- 04-2021 > 03-2024
Suscrop ERA-Net
Fortifying and Enhancing Resilience in C4 Crops for Current and Future Climate Change Adversities (C4FUTURE).
- 2020 > 2025
EnLighten Me, ARC federation Wallonie-Bruxelles
Enabling with light enzymes and metals - a global approach for the activation of carbon dioxide and methane.
Coordination: Gwilherm Evano, Departement of Organic Chemistry and Physico-Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences
Partners: Cécile Moucheron, Departement of Organic Chemistry and Physico-Chemistry; David Cannella, PhotoBioCatalysis Unit, Faculty of Sciences
Carbon dioxide and methane are the two main greenhouse gases, and they are being released at dramatically increasing rates. This means there is an obvious and significant need to reduce emissions of these gases; transforming them into easily usable chemicals is one of the most attractive options for this. However, for this to be useful, the processes implemented must be sustainable and efficient in terms of both costs and energy consumption. This is the context in which ARC project ENLIGHTEN ME was started, with a view to developing innovative and efficient processes for the transformation and use of carbon dioxide and methane based on a comprehensive approach, using metal and enzyme catalysts that are simply activated by light.
Links: https://www.ulb.be/fr/arc/arc-research-project-enlighten-me
- 2019 > 2022
RE4BRU, Innoviris-Bridge
Light driven conversion of Brussels biowaste into value added bioproducts - Reverse Photosynthesis for Bruxelles
Coordination: David Cannella, PhotoBioCatalysis Unit, EIB ULB
Partners: Thomas Doneux Chemsin, Faculty of Sciences - ULB; Amin Shavandi, Biomatter - EPB ULB; Iwona Cybulska and Patrick Gerin Bioengineering & Biorefining, UCL Louvain
Private-public parrains: Galatic; Bruxelles.HUB; Bruxelles.Environment
Plant derived waste and seafood-wastes are abundant renewable bioresources on Earth and in the Brussels Capital Region too. These bioresources are rich in polysaccharides an attractive source of bio-based green chemicals, materials and biofuels. The aim of RE4BRU project is to valorise these bioresources sorted from Brussels, using innovative green conversion technologies set upon a newly discovered “Reverse Photosynthesis” photo-biocatalysis. This technology uses redox depolymerizing enzymes powered by Light through excited photoelectrons coming from photosynthetic pigments. These photosensitizer like chlorophyll are naturally sorted and represent the core of this technology being further developed at the PhotoBioCatalysis and ChemSIN research groups at ULB. The innovative valorization of the lignocellulose that will be investigated involves also the extraction of lignin under more environmentally friendly conditions and electro-fermentation done by the Bioengineering&Biorefining team at UCL, whereas sugar fermentation into lactic acid will be of interest for private partner Galactic. Moreover, part of polysaccharides obtained will also be valorised into formation of biomaterials for wound healing hydrogels at the Biomatter Unit – ULB. Given that the biochemical processes involved in this technique do not require a dedicated area as for a classical chemical plant, this process could be easily implemented into a urban landscape using relatively small installations, so being attractive and of concern for Bruxelles.HUB and Bruxelles.Environment.
- 2019 > 2021
PhotoBioCatalysis Unit research project:
LUX, FNRS-MIS 2019-2021
Photo-assisted Polymers BioCatalysis
Coordination: David Cannella, PhotoBioCatalysis Unit, EIB ULB
The main challenge of the 21st century society in terms of energy, materials and products is to diminish the dependence from oil moving from a fossilfuel based economy to a bioeconomy targeting renewable resources. Recently has been reported an efficient light-driven enzymatic system to oxidize carbohydrates from cellulose, which is the major fraction of the photosynthetically fixed carbon. The system discovered is based on photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll, and the ubiquitous enzyme lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase (LPMO) that degrades carbohydrates like plant cell wall, starch, and chitin found in all ecosystems. Also, one of the collateral effects of shining light on the reaction mixture is the generation of hydrogen peroxide, discovered being an efficient substrate for accelerating LPMO activity. The ultimate goal of this proposal is to look at the expressomic of fungi to learn the way they harness the light induced electron transfer and the collateral production of hydrogen peroxide to power redox enzymes, so to exploit the knowledge for designing new biomass degrading enzymatic cocktails.
- 01-2020 > 12-2021
Research credit (CR) F.R.S.-FNRS
The use of naturally occurring genetic variation of Arabidopsis in Belgium and bordering countries to identify genes shaping root morphology.
- 01-2019 > 12-2022
Research project (PDR) F.R.S.-FNRS
Genes and gene networks regulating root morphology in response to nitrogen in rapeseed crop.