Apta and German institute sign partnership for biodiesel production

This month, representatives from the Fraunhofer Institute were at the São Paulo Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply, for a meeting with the executive secretary Edson Fernandes, with the coordinator of the São Paulo Agribusiness Technology Agency, Carlos Nabil Ghobril, with the director Eloísa Garcia of the Institute of Food Technology, and Luis Madi, from the ITAL board, to present new research partnership projects with Apta. 

Peter Eisner, head of Process Engineering at the Fraunhofer Institute – IVV, accompanied by researchers Magdalena Spicher and Alexandre Martins, showed the results of the long partnership and technical-scientific cooperation it has with ITAL and, since 2012, it has had a Project Center for Innovation in Food and Bioresources and future work focusing on the use of natural resources in a sustainable way. 

At the meeting, a study carried out with macaúba, a native Brazilian palm tree, was shown, which among several uses, drew the Institute's attention to the production of food ingredients, such as proteins and soluble fibers, simultaneously with the extraction of oil, which has great potential for the production of aviation kerosene, replacing soybeans and palm oil, due to the yield in less planted space, between 4 and 5 tons of oil per hectare.  

It's not news to Brazilians that practically everything is used from this plant. The palm heart is extracted from the stem; the leaves are used as forage for animals; Nets, ropes, lines, baskets and hats are made from the fibers. The trunk is used in the construction of houses, gutters, posts and the oil, extracted from the pulp, is used in food and in the chemical industry to produce cosmetics and waxes.  

For the executive secretary, who grew up on a macaúba farm and knows the potential of the palm tree, the signing of a new cooperation agreement with the German institution is very important. “The exchange of experiences between researchers, using Brazilian raw materials, has great economic potential and is of interest to the country's agribusiness, as acting locally we think about the global”, he comments. 

Integrating productivity with environmental conservation is the role of Apta institutes. “10 years ago, when we started the partnership with Fraunhofer, we knew that mutual collaboration would generate results that go beyond the borders of the State. We are talking about improving the conditions of people and the planet”, says Carlos Nabil. 

The signing of the agreement will take place shortly, as soon as the process is analyzed by the Ministry's secretary, Guilherme Piai, a great enthusiast of international cooperation and the development of São Paulo's agricultural sector, which stands out on the world stage.  

Fraunhofer Association 

It is a German research organization that has 72 institutes spread across Germany, where different techniques are applied in various fields of science. With more than 28 thousand employees, mainly scientists and engineers, it has a research budget of around 2,8 billion euros per year. Of these, two-thirds of funding is acquired through employment contracts, both with the government and private partnerships. 

In Brazil, the fact of having a tradition in scientific studies, with the development of innovative technologies, attracted the Fraunhofer Society which, through joint operations, brought socioeconomic benefits and placed the country among the most important industries in the world.