The program area bundles research activities on biogas as well as on carbonized biomass such as biochar and humic substances. Residual biomass that might otherwise not be used can thus be used to produce energy sources as well as to improve the soil. Our aim is to further develop and specify the processes of both biological and thermo-chemical conversion of biomass. Both areas constitute an integral part of the circular bioeconomy.

Residuals can originate from animal husbandry systems (program area "Individualized Animal Husbandry"), food production systems (PB "Diversified Crop Production" and "Healthy Foods") as well as from biomaterial production lines (PB "Multifunctional Biomaterials") and also include waste and wastewater from municipalities. One research task is to deal with residual materials of suboptimal, heterogeneous and fluctuating composition and to minimize risks such as the spread of pathogens and pollutants by means of the processes.

Biological and thermo-chemical conversion processes for biogas, hydrochar, humic substances, as well as lactic or succinic acid (program area 'Multifunctional Biomaterials') take place in more or less closed systems. In order to obtain more information about these conversion processes, we are creating models of the processes based on spectral analyses as a prerequisite for future work on digital twins.

In addition to basic research in our specialized, well-equipped laboratories (biogas laboratory, biochar laboratory), we transfer our research approaches to practice. The complexity of the interactions between char-based products, soils, plants and microorganisms requires close, inter- and multidisciplinary cooperation. As a reallab, the Leibniz Innovation Farm offers an ideal platform for this.