuebingen.de
Website
Leon Kokkoliadis
Public Relations
Tel: +49 7071 29-74707 / +49 152 346 79 269
E-Mail: leon.kokkoliadis@uni-tuebingen.de
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