The HerbiSens project will make a direct contribution to the above-mentioned strategies by identifying herbicidal renewable raw materials (natural substances) to expand the range of active ingredients that can be used. Studies on herbicidal activity are usually carried out with whole plant extracts and their effect on the germination behaviour of weeds is determined. The active ingredients and mechanisms are often not known. Other existing methods have serious disadvantages: fluorescence interaction, the need for formulation and the need for the isolation of individual active ingredients. 

The ‘HerbiSens’ project focuses on known targets such as photosystem II, which are mapped using innovative biosensors with high throughput potential. Correlating the inhibition data with data from the analysis using modern metabolomics methods will enable the identification of active natural substances. In addition, the spectrum of target structures that can be mapped using biosensors to identify herbicidal natural substances will be extended to include the shikimate pathway.

Myristic acid is an ingredient in numerous cleaning agents and cosmetics. It is either produced synthetically or by processing palm kernel oil. Both have a significantly negative CO₂ fingerprint, although palm kernel oil is a natural, plant-based product. It should be noted that in the tropics, primary rainforest is being cleared on a large scale to expand the plantations. This forest urgently needs to be preserved as a biodiversity reservoir and climate regulator.

A process that would be based on the use of oleic acid, which is available in large quantities in European oilseeds such as rapeseed or sunflower, could contribute significantly to the change in raw materials used in the production of cleaning agents and cosmetics. The conversion of oleic acid to myristic acid is a process that is to be achieved by isomerising and catalytic oxidation.

The research project aims to develop a catalyst that allows the double bond present in oleic acid to be shifted and simultaneously oxidised. The products will then be cleaned and incorporated into formulations to test whether and how the cleaning effect is achieved.

Against the background of high environmental pollution and a high energy input in the construction industry, innovative products for interior finishing are to be developed and their acceptance investigated. By adding plant fibres and foams, the weight of clay building boards is to be reduced and lighter, natural fibre-reinforced clay building boards are to be developed. The requirements of craftsmen and consumers for such boards will also be analysed. Specific project objectives are:

1. Investigating the feasibility of natural fibre-reinforced clay foams made from renewable raw materials to reduce the weight of clay building board.
2. Development of lighter, natural fibre-reinforced clay building boards on this basis
3. Analysing the interest of builders and craftsmen in such clay building boards
4. Creation of information material for the building materials trade and craftsmen on earth building boards and lighter earth building boards based on plant fibre-reinforced foams

The large-scale production of polyphenols is of growing interest, as synthetic antioxidants will be increasingly banned in the EU in the coming years and are already being increasingly rejected by consumers. During the production of an ethanolic hop extract for the brewing industry, the so-called tannin extract is produced as a residue, which is a promising source of polyphenols and is not yet being utilised in an economically viable way. As part of this project, the residual material is to be purified and formulated as a source of natural antioxidants in cosmetics and foods as a stabiliser, preservative or due to its positive effect on health.